Professional Development Program to Develop Teacher Educators’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK)

Mishra and Koehler’s (2006) TPACK, which is based on Shulman’s (1986) PCK, consists of three basic components: Technological Knowledge (Computer, internet, video, board, book), Pedagogical Knowledge (teaching-learning methods and techniques, strategies), and Content Knowledge (topic knowledge to be learned, scientific knowledge) (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). TPACK requires the combination of technological, pedagogical and content knowledge as seen in Figure 1. It is the ability of a teacher to choose the appropriate pedagogical methods and technologies for the topic to be covered by asking “How can I teach this topic best?” (Harris & Hofer, 2011). In other words, TPACK is the ability of a teacher to use technological skills (computer, tablet and internet applications), pedagogical (teaching skills, selecting appropriate teaching skills for the student) and content knowledge (course content such as mathematics, science, social). Therefore, a TPACK-focused teaching process cannot be carried out by a teacher with only technological knowledge or a technologist who has poor pedagogical knowledge (Mishra & Koehler, 2006).

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Figure 1.

Technological pedagogical content knowledge (Koehler et al., 2013).

A teacher educator should have these three types of knowledge. A teacher educator can use all or some of them, depending on the purpose of lesson. However, he/she must have the knowledge of all seven elements (Koehler et al., 2013).

Although teacher educators should update themselves and rearrange their learning environment to develop teachers’ TPACK (Gill & Dalgarno, 2017), there is a dearth of study examining how to improve teacher educators’ TPACK. There is limited number of studies conducted with teacher educators, and they are survey model studies that display the current situation. In this respect, the current study aimed to prepare, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a professional development program for the development of teacher educators’ TPACK.

Research Question

How is the effectiveness of the “Professional Development Program for Developing Teacher educators’ TPACK (I-TPACK-PDP)” prepared within the scope of training for trainers? The sub-problems are:

Considering the teacher educators in the I-TPACK-PDP,

Research Design

This qualitative study was designed as program implementation case studies. The reason for choosing qualitative methods is to identify the actual thoughts and behaviors of the participants (Creswell, 2007). Program implementation case studies help ensure a comprehensive and longitudinal reporting of changes (Davey, 2013). Thanks to this design, a professional development program was carried out by obtaining longitudinal, broad and in- depth information about the TPACK development of teacher educators. Besides, the study examined whether the goal of the program was achieved.

Study Group

The study group consisted of 10 teacher educators working in a faculty of education. They were volunteers and they all work in the same institute. Although researchers try to develop various formulas by being influenced by quantitative patterns, there is no accepted sample size determination formula recommended for qualitative research (Morgan & Morgan, 2008). A consensus has been reached that the basic sample size for an ideal qualitative research is related to the quality of the data obtained from the sample (Watson et al., 2017). If the cases under study are informative, in-depth information from a small group of people may be more valuable than limited information from a large sample. Satisfaction is important, not the number of samples (Guba & Lincoln, 1982). For this reason, the data from a sample of 10 people for this study was found to be sufficient. Maximum diversity sampling was used to determine the applicability of the I-TPACK-PDP in different departments (Educational Sciences, Primary Education, Social Sciences and Turkish Education, Mathematics and Science Education, Foreign Language Education and Visual Arts Education). Maximum diversity sampling helps create a small study group with maximum participant diversity. The aim is not to generalize but to examine whether there are common phenomena between different situations (Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2008).

Participants were interested in technology, willing to develop themselves, and open to innovations. P4 and P10 were using computers and communication technologies only as a means of communication in their daily lives, not in their teaching processes. They needed to improve their technology knowledge. Other participants could adapt to new technologies more easily. P1, P2 and P3 were able to use social networking, e-mail, Office programs at a good level, but they could not use Web 2.0 tools in their lessons. P5 and P6 could frequently use computers and communication technologies in their daily lives. They could learn new technology applications and put them into their lives. Although P7, P8 and P9 had similar features, they could actively use some of the Web 2.0 tools in their lessons.

Research Development Process

I-TPACK-PDP was developed by using Taba-Tyler and System Approach models. Accordingly, the research process was designed in four stages: planning/needs analysis, design, implementation, and evaluation.

