TPACK model to support competence development part 3
In two previous blog posts I have presented the TPACK model as well as the development of digital competence why-questions. In this third part, I will try to use concrete examples to open up problem areas and perhaps also to bring solutions to the problems of digital competence development.
In the previous section, I asked questions that can help you get started in developing your organisation’s digital skills:
- Does your organisation genuinely offer the opportunity to develop skills in a broad range of ways, using different learning methods and independent of time and place?
- What opportunities do you have for e-learning, sharing knowledge internally through the learning environment and, for example, watching training recordings afterwards?
- Have you considered introducing competence labels?
- How does your organisation monitor skills development?
- Have you mapped and analysed the skills of your staff in terms of training and recruitment?
- What are your digital skills priorities for the coming year?
- Are staff encouraged to train and is their proactivity really reflected in their pay and career opportunities?
Here are some answers to some of the questions above, based on the TPACK model.
How does your organisation monitor skills development? Do you have established practices to keep your staff’s skills up to date? In particular, the TPACK model is based on the idea that skills are diverse. Not only digital technology skills, but also pedagogical and content skills. For example, how, in addition to the technological knowledge of your products, salespeople are trained to know your target group, to approach them in the right way and to design their sales work in a way that is pedagogically relevant. For example, in my experience, it is much easier to approach educational institutions with “sales pants on” if you know and understand the everyday life of teachers and can adapt your activities to suit them. “The ‘better informed’ consultant will only get silence from teachers. Thirdly, knowledge of content should be included. For example, legislation in the sector, future changes in the business environment and, for example, a basic knowledge of competitors’ products. It is bewildering how often I myself come across a lack of knowledge about competitors’ solutions. One is surprised to find that, ohhoh, could you approach it that way?
It is often said that employees and their skills are a company’s most important resource. But how well is this resource actually looked after? In terms of skills, that is. Have you mapped the skills of your employees and asked them what they think is important for them to learn? Often, unfortunately, the development of skills seems to be a matter of chance, relying too much on the employees themselves and on old ways of doing things. This can easily lead to widening skills gaps. Some develop themselves a lot, others hardly at all. In addition, the skills of the active worker may become narrow, and the TPACK model of skills diversification is not achieved.
Here is one way of approaching this challenging issue
- Map the challenges of the environment, skills requirements, target group profiles and future changes. This is where an external consultant can be a big help. Put together a table or a picture of them, where the issues identified are systematically recorded.
- Find out about the current skills, strengths and weaknesses of your staff. Questionnaires, development interviews and even a colour-coded Excel spreadsheet will give you a clearer and more concrete picture.
- Do you already have the necessary skills?, can skills gaps be filled by training or do you need to recruit?
- Build learning pathways for staff. Some can be traditional face-to-face training, some webinars and some can be courses on an e-learning platform. All of these have their merits. Although I am a digital educator, I do not recommend only e-learning materials and platforms.
- Develop a way for your organisation to take care of the monitoring of staff competences. Skills tokens, gamification of skills development and traditional development discussions work well here. Especially if you combine them all. A once-a-year, half-hearted development discussion may not be an adequate way to approach this complex whole.
- Reward staff for developing their skills. Of course, an expert can be expected to be an active learner himself, but a positive, supportive and rewarding culture is a great way to enhance learning.
- If you’re a frontline worker, set an example for your subordinates by being an active learner yourself!
As you can see from even this short blog post, it is a complex and demanding package in every way. However, it has become clear to everyone that a systematic approach and remembering the diversity of skills can go a long way in developing digital skills. I hope that these ideas will help you to improve the way your organisation works.
Lin Hungarian: Kyllönen, Mari. Kyllönen, Kyllönen, 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.
