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TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION; TPACK AS AN APPROACH TO BECOMING
A REVOLUTIONARY TEACHER IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Hambali
1
, Fathor Rozi
2
dan Mardiya
3
1, 2, 3
Universitas Nurul Jadid Probolinggo
Jl. KH. Zaini Mun’im Karanganyar Paiton Probolinggo, Jawa Timur 63216
1
2
3
ABSTRACT
This study aims to analyze the readiness of educators as revolutionary teachers in the digitalization
era through the TPACK (technology, pedagogy, content, knowledge) approach to Islamic
Elementary School Teacher Education students and teachers at MI Al-Islamiyah Karanganyar
Paiton. This study uses a qualitative approach with a case study type of research. Data collection
techniques were carried out by interviews and observation. Data analysis techniques using data
reduction, data presentation and drawing conclusions. The results of this study indicate that
preparing to become a revolutionary teacher in the digital era takes several steps, namely;
strengthening personal branding, increasing teacher competence TPACK and having tech savvy
abilities. This research has implications with the use of the TPACK approach, can prepare
themselves to become revolutionary teachers who are able to combine their knowledge with the
rapid development of technology in this digital era.
Keywords: Technology in education; revolutionary teacher; TPACK approach.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 CC BY-SA International License.
INTRODUCTION
Information and communication technology is part of the aspect that marks the
progress of the times in the order of human civilization which cannot be avoided and is
very influential in world life in the 21st century era (Gazali & Pransisca, 2021). The
development of information and communication technology sector as one of the products
of changing times offers new things for education. (Iqbali, 2019). It can be understood that
the information and communication technology sector is one of the products of changing
times that offers new things to the world of education. adjustments to the use of
information and communication technology in the learning process will certainly become a
global demand that drags the world of education to be involved and adapt to technological
evolution (Rozi & Jannah, 2022). This happens because of the aspects of attractiveness,
effectiveness, and efficiency proposed by educational reforms with digital technology
nuances (Hanik et al., 2022).
The use of technology in education is certainly very impressive for human
sustainability in managing it (Salsabila et al., 2021). Because in today's modern era,
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education is a one-way way to strengthen all human potential needs in an optimal and
integrated manner (Nu’man et al., 2021). However, education that has been infiltrated by
technology must be able to position itself with the flow of change so that it is not covered
by negative changes that can affect the future of the nation's children (Nusa et al., 2021).
In the implementation of education, the existence of teachers is the spearhead as a
subject that greatly influences the existence of education (Sari, 2021 & Sukarja, 2019). The
teacher functions as a learning resource that plays a dominant role and is the highest
authority in science (Suwarni et al., 2018). The importance of the role of a teacher has been
proven by the Japanese empire during the war against the allies, where the two largest
cities in Japan, namely Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed by the allies which killed
most of the population. When disaster strikes, the emperor asks the most important thing at
the time, which is "how many masters are left?" This proves the very large role of the
teacher for the progress of a country (Akbar, 2021).
The appearance of a teacher characterized by excellence in nationalism, soul, faith,
piety, mastery of science and technology, work ethic and discipline, insight into the future,
career certainty, and physical and spiritual well-being are things that must be possessed by
a revolutionary teacher (Mubarak et al., 2022). But apart from all that, being a
revolutionary teacher is not just teaching or transferring knowledge, skills and technology
an sich or just acting as a model for their students, but teachers must also act as
communicators, learning resources, facilitators, guides, demonstrators, innovators. , and
others (Baharun et al., 2020 & Hapsari & Fatimah, 2021).
Becoming a revolutionary teacher in this digital era is of course a big homework for
an educator who must transform from a classical teacher into a smart technology teacher
who can apply himself with artificial intelligence. It is not without reason that a teacher
must be literate because in fact students are much more familiar with the developments in
the world of technology today, lest the teacher's technological level is below the students'
level, of course this will boomerang and reduce the degree of credibility as an educator.
Revolutionary teachers need new resources to select appropriate learning content to
improve student understanding and learning outcomes. An example of an appropriate
pedagogical approach that can be used in 21st century education is Technology Pedagogy
Content Knowledge (TPACK). Technology Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) is
knowledge about how teachers can use technology in the teaching and learning process in
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new ways (Farikah & Al Firdaus, 2020) and it is new knowledge that teachers must do to
apply technology effectively according to learning needs (Rahmadi, 2019).
There are many phenomena that occur, there are still many students and teachers
who often experience problems in the field and the most important thing is related to
technology, especially in terms of the application of information and communication
technology in planning, implementing, evaluating and managing education. This is because
they have not been able to combine technology, teaching, scientific/technical content and
communication in applying information technology science and the development and
implementation of knowledge in their field of expertise. No exception also happened to
PGMI students at Nurul Jadid Paiton University, Probolinggo and teachers at MI Al-
Islamiyah. As a revolutionary teacher in this digital era, of course, he must be
technologically literate and able to keep up with the rapid pace of technology in education
as it is today, teachers who are clueless and tend to close themselves off will make their
students behave understimate, because our prospective students are the 'Millennial
Generation'. where they are close friends spending a lot of time on digital technology
devices.