Planning/needs analysis: Literature was reviewed to determine TPACK competencies that a teacher educator should have. Then, Interviews were conducted with the teacher educators according to these competencies. This process was presented in detail by the researcher in another study (Çam & Erdamar Koç, 2021)

Design: Based on the determined needs, the goals of I-TPACK-PDP were developed according to literature and expert opinions. Then, the content of the program was created and the list of topics, materials to be used, and learning environments were determined. Each of the 14 sessions in the program content was considered as a module. Weekly and hourly lesson plans were prepared. Also, the researcher arranged detailed lesson plans for teaching-learning situations. Measurement and evaluation tools were selected to determine the effectiveness of these teaching-learning situations. Both literature and expert opinions were applied while preparing these measurement tools. Eight experts were consulted during design process.

Implementation: First, the program was piloted. Two teacher educators were individually trained for the pilot study. This process lasted for 7 days. Each participant was given one-on-one trainings so that they can practice on the topics. Piloting took 18 hr. Then, the main implementation was carried out.

In each module, participant’s prior knowledge on the topic was taken into consideration, and individual training was provided. First of all, the technology application to be used within the scope of TPACK was introduced, the purposes for which it could be used were explained, and application examples were shown. Next, the use of implementation was run by following all steps together. Then, brainstorming was done to determine which pedagogical methods could be used and how and on which topics the teacher educator could use this application. Finally, the participant was asked to produce a material and design a lesson plan. During the training, the theoretical part was explained in the first 20 min of each lesson. In the last 40 min, a TPACK material was prepared based on the theoretical information explained, and a lesson design was planned by using the TPACK material. This period, stated as 60 min, differed in each module and participant. Finally teacher educators were provided opportunities to transfer the knowledge they have acquired to their own fields and to apply it in a real classroom environment. Teacher educators have reflected the nature of TPACK exactly at this stage.

Evaluation: In this stage, to evaluate the effectiveness of I-TPACK-PDP, the researcher examined whether the determined goals were achieved. The evaluation process started from the moment I-TPACK-PDP was implemented.

Professional Development Program (I-TPACK-PDP)

The program is presented in Figure 2. It has three stages. In the first stage, teacher educators were provided one session of theoretical information for “understanding the nature of TPACK.” The aim was to help the teacher educators have general information about TPACK and understand how to shape their existing pedagogical knowledge. For example, it was emphasized that teaching methods and strategies such as collaboration, problem-based learning, interaction, knowledge sharing should be used together with a learner-centered teaching in a TPACK-focused approach, and application examples were shared. A discussion was made about the usability of technology applications. Although this was considered as one session at the beginning of the training, it was also emphasized during the 16-session process. After each training module, the nature of TPACK was underlined. Thus, Pedagogical Knowledge (PC) and Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) were stressed.

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Figure 2.

Professional development program for teacher educators TPACK development.

In the second stage, teacher educators were given training about technology knowledge that they should have. This stage lasted 14 sessions. Session durations varied according to the learning speed of each participant and lasted an average of 1 hr. Technology Knowledge (TK), Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK) and Technological Content Knowledge (TCK) were emphasized at this stage. Applications were carried out to ensure the development of TPK and TCK by improving the technology knowledge of the teacher educators.

In each session, teacher educators were informed about a technology application, its benefits, limitations and pedagogical uses. Each teacher educator designed a TPACK material according to his/her field with the technology knowledge given. Demonstration techniques were used for technology knowledge, and then the teacher educators were allowed to design their own materials. In addition, the teacher educators who designed materials suggested ideas about the teaching strategy in which they could use materials. Figure 3 presents the sessions of educational technologies used in the second stage.

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Figure 3.

Professional development program-content of technology knowledge.

In the 14-session program, the main goal is to produce TPACK materials suitable for each module. The technology knowledge should be combined with appropriate pedagogical methods, and the educational objectives were prioritized while preparing materials.

In the last stage, a field study was done. Research advocates that giving training is not enough to develop TPACK competencies of a teacher educator, so real learning environments should be created (Niess, 2011). Thus, teacher educators were provided opportunities to transfer the knowledge they have acquired to their own fields and to apply it in a real classroom environment. Teacher educators have reflected the nature of TPACK exactly at this stage. No content knowledge (CK) training was given because the participants were already experts. Thanks to the technology knowledge they had gained, they created real learning environments and taught one-session lessons in undergraduate courses. Each participants chose applications suitable for the lesson and prepared a lesson plan.

