Monica Tubbesing Blog TPACK

Monica Tubbesing's TPACK discussion.

The Technology, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) is a framework first introduced by Punia Mishra and Mathew J. Koehler in 2006. There are three domains that are interconnected and should be balanced to integrate technology into the classroom. The domains are a) Content Knowledge (CK), b) Pedagogical Knowledge PK), and c) Technological Knowledge. This framework is visually learned by the intersection of three circles, each circle representing a domain (Kurt, 2018). 

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) developed seven competencies or standards for students. Many countries have embraced these competences. These standards prepare students to navigate through technology to shift from a teacher learning environment into a student driven environment.  

The ISTE seven competencies for students are a) Empowered Learner, b) Digital Citizenship, c) Knowledge Constructor, d) Innovative Designer, e) Computational Thinker, f) Creative Communicator, g) Global collaborator (ISTE 2025a). 

The ISTE seven competences for teachers are compared to a road map used by teachers to help the students drive their learning. The competencies are a) Learner, b) Leader, c) Citizen, d) Collaborator, e) Designer, f) Facilitator, g) Analyst (ISTE, 2025b)  

The organization chosen for this discussion is the University of Northen Colorado, specifically the Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Students attend classes and participate in some hybrid courses. The school advertises a nursing program that provides skills and experiences necessary for earning a nursing license and excel in the profession (University of Northern Colorado, 2022).  

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) is the regulatory body that protects the safety of the public by regulating the profession of nursing. After graduating with a nursing degree students must obtain a nursing license from the state they want to practice. Nursing practice is guided by the State Board of nursing; each state has different requirements, known as the Nursing Practice Act. (National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2025). 

A nursing license is granted after the graduated nursing student passes The National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) which is an entry-level practice test that uses computerized adaptive testing (CAT) technology or computer chosen questions based on previous responses (NCLEX, 2025). 

Contex discussion: The University of Northern Colorado could use the TPACK framework to guide and support technology use practices based on the ISTE standard in the nursing program. The success of a nursing program can be measured by the NCLEX passing rate of the students. This nursing program advertises 95 to 100 percent passing rate (University of Northern Colorado, 2022). 

A nursing student with who is an a) Empowered Learner, b) Digital Citizenship, c) Knowledge Constructor, d) Innovative Designer, e) Computational Thinker, f) Creative Communicator, g) Global collaborator will be a very successful nurse. 

Relevance discussion: The TPACK framework brings together the nurse educator experience, the nursing knowledge the student needs for graduation, and the technology knowledge the student and future nurse will need during and after school. 

The TPACK framework can help instructors to prepare nurses. Nursing is an evolving profession because healthcare is always changing, nurses work in different settings from home, at hospitals, at nursing homes, at patient’s homes, schools, and others. Some nurses move into Advance Practice and can prescribe medications (Perdue Global, 2025) 

ISTE alignment discussion: according to DeSantis (2016) there is not a relationship between the TPACK and the ISTE standards, but both can be used. TPACK measures the teacher's readiness to use technology and ISTE allows teachers to use technology in the curriculum. The teacher should not rely on one of them but should use both to “cultivate both technology knowledge and their tangible proficiencies with technology tools.” DeSantis (2016). 

Evaluation discussion: The TPACK framework is currently used to develop evaluations of student nurses. TPACK is currently used in nursing education requiring simulation. Nurses learn from case scenarios. There are a variety of programs that assist educators to evaluate the critical thinking skills and knowledge of the student nurses, some of them such as Sherpath measures knowledge and Simchart for charting education (Elsevier, 2025).  

 

References 

DeSantis, J. (2016). Investigating the relationship between TPAK and the ISTE standards for teachers. Issues and trends in educational technology, vol 4 (1). doi:10.2458/azu_itet_v4i1_desantis 

Elsevier (2025). Supporting nurse educators adopting digital learning solutions. https://www.elsevier.com/resources/supporting-nurse-educators-adopting-digital-learning-solutions  

International Society for Technology in Education. (2025a). ISTE standards for educators. https://iste.org/standards/students 

International Society for Technology in Education. (2025b). ISTE standards for educators. https://iste.org/standards/educators 

Kurt, S. (2019, September 16). TPACK: Technology Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework. Educational Technology. https://educationaltechnology.net/technological-pedagogical-content-knowledge-tpack-framework/  

National Council of State Boards of Nursing. (2025). About U.S. nursing regulatory bodies. https://www.ncsbn.org/nursing-regulation/about-nursing-regulatory-bodies.page  

NCLEX (2025). COMPUTARIZED Adaptive Testing (CAT) A Look into the NCLEX Scoring Method. https://www.nclex.com/computerized-adaptive-testing.page 

Perdue Global (2025). Top 10 nursing trends for 2025. https://www.purdueglobal.edu/blog/nursing/top-10-nursing-trends/ 

University of Northern Colorado (2022, June 11). Nursing. Bachelor of Science of Nursing. https://www.unco.edu/programs/nursing/nursing-bsn/ 

National Council of State Boards of Nursing (2025). Find your nursing practice act. https://www.ncsbn.org/policy/npa.page