TPACK

Reproduced by permission of the publisher, © 2012 by tpack.org

In eighth grade, my English teacher assigned a project on fairy tales. We all read multiple interpretations of Cinderella and examined the common motifs as a class. We were then required to choose a junior fiction or young adult novel that was characterized as a modern retelling. My teacher had put out a table of books organized by the fairy tale or folk tale on which they were based. Each student was then responsible for reading their chosen retelling as well as three children's books from different cultures. From these adaptations, the student found common motifs (at least six) and applied them to each story. The proof we provided for that application was a table on Google Docs. We were also required to create a project on the book we read from a list of options.

This project was a favorite of many students and it taught us how to find commonalities between texts, identify motifs, and express our thoughts on a novel in creative ways. I created a collage while others did diary entries, playlists, or other projects. This project was an excellent example of differentiation and a big inspiration for my Practicum unit. In allowing the students to choose both their book and their final project, my teacher allowed us to feel as if we had a lot of control over our learning. By creating some guidelines (i.e. giving us a specific kind of book to read and a set list of projects), she also assured that the books we read would allow her to teach the topics she intended and that the projects we created would be able to express our learning.

Looking at this lesson in terms of TPACK, the less seems to fall pretty solidly in the PCK section. The unit taught us the desired content in a way that was applicable to later classes. The teacher's pedagogical approach is also clear in the impressive differentiation of the project. Technology, on the other hand, is not well-utilized in this project. While the write-ups were done in Google Docs, this was only so they would be easily accessed by the teacher. Unless one was to create a playlist, it seems unlikely that any other technology would be used.

While this was an effective lesson without technology, there are some things that technology might have been able to add to the experience. I remember struggling to find images for my collage while creating it with magazine clippings, construction paper, and a large poster board. An online resource like Unsplash.com would have been a great resource for this, as might have a photo editor like Pixlr. I've found these resources extremely helpful as I create a student sample for my unit, which draws much of the final project design from this one.