In response to this phenomenon, a teacher must always improve and update his or her
quality according to the demands of the times so that he can understand the increasingly
complex needs of students in the future and a teacher must also have Higher Order
Thinking Skills which are important factors that can be applied in the learning process
(Suardipa, 2018). Teachers in the learning process can vary the way of delivering material
to their students by associating technology or things around them so that they can be
utilized so as to shape the character of students who are able to communicate, think clearly,
independently and be able to get along with other people. Revolutionary teachers are not
teachers who are only able to convey material in an interesting way, nor are they teachers
who are technologically proficient. Revolutionary teachers are teachers who have
competence in harmony between technology, pedagogy, and material content.
In this case as a revolutionary teacher can apply a technology, pedagogy, content,
knowledge (TPACK) approach which can combine aspects of knowledge (Knowledge/K),
teaching methods (Pedagogy/P), learning materials (Content/C) and ICT (Technology/ T)
(Murtafiah et al., 2022). Of course, it can be a solution to the above phenomenon that can
be developed by the teacher in the learning process. TPACK is a framework that can
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integrate the relationship between components of technology, pedagogy and knowledge
content needed to support becoming a revolutionary teacher (Rahayu, 2019). TPACK
consists of Technological Knowledge (TK) Pedagogical Knowledge (PK), Content
Knowledge (CK), Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), Technological Content
Knowledge (TCK) Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK) Technological
Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) (Amartya, 2022).
Many researchers have previously conducted research on TPACK, including that
carried out by Lase (2022) that through the TPACK approach can improve student learning
outcomes in Numbers material in the learning process by combining using the problem
based learning (PBL) learning model. In addition, Patmisari et al (2021) also stated that
through this approach a correlation test could be carried out between the use of the TPACK
approach and the formation of student welfare (well-being).
In previous research, it has been described that the use of the TPACK approach can
improve student learning outcomes and can test the correlation of the formation of student
well-being. in the research that the researcher will examine has a different discussion but
uses the same approach. Researchers will examine all aspects related to teacher
competence and the steps to become a revolutionary teacher who is demanded to advance
in the 21st century, of course this is something unique in this research because there has
been no previous research discussing this topic. The importance of this research is to
encourage teachers to further improve their quality by blending all their knowledge with
current technological advances and teachers are not only oriented towards the classical
learning process but must be directly proportional to the current situation so that there are
no gaps in inequality and of course teachers are always ready with the development of the
times that are entering the 5.0 era or what is called Society 5.0. Researchers hope that this
research can provide literacy and renewal even though it uses the same approach.
Departing from these problems, the researchers focused on this research on how to
become revolutionary teacher candidates in the digital era with a technology pedagogy
content knowledge (TPACK) approach that is in accordance with the development of this
modern era.
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RESEARCH METHOD
In this study, researchers used a qualitative research approach with a case study type
of research conducted at MI Al-Islamiyah Karanganyar Paiton Probolinggo. This research
was conducted to examine readiness as a teacher regarding what steps should be taken with
the development of the use of technology in education in the digitalization era through the
TPACK (technology, pedagogy, content, knowledge) approach.
Sources of information in this study were obtained from informants in zoom meeting
seminars, PGMI students at Nurul Jadid Paiton University Probolinggo, Head of Madrasah
MI Al-Islamiyah and several teacher councils as informant subjects because they were
primary sources. Data collection techniques were carried out by interviews and
observation. Based on the results of interviews and surveys conducted, researchers
performed data analysis techniques consisting of data collection, data reduction, data
presentation and analysis of conclusions. It is at this data reduction stage that the
researcher tries to select, simplify and summarize the material during interviews and
observations.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Knowledge Content Pedagogical Technology Approach (TPACK)
Being a revolutionary teacher, of course, one must be prepared to have an open
attitude towards technology which is running rapidly at any time. The teacher must be able
to recognize technology as a bridge in delivering and monitoring learning outcomes which
is a challenge and a future need in education. One of them teachers need to know what is
TPACK?. TPACK is a complex interaction consisting of three main forms of knowledge:
Content, Pedagogy, and Technology (Nugroho et al., 2019). TPACK is known in the
research field as a framework for developing pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) which
was first proposed by Shulman in 1986 where teachers must know pedagogical knowledge
(PK) and content knowledge (CK). PCK interaction diagram as shown below.
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Conten
t
PCK
Pedagogy
Context
Figure 1. PCK Relationship
Based on Figure 1 it can be stated that pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is a
subset of content knowledge (C) and pedagogical knowledge (P). In other languages, it is a
way of representing and formulating a topic so that it can be understood comprehensively.
Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) describes the relationship between basic content
knowledge in teaching and the three domains needed and applied by teachers in classroom
learning by considering the current situation.
Along with the rapid development of technology and entering the era of the
Industrial Revolution 4.0, the ability to learn technology in learning is important for
teachers and prospective teachers, so that PCK and technology are then combined to
become TPACK which consists of 7 components of knowledge (Nevrita et al., 2020). The
TPACK framework expands on Shulman's notion of Knowledge Content Pedagogy (PCK)
as shown below.
Figure 2. The seven components of TPACK (Maknun, 2022)
In Figure 2, the components in the TPACK approach are as follows:
First, Technological Knowledge (TK) or what is also called technological
knowledge, namely knowledge about the basic elements of technology that can be used to
support learning in the classroom. For example the use of software, event animation,
internet access, molecular models, virtual laboratories and others (Baktiningsih et al.,
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2020). Second, Content Knowledge (CK), namely knowledge of the subject matter
contained in the curriculum (Dwi Kristanto et al., 2020). A teacher is expected to have this
expertise in his teaching activities because content knowledge is very important in
determining the way of thinking of each discipline he studies. Third, Pedagogy Knowledge
(PK) explains in-depth knowledge related to teaching and learning theory and practice,
including objectives, processes, evaluation of learning methods, strategies and others
(Candra et al., 2020).
Furthermore, Fourth, Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), which is flexible
knowledge that is formed when the teacher interprets the subject matter, looks for various
ways to present it, adjusts and modifies teaching materials to suit the background
knowledge of students. PCK creates linkages between curriculum, pedagogy, and
evaluation. This element was the starting point for the emergence of TPACK initiated by
Koehler & Mishra (Oztay & Boz, 2022). In short, it can be stated that PCK is knowledge
that represents content knowledge and applies pedagogical strategies to make certain
content/topics easier for students to understand (Wardani, 2022). Fifth, Technological
Content Knowledge (TCK), namely knowledge of how technology can create new images
of certain materials, including mastery of basic knowledge about technology and learning
content (Habibi et al., 2022). Sixth, Knowledge of Technology Pedagogy (TPK) is
knowledge of how various technologies can be used in teaching and using technology
(Furqon Arbianto et al., 2019). Seventh, Technology Pedagogy Content Knowledge
(TPACK) is an integration of technological knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and
content knowledge, including how pedagogical and technological approaches to certain
content can facilitate student learning (Reski & Sari, 2020).
Revolutionary Teacher in the Digital Age
The current era of education has been affected by the industrial revolution 4.0 or
what is called education 4.0, which is the main feature of education that utilizes cyber
systems and takes place continuously without space and borderless boundaries. Nowadays,
it is a big challenge for a teacher in the digital era to prepare skills and mentality to have an
advantage in entering a global competitive advantage.
In this digital era, being a teacher is not only enough to have pedagogic knowledge
and professional knowledge, but also must have the mentality of a revolutionary teacher.
Revolutionary teachers are teachers who are oriented towards fundamental and
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comprehensive changes. The meaning of a revolutionary teacher is a teacher who in his
heart, mind and soul has the power to break into great changes to break down the existing
order to carry out reforms.
Revolutionary teachers have distinctive characteristics that distinguish them from
ordinary teachers, including; First, teachers must always learn to improve their quality.
This means that a teacher must always hone his knowledge in order to balance the abilities
of his students who are millennial generations whose figures are proficient with the digital
world. Second, the teacher must always make updates. For example, from the point of view
of the learning process in the classroom both in terms of approaches, methods and
strategies. Third, the teacher is on standby all the time. This means that even though
students' technological advances are progressing faster and faster than their teachers, a
teacher has his own wisdom in providing an understanding of science and technology to
his students by accompanying them so they are able to use their heart and reason wisely in
utilizing information technology. This role is the true definition of a teacher which will
never be replaced and replaced by modern technology that is so advanced.
Steps to Become a Revolutionary Teacher in the Digital Age
As a revolutionary teacher of 21st century learning, its main goal is to strengthen
students' learning abilities and support their development into lifelong, active and
independent learners (Tarihoran, 2019). Being a teacher, of course, must understand and
master the intellectual curiosity of students, be able to identify and solve problems and
know how to do something new and better than before. In order to realize being a
revolutionary teacher in this modern era which awakens the teacher's awareness of the
obligation of lifelong learning and in harmony with the rapidly developing pace of digital
technology development, special steps are needed to become a revolutionary teacher
candidate in the coming years:
1. Strengthening Personal Branding
Teacher personal branding is a strengthening effort made by the teacher
concerned in showing a positive self-image to someone who is the target. A teacher
will display a number of strengths and uniqueness that is not found in any teacher.
This will certainly make people know the teacher based on his strengths and
goodness. There are so many benefits of the importance of personal branding for
teachers, one of which strengthens credibility.