Teaching teachers for the future (TTF) project: development of the TTF TPACK survey instrument

Abstract

A major outcome of the national Teaching Teachers for the Future (TTF) Project was the development of a survey instrument to evaluate the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) of pre-service teachers. The TTF Project aimed to enhance preservice teachers’ TPACK across all Australian Higher Education Institutions (HEI) which provide initial teacher education programs, with specific focus on four Australian Curriculum areas (Mathematics, Science, English and History) and positioned within the context of the emerging implementation of National Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL, 2011). The TTF TPACK Survey developed for the TTF Project was informed by TPACK instruments developed elsewhere and earlier work on the measurement of ICT integration in classrooms (Albion, Jamieson-Proctor & Finger, 2010; Jamieson-Proctor & Finger, 2009; Jamieson-Proctor, Watson, Finger, Grimbeek & Burnett, 2007). Guided by the TTF Research and Evaluation Working Group, the TTF TPACK Survey incorporated additional items to extend the precursor TPACK Confidence Survey (TCS) to meet the needs of the TTF project. The data collected were subject to a battery of complementary analysis techniques using both the pre (N=12881) and post (N=5809) data sets. Four scales were investigated and confirmed as reliable: (1) Confidence - teacher items; (2) Usefulness - teacher items; (3) Confidence - student items; and (4) Usefulness - student items. This paper describes the conceptual development and psychometric properties of the TTF TPACK Survey administered in 2011.