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.