Data Collection

Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. Interviews were conducted both before and after the program. Pre-interview questions were about participants’ prior knowledge of TPACK, how they performed their lessons under the current conditions, what they knew about the technology applications in the program, and their expectations from the program. In final interviews, participants were asked questions about their satisfaction with the program, what they learned about TPACK, the lesson plans they designed, and the problems they experienced. Interview form was piloted with two different teacher educators. Interviews were recorded with the permission of the participants, and themes were induced from these codes.

Data Analysis

The data were analyzed through the NVivo 10 program using content analysis technique. The main purpose of content analysis is to reach concepts, relationships and patterns that can explain the collected data (Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2008). Thus, the interviews were transcribed, and data were systematically arranged according to the research questions. Coding was done by reading the answers. The related themes were brought together to reach the main themes. A framework was determined by rearranging all the themes that emerged, and the analysis was repeated according to this framework in the second round of coding to prevent data loss. Overlapping, redundancy and inaccuracies between codes are prevented by repeating the coding processes. The coding made by the researcher was also checked by another researcher according to a coding list determined as a result of the content analysis.

Validity and Reliability of the Study

Attention was paid to the credibility and transferability of the research to ensure the validity (Miles & Huberman, 1994). During the whole process, the trainings were recorded, photos were taken, and all these documents were kept for reference. All interviews were recorded. Another expert was consulted while analyzing data. For credibility, direct quotations were used. To ensure the transferability, the personal characteristics of the teacher educator were introduced. The professional development program was explained in detail from the design stage to the evaluation stage in terms of setting an example for the future studies.

Regarding reliability, attention was paid to whether the results were consistent with the data collected (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). Data were constantly checked, and analyses were also checked by another researcher so that other researchers could use data and reach same results. While analyzing data, two researchers worked in collaboration and coding was made together. After different codes were identified, code agreement percentage was calculated as 91% using the formula of Miles and Huberman (1994).

Teacher Educators’ Satisfaction With the Program

The views of the teacher educators about the satisfaction with the program were gathered under two themes: “Professional development” and “Structure of the program.”Table 1 was created according to the data obtained.

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Table 1.

Teacher Educators’ Opinions About Their Satisfaction With the Program*.

Professional development	Developing a positive attitude toward technology integration in education
	Making the learning and teaching process effective
	Supporting academic studies
Structure of the program	Too dense content, time problem
	The program was not disciplined
	Easy to apply
	Suitability of each module for different instructional purposes
	Applicable in all disciplines

*

Each participant had more than one opinion. Opinions were ranked from the most repeated to the least repeated.

To identify the problems that faculty members faced during the research process and their suggestions for these problems, such questions were asked: What kind of problems did you experience in professional development training? What would you suggest solving these problems? The problems were lack of infrastructure in classrooms, faculty members having lack of time to practice, students not knowing the technology applications, and long education period (Table 2).

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Table 2.

Problems that Teacher educators Faced and Their Suggestions.

Problems	Suggestions
Lack of infrastructure in classrooms	Internet access should be provided at universities
	Teacher educators should prepare the learning environment with their own means
Students not knowing the technology applications	TPACK trainings should be expanded
	TPACK courses should be taught to undergraduate students
Teacher educators’ having lack of time to practice	More applications should be included in the trainings
	During the training process, a sanction must be applied to participants and they should be given feedback.
Long education period	Program content should be shortened
	Participants must decide on content

Teacher educators were mostly positive about the program. Thanks to this program, they developed a positive attitude toward technology integration in teaching, made the learning-teaching process more effective, and could conduct academic studies. They stated that the technology integration was not so difficult, and they would be open to new technology applications from now on, which means that their motivation to use the knowledge they gained in the future increased.

P5 “I am positive about all modules… If someone tells me about another program that you haven’t mentioned, I will understand it more easily. Because I have some schemes in my mind regarding the general structure and functioning of these applications…”

Participants stated that these trainings met their expectations in terms of making teaching effective. According to them, thanks to TPACK applications, students’ interest increased, interaction was achieved, and the lesson became more enjoyable.

P6 “I have positive opinions. I was angry with myself… Although I am so intertwined with technology, I didn’t know much about it. I teach well, but I can make a difference with these applications. I can draw their attention using technology. My students actually expect new things from me. For this reason, there is no escape, I definitely use these applications in my lessons”.

