Developing Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Elementary Education Programs

Introduction

Technological advances are having a significant impact on multiple facets of people’s lives, including ways they communicate, learn, and work (Allen & Seaman, 2013). Education is not immune to such influences and as a result, changes in delivery options now provide the means to address learners’ demands for “more flexible access to content and instruction at any time, from any place” (Means, Toyama, Murphy, & Baki, 2013, p. 3). The amount of technology access in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 (PK-12) schools is at an all-time high (New Media Consortium, 2014). Still, access does not always result in effective technology use or student learning (New Media Consortium, 2014; U.S. Department of Education [USDE], 2010; Vega, 2013).

The recommendations in the National Educational Technology Plan as well as the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) National Educational Technology Standards for students (ISTE, 2007) and teachers (ISTE, 2008) call for K-12 students to use technology to access and synthesize information, communicate with others around the world, create representations of knowledge and learning products, and facilitate their own learning of content and information. While these recommendations have potential to support teaching and learning processes, research indicates that teachers either do not integrate technology at all or choose not to integrate technology in meaningful ways in their classroom (Ertmer & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2010; Ertmer, Ottenbreit-Leftwich, Sadik, Sendurur, & Sendurur, 2012; Polly & Hannafin, 2011). These studies cite the need for teachers to receive high quality learning experiences (Lawless & Pellegrino, 2007; Polly & Hannafin, 2011) as well as experiences that will support teachers in ongoing ways to address negative beliefs related to teaching with technology (Ertmer & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2010; Ertmer et al., 2011). In light of the potential benefits of teaching with technology and the barriers that teachers demonstrate, teacher education programs must play a vital role in preparing future teachers (teacher candidates hereafter) with the knowledge and skills related to integrating technology into classrooms (Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation [CAEP], 2013; U. S. Department of Education [USDE], 2010).