Wiki TPACK Final

TPACK Problem description
Students often have difficulty relating to the Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Meaning is derived from extensive use of imagery and it can be difficult to distinguish the storyline from the similes, personifications, metaphors and symbolism that characterizes the language.
Content Components
Understanding imagery, simile, personification and metaphor as literary devices, distinguishing one from another and understanding the tone and feeling this language creates.
Pedagogical Components
Differentiated learning, multiple strategies addressing personal relevance.

1. What is the Pedagogical Content Knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically do your pedagogical choices make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible? Be sure to think about how the student will experience the content given these instructional strategies.


In order for the students to want to understand The Heart of Darkness they need to see why the work is personally relevant to them. My students are not sailors in the early 18th century, but on a human level, they can relate to the tone and feelings expressed in the work. They have also been children with a sense of adventure and by breaking down the use of imagery in the language into simple literary terms, the story will unlock a tale full of mystery and adventure.
a) Perhaps I would bring in a movie scene of sitting around the camp fire telling scary stories, such as the film Now and Then or Stand by Me because they contain scenarios similar to the introduction to Heart of Darkness. Marlow and the sailors are sitting on the boat telling a story while they wait for the tide to come in. My students respond well to film and they will be more likely to make the connection between the two scenarios. Next I would begin by asking them if they liked to read fairy tales or adventure tales when they were younger or if they told each other scary stories when camping or on sleepovers. Then I would ask them to take 5 minutes to think about and write down a time that they were on a journey, when they felt that they were afraid or in an unsafe place and what images came to mind when they thought about this. I would then ask them to write down and post in our wiki chat what images came to mind. By doing this, they will use their own words to describe an image, much in the same way Joseph Conrad uses imagery in the Heart of Darkness.
b) Then we would begin the book by reading the first scene out loud. This is the scene where the main character Marlow tells the sailors about his adventures on the Kongo river. This portion of the book is relatively easy to read and it sets the reader up for the story to come.
c) For the next lesson I would ask them to read the assigned pages and write down at least 5 uses of imagery in the Heart of Darkness. The next class I will ask them to bring the images they wrote down on 5 separate pieces of paper or sticky notes and work in groups of 4-5 to sort the imagery into categories – similes, personