Technology has the potential to transform the classroom, build access to new mathematical content, and provide access to students through unique representations. For this study, the authors considered the transformational promise of digital fabrication technology, specifically 3D printing, in a setting comprised of pre-service teachers. An introduction to digital fabrication session was implemented in a secondary mathematics methods course. Participants were assessed both prior to the experience and after, using an adapted TPACK developmental self-report survey to consider TPACK themes and subthemes. In this chapter, the authors describe ideas that emerged from narratives provided by participants, patterns of change noted from pre- to post-assessment, and three cases that emerged representing students who experienced the most positive changes, most negative changes, and least amount of change on self-perceived levels.
TopBackground
It has long been acknowledged that neither pedagogical knowledge nor content knowledge alone is sufficient for effective teaching (Shulman, 1986). The overlaps of knowledge domains have been widely studied over the past two decades and have come to integrate technology as more tools are available and necessary for teaching and learning mathematics. Technological pedagogical content knowledge, or TPACK is the knowledge that encompasses the overlaps of technological knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and content knowledge. This model recognizes the complexity of a variety of knowledge domains: technological knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, content knowledge, technological pedagogical knowledge, technological content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and technological pedagogical content knowledge (Niess, Ronau, Shafer, Driskell, Harper, Johnston, Browning, Özgün-Koca, & Kersaint, 2009).
The work of Niess and her colleagues (2009) establishes a developmental model with four major themes: curriculum and assessment, learning, teaching, and access. For each theme, sub-themes were established to further describe the teacher knowledge components. The TPACK Developmental Model establishes levels and descriptors to allow each theme to function independently. The levels progress from recognizing to accepting, then to adapting, followed by exploring, and finally advancing, as shown in Figure 1 (Niess, Ronau, Shafer, Driskell, Harper, Johnston, Browning, Özgün-Koca, & Kersaint, 2009).
Figure 1. Levels of the TPACK Developmental Model (Niess, Ronau, Shafer, Driskell, Harper, Johnston, Browning, Özgün-Koca, & Kersaint, 2009)