Predicting Preservice Science Teachers' TPACK through ICT usage

Abstract

Designing effective and efficient learning environments by integrating recent educational technologies into the teaching process has become an important goal of education for nearly two decades. However, earlier studies showed that a higher level of technology knowledge does not guarantee the development of TPACK. At this point, studies guided by the transformative approach defining TPACK as a unique knowledge revealed encouraging results for a better understanding of technology-integrated instruction. This study aims to investigate to what extent ICT usage categories predict preservice science teachers' TPACK. Totally 326 preservice science teachers with a mean age of 21.62 (SD = 1.41) from seven different universities participated. For that purpose, a correlational study was conducted. The ICT-TPACK-Science Scale and the ICT Usage Questionnaire were used to collect data. Six separate multiple regression analyses were conducted to predict TPACK measures using ICT measures. Results indicated that approximately a third of the variability in total-TPACK scores can be accounted for by three ICT measures. The relative importance of individual predictors is arranged in the following order desktop software, emerging ICTs, and hardware. As for the dimensions of the ICT-TPACK-Science Scale, the overall effect of the ICT predictors decreased in the following order: Designing, implementing, planning, proficiency, and ethics. Emerging ICTs made the highest contribution to the designing and proficiency dimensions; while desktop software made the highest contribution to the implementing, planning, and ethics dimensions. To sum up, this study describes the association between ICT usage and TPACK in the view of the transformative ICT-TPACK-Science framework. The utilization and transformation of ICT tools as a cognitive partner for effective and efficient science teaching in different TPACK dimensions needs further investigation.