The EnTPACK rubric: development, validation, and reliability of an instrument for measuring pre-service science teachers’ enacted TPACK

Abstract

Science instruction can benefit from the use of digital technologies if pre-service teachers are given opportunities to acquire Technological Pedagogical And Content Knowledge (TPACK) as part of their studies. However, the prevailing self-report approach to TPACK measurement does not allow conclusions to be drawn about enacted TPACK, which is rarely assessed in real classroom situations. In addition, instruments designed to measure TPACK enactment lack descriptive clarity and no single instrument is used to assess the three relevant phases of teacher competencies (lesson planning, implementation, and reflection). The present paper addresses this gap by presenting the development and validation of a comprehensive rubric for assessing the enacted TPACK of pre-service science teachers. To operationalize the “fuzzy” aspects of the framework, the rubric targets a specific use of digital media and instructional approach in science teaching: student-generated explainer videos and animations. At the core of the development process is a theory- and literature-based systematic review of (1) existing instruments for assessing pre-service science teachers’ enacted TPACK and (2) instructional criteria for student-generated explainer videos in science classes. The resulting rubric allows valid conclusions given the appropriate conditions, has demonstrated reliability, and excels due to its specific focus, high degree of differentiation, systematic grounding in theory and literature, objective grading criteria, and comprehensive applicability to all three phases of teacher competencies.

Teaching Biology Lessons Using Digital Technology: A Contextualized Mixed-Methods Study on Pre-Service Biology Teachers’ Enacted TPACK

“…Most TPACK self-assessments measure TPACK on its subdomains [28], corresponding to an integrative TPACK construct. In contrast, performance assessments predominantly collect TPACK as an overall construct [29], corresponding to the transformative TPACK perspective.…”

“…From a methodological perspective, studies in this field rely mainly on rubrics, scarcely considering contextual factors. Moreover, they are often based on a single data source [29]. These assessment instruments usually focus on the (blended) TK domains (TK, TPK, TCK, and TPACK) while overlooking the PCK domain [48].…”

“…However, existing studies have some limitations in this regard. Firstly, many studies do not include contextual factors in their assessment instruments [29]. Secondly, some studies only focus on selected phases of teaching, such as lesson planning or implementation [7,8,23,48,52,53,56].…”

“…In 2023, we developed a rubric to analyze how pre-service science teachers enacted TPACK based on lesson planning, implementation, and reflection (EnTPACK rubric) [29]. Thus, the rubric allows us to compare TPACK enactment across these different data sets and identify discontinuities between them.…”

“…According to the application context, the transformative view of TPACK, and empirical data on TPACK enactment, the EnTPACK rubric comprises the blended PK domains (PCK and TPK) and the distinct TPACK domain. These domains form the categories of the rubric [29]. To enable an independent measurement of these categories, they were defined distinctly.…”