The TPACK model to support skills development
What should be taken into account when developing the skills of an organisation’s staff in a holistic way? Is it enough to buy the latest equipment or software, train in an afternoon workshop on how to use it and think that’s it? Is it even possible to think of staff development in terms of knowledge and skills in isolation, or should the focus be on managing the whole and bringing out a broad range of knowledge?
After reading this blog post you will learn
- The basics of the TPACK model and an idea for a more holistic approach to competences
- The different areas of competence or knowledge and their importance
- That pedagogy is not just a matter for schools and teachers
In the following blog posts, I will use the TPACK model to present three different areas that I believe should be part of every smart organisation’s competence development plan. In this first part, I will present the idea and scientific background of the TPACK model in a dry and matter-of-fact way, in the next two parts I will discuss practical situations where the idea of the model can be helpful. Finally, I will present my own list of measures for a balanced development of staff competences.
The main objective is to highlight the fact that it is of the utmost importance to create a balanced and diverse set of competences in an organisation. One in which each aspect of TPACK is as well represented as possible, both in the competences of individuals and at the level of the community as a whole.
The idea of the TPACK model is to use a Venn diagram to describe three different areas of competence, or knowledge. In the model, knowledge is understood as a set of information that is broader than just a single piece of information (Kyllönen 2020, 30.) In the best case, these are combined and overlapped, resulting in deeper and broader knowledge. It is also important in the TPACK model to always take into account the context within which the knowledge is being considered. It is one thing to consider knowledge between, say, human resources and communications professionals. The requirements in terms of content, pedagogical and technical knowledge can be very different.
TPACK model (adapted from Kyllönen, 2020)
So, ideally, employees and the organisation as a whole will have a broad range of skills in all three areas, appropriate to the context of their work. So what do these areas include, following Kyllö (2020, 33-36)?
- Pedagogical knowledge is, in short, the knowledge of the target group, what works and what doesn’t? What kind of people are your clients or colleagues, how to approach them? How can the content of training and organisational objectives be broken down into a form that is easy to assimilate? How can you get people to learn and understand, for example, the value that your company brings to them? Pedagogy is strongly associated with the school context, but learning skills are needed in any community that wants to succeed.
- Content knowledge describes the employee’s competence in his or her field. How up-to-date is their knowledge? For example, are they aware of the latest legislative changes and research findings? What about safety skills or presentation training?
- Technological knowledge is, well, technological know-how. How well do you know the software and equipment needed for the job? Is there a level of everyday technological intelligence that allows you to deal with the problems you encounter yourself, or do you have to rely on IT support for every problem? How well does everyday technology know-how transfer to the workplace?
Has your organisation considered competences from these three perspectives? If not, I strongly recommend that you do such a reflection and undertake a competency mapping exercise. Do you really know what all the competences are required to be successful and are there enough of them? How to overlap these competences at the individual level to create a structured and deep knowledge is also something to think about. I will come back to these in later texts, but I want to raise this aspect for reflection now.
Sources: Kyllönen, Mari. Kyllönen Kyllönen, Teachers’ digital pedagogical competence (2020) https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/67585
Author’s introduction:
Simo Marttinen, a former classroom teacher, current civil servant and a fairly long-standing digital educator. Lives in Jyväskylä, enjoys cooking and knows and thinks he knows about many things.
