Ok, so I think I may be going slightly mad. I'm either developing a stutter: pe-pe-pe-pe-pe-pe-peh!
Or I'm seeing triple. Or maybe all of the above.
So far this semester, we've been introduced to several acronyms for efficient approaches to knowledge & learning. They all start with P, and they all represent three-fold models that can help us to gather & use information more effectively.
I'm talking about PLN, PKM and PCK.
At first they all seemed just academic nonsense, not really connecting to anything tangible in my understanding. But I think I'm finally figuring out what they mean to me, making sense of them all and where they fit in my personal pedagogy.
Firstly, PLN. Our Personal Learning Network.
Anywhere or anyone we can communicate with to gain & share knowledge. It's the collection of uni friends on Facebook, the bookmarked websites, the blogs you follow through Feedly, the fellow students or colleagues you get together with over coffee to nut out the latest theory.
As Wikipedia defines it: A personal learning network is an informal learning network that consists of the people a learner interacts with and derives knowledge from in a personal learning environment.
So basically this is our sum total of learning resources: everywhere we go to learn, everyone we turn to when seeking knowledge.
Secondly, PKM. Personal Knowledge Mastery
PKM is a framework devised by Harold Jarche. It is a process whereby we take control of how we manage our personal & professional knowledge, finally mastering the process rather than getting overloaded and overwhelmed by it.
The framework involves 3 basic steps:
1. Seeking knowledge – as in where or who do we get it from?
2. Making Sense of the knowledge – as in what does it mean to us?
3. And Sharing the knowledge – what do we do with it now? We pay it forward of course!
Thirdly, PCK – Pedagogical Content Knowledge
PCK is defined by Lee Shulman as “teachers’ interpretations and transformations of subject-matter knowledge in the context of facilitating student learning”. It is about recognising as a teacher how particular content should be taught, acknowledging students' prior knowledge & preconceptions, and adapting the content so that students are better able to understand it.
It is the reason why many of our courses, like this one, are titled: … Curriculum and Pedagogy. Pedagogical knowledge and Content knowledge are not separate or mutually exclusive of each other, they are intertwined with each other and integrated within the teaching experience. PCK is that magic moment in classrooms where curriculum and pedagogy meet, where real teaching & learning happen.
Another lightbulb moment!
Now that I have finally got my head around what these 3 simple yet complex acronyms mean to me, I have then come up with another breakthrough.
So if:
PLN = the WHERE, as in where we find our information
PKM = the WHAT, as in what information we need to organise
PCK = the WHAT NEXT, as in teaching & sharing the information.
Then, PLN & PCK can both fit within the PKM model, or conversely, they could be considered extensions of PKM.
So PLN => is present in PKM, as in WHERE we SEEK our information
and PCK => is present in PKM through SHARING our information, what we do with it next to pay it forward to our students or colleagues.
So not only 3 useful P acronyms when considered separately, but they all fit together comfortably too.
How's that for a lightbulb moment? Well, I thought it was pretty good anyway. :-)
Or I'm seeing triple. Or maybe all of the above.
So far this semester, we've been introduced to several acronyms for efficient approaches to knowledge & learning. They all start with P, and they all represent three-fold models that can help us to gather & use information more effectively.
I'm talking about PLN, PKM and PCK.
At first they all seemed just academic nonsense, not really connecting to anything tangible in my understanding. But I think I'm finally figuring out what they mean to me, making sense of them all and where they fit in my personal pedagogy.
Firstly, PLN. Our Personal Learning Network.
Anywhere or anyone we can communicate with to gain & share knowledge. It's the collection of uni friends on Facebook, the bookmarked websites, the blogs you follow through Feedly, the fellow students or colleagues you get together with over coffee to nut out the latest theory.
As Wikipedia defines it: A personal learning network is an informal learning network that consists of the people a learner interacts with and derives knowledge from in a personal learning environment.
So basically this is our sum total of learning resources: everywhere we go to learn, everyone we turn to when seeking knowledge.
Secondly, PKM. Personal Knowledge Mastery
PKM is a framework devised by Harold Jarche. It is a process whereby we take control of how we manage our personal & professional knowledge, finally mastering the process rather than getting overloaded and overwhelmed by it.
The framework involves 3 basic steps:
1. Seeking knowledge – as in where or who do we get it from?
2. Making Sense of the knowledge – as in what does it mean to us?
3. And Sharing the knowledge – what do we do with it now? We pay it forward of course!
Thirdly, PCK – Pedagogical Content Knowledge
PCK is defined by Lee Shulman as “teachers’ interpretations and transformations of subject-matter knowledge in the context of facilitating student learning”. It is about recognising as a teacher how particular content should be taught, acknowledging students' prior knowledge & preconceptions, and adapting the content so that students are better able to understand it.
It is the reason why many of our courses, like this one, are titled: … Curriculum and Pedagogy. Pedagogical knowledge and Content knowledge are not separate or mutually exclusive of each other, they are intertwined with each other and integrated within the teaching experience. PCK is that magic moment in classrooms where curriculum and pedagogy meet, where real teaching & learning happen.
Another lightbulb moment!
Now that I have finally got my head around what these 3 simple yet complex acronyms mean to me, I have then come up with another breakthrough.
So if:
PLN = the WHERE, as in where we find our information
PKM = the WHAT, as in what information we need to organise
PCK = the WHAT NEXT, as in teaching & sharing the information.
Then, PLN & PCK can both fit within the PKM model, or conversely, they could be considered extensions of PKM.
So PLN => is present in PKM, as in WHERE we SEEK our information
and PCK => is present in PKM through SHARING our information, what we do with it next to pay it forward to our students or colleagues.
So not only 3 useful P acronyms when considered separately, but they all fit together comfortably too.
How's that for a lightbulb moment? Well, I thought it was pretty good anyway. :-)