The opinions of the participants about the academic study plans draw attention to a great extent. Some teacher educators emphasized that they would carry out scientific researches such as papers, articles and theses with the training they received by mentioning TPACK applications and various scientific publication plans.

P9 “Now, my colleagues ask me to share what I have learned. In fact, I plan to prepare a conference paper by applying what I’ve learned in the material course. Thus, I can improve myself more. In this respect, it has contributed to my perceptions. I think, this education was quite successful”.

Data showed that participants found the content of the program intense, they had time problems to participate effectively in the program and needed a sanction for follow-up during the program. Participants stated that their course load was high and therefore they had difficulty in fulfilling the assignments given in the trainings. Throughout the program, assignments were constantly monitored by the researcher. However, it was understood that this was insufficient, and more discipline was required. Despite the negative opinions about the intensity of the program and time problem, there were also positive opinions about the simplicity of the applications and the applicability of the program to every field.

P1 “I think the content was intense… Also, we were busy… I had administrative work and projects to carry out this semester. That’s why I couldn’t do the assignments you gave”.

P8 “If I were you, I would come up with a plan every week and I would like everybody to practice and come next week, albeit by force.”

Considering satisfaction of the participants, their opinions were usually positive. Participants emphasized that this program positively affected their professional development, that they had a positive attitude toward technology integration and the use of educational technologies in teaching, and that they wanted to use TPACK applications they had learned. Besides, they stated that their perception of TPACK had improved after participating in this program and that they wanted to do academic studies on this topic from now on.

Lesson Designs of Teacher Educators in Compliance With TPACK

During the research process, teacher educators designed TPACK material and prepared lesson designs in accordance with TPACK with their existing pedagogical knowledge. Before joining the program, half of the teacher educators stated that they had never heard of TPACK. Half of them did but without detailed information. After the program, all of the teacher educators were able to define the TPACK, explain the necessary points, give detailed information about the TPACK objectives, and give TPACK lesson design samples along with the applications they learned during the process.Among the TPACK course samples designed by the participants, those with recurrence frequency are determined and presented under the headings below.

Narration was used frequently by all teacher educators before as well as after TPACK training. While narration was used for sharing theoretical information through PowerPoint and visual elements before TPACK training, the majority of the participants stated that they could serve this purpose better by using Prezi, Emaze and digital concept maps. Here are some excerpts of participants who think that presentation tools and concept maps are effective in concretizing abstract subjects and enriching theoretical information with visual elements.

P7: Prezi and emaze are very enjoyable. Normally in presentations, slides are thought to be read. Prezi does not provide you such an opportunity. There are lots of visuals, but less writing. I use Prezi to attract students’ attention to the topic and to present the theoretical knowledge of the lesson.

Brainstorming is considered as one of the techniques frequently used before and after TPACK training. Most teacher educators emphasized that they used the brainstorming in their lessons. While using this technique with blackboard, printed materials, and Microsoft word before TPACK training, they were found to prefer using Tagul Word Art, which is one of the keyword applications, in order to reveal different opinions and all known knowledge on a topic, after their TPACK training.

P8: In the first lesson, I asked student to write down what they knew about chemistry. We were talking about the common results. I was telling that chemistry was not just these, but it took a long time. From now on, I can do the same process at the end and beginning of the semester with the help of Tagul Word Art or poll everywhere. Also, I may compare them.

Evaluation tools were found to be preferred frequently after the application. Some teacher educators stated that they used Kahoot-Socrative-Poll Everywhere applications for the first time, and from now on, they would use these applications to stimulate lessons and assess students. The course designs they prepared were also in this direction. Interactive assessment tools were preferred to enable students to actively participate in the lesson, to interact with each other, and to make the lesson fun.

P9: I didn’t use to make quizzes because it didn’t fit the content of my lesson. Yet, I realized that I could make applications that could entertain and evaluate students in every lesson. The students loved Kahoot. I learned different assessment tools. I will definitely use them.

