Chapter 12- In Service Teachers

Reflection for TPACK, Chapter 12- TPCK In-Service Education


This chapter seemed like a review of the previous eleven chapters we have read. What I found interesting about it were some of the specific things the author recommended to do when teaching experienced teachers. My first thought was, exactly when do you move from a chapter eleven teacher to a chapter twelve teacher? I guess I would not consider myself a preservice teacher, but the term experienced teacher seems too much for me! So I wondered exactly where I would fit in this philosophy.
I loved the idea on the first page of this chapter, which referred to teaching as “creative planning and spontaneous improvisation.” It is so true! We do the best planning we can, and are actors from there on! I had a difficult time getting in to this chapter from the music and jazz references and comparisons. Both of these things are foreign to me, which made some of the concepts difficult to grasp.
I enjoyed the reminder that technology is any tool that helps us to teach or students to learn. It does not always involve a computer, the internet, or Type Two technology. Technology assists teachers, not replaces them. An important thing to remember is that there is no one way to use or incorporate technology. Each teacher uses technology in his or her own way. This does not mean the students that graduate from that classroom are any more or less prepared with the standards on the curriculum.
The advice that the author gave that I liked best about teaching experienced teachers the TPACK model, was to explain to teachers why they need to learn something. It needs to have a direct link to their classroom. I, personally, feel as though this is true for all teachers- present or future. I think it is something we owe to all students, an explanation of why we are expecting them to learn each skill or concept.

Chapter 11- Preservice Teachers

Reflection to TPACK, Chapter 11- Guiding Preservice Teachers

There were many valuable things that would apply to my classroom in this chapter. I think the whole idea of teaching preservice teachers to teach in a way different from how they learned is interesting. I do believe that children and adults alike can learn more by teaching others. However, I do think it is possible for new teachers to use technology successfully in their classroom even though they didn’t necessarily learn through technology.
The biggest concept that I identified with was that classroom management can be entirely different when using technology. The use of technology, as with anything else in the classroom, needs to be introduced with specific rules and guidelines. Just as we spend tons of time in the first week of school learning all the procedures of the classroom, learning how to walk in the hallway, learning how to use the bathroom, or learning how to eat in the cafeteria, students need to be taught how to treat all types of technology- computers, overhead, or calculators. Without the preteaching and training, all technology will be chaotic. I did enjoy the definition of a noisy, but positive classroom. It is true that not all noise in a classroom is negative!
I like to consider technology as a way to sometimes better give students access to learning. It is not always necessary to use technology, but it is important to use technology to enhance your lessons. Pushing technology into many lessons for the sake of doing so, I believe, can cause the chaos and craziness that is not productive. I love exploring the assistive technology center to find new ways to make learning easier and exciting for my first graders. This is the kind of technology I especially enjoy. Simply having laptops on tables does not improve instruction in my classroom.