Regarding teacher educators’ opinions about the methods and approaches they used before TPACK training, almost all of them (9 teacher educators) did not mention the applications for collaborative teaching. After the TPACK training, teacher educators chose various applications to provide collaborative teaching and used them in their classes. With collaborative teaching, group work and activities for creating a common product were held in the classroom. For this, the Padlet application, called digital panels, was preferred. Besides, participans emphasized that there were different opinions in the classroom due to individual differences among the students, and that the Padlet application could be used for the students to share their opinions without hesitation.

P5: We created an activity file with Padlet in one of my graduate courses. Students added their activities to the activity board. We created a joint document from it. We printed and reproducted it in collaboration….I present these videos in class and create a padlet page for each group. Everyone shares their views on each video. The students feel valuable in this way.

After the TPACK training, attempts to keep students active increased. This was achieved by sharing information outside the lesson and increasing the interaction between students. It is possible to share information through Google Drive and Edmodo outside of the lesson.

P6: I would give the students a topic about Human Geography and create a newspaper column on this topic. Each student creates the headline news and adds it to Edmodo. I asked them to prepare different task. Thus, they interact with each other and do a common job.

Although teacher educators were using e-mail, PowerPoint, Excel, visual elements, Word, ready-made videos, blackboard, and printed materials before TPACK trainings, they started to use Prezi, Emaze, Tagul Word Art, Digital concept/mind maps, Kahoot, Socartive, Poll Everywhere, edited film sections, animation videos, Google Forms, Google Drive, Edmodo, and Padlet applications after their TPAB training. While office programs, ready-made videos and visuals (where one-way communication is provided) were mostly used before TPACK trainings, it was found after TPACK trainings that interactive applications such as Padlet, Edmodo, Kahoot were used to make students be active.

Problems That Teacher Educators Encountered During Their Applications and Their Suggestions

Participants’ problems were gathered four themes “Lack of infrastructure in classrooms,”“Teacher educators’ having lack of time to practice, “Students not knowing the technology applications,” and “Long education period.”

Teacher educators complained that the lack of infrastructure experienced in the classrooms prevented the flow of the learning and teaching process. Teacher educators emphasized the internet access problem in almost all applications. Not having access to the internet, not having a smart phone or computer slow down the flow of lessons. In this regard, it was suggested that the infrastructure problem should be solved, and every student should have easy access to the internet in order to gain 21st century skills.

P7 “Internet connection is very problematic. During the implementation, everyone attended the classes. However, I made the connection with my own means by bringing a port device to the classroom. The internet provided by the university is not good. Therefore, my students were also worried. They were curious about how to use these applications when they become teachers. They said that there is not internet in every school…”

Participants also stated that there are problems due to students not knowing the technology applications used. This situation made it difficult for teacher educators to teach and caused a waste of time. Because teacher educators first explained this application to the students who do not know the technology application used, and then tried to reach the main goals of the course by using this application. For this reason, TPACK trainings should be expanded. It was emphasized that studies should be carried out to increase the TPACK competencies of teacher educators. They also recommended that courses regarding TPACK should be taught to undergraduate students.

P2 “I tried to apply Google Drive to graduate students in my scientific research methods course. There are students who cannot upload files. They should be trained also about this matter. Some of them have never been able to use Google Drive. I cannot explain this application to them due to lack of time… Students also should be trained. Our knowing it is not enough. It should be integrated into undergraduate courses…”

Another important problem is teacher educators’ lack of time to practice. They that they worked one-on-one with the researcher for at least 2 hr a week, but they could not spare time to practice outside. The reasons were work intensity, administrative duties, and course load. Therefore, the participants emphasized that more applications should be included in the trainings. Otherwise, they could not devote additional time and study the topic in detail. Besides, they emphasized that the one-to-one applications made during the trainings were more permanent.

P1 “I did not have time. Since I could not be at a sufficient level of readiness, I could not benefit enough. I could not use it because I did not learn well. Maybe if we had dealt with each application in more detail and if the number of topics had been few with more applications, it could have been more effective.”

As a result, teacher educators had problems with internet connection during the research process. In order to solve this problem, they suggested that internet access should be controlled continuously. Teacher educators who wanted to practice in the classroom had difficulties because the students did not have any knowledge about these applications. For this problem, it was suggested that undergraduate students should also be provided with trainings for their TPACK development. In addition, it was emphasized that the opportunity to practice might increase by increasing the application time in professional development trainings; thus, this would save time in solving potential problems in the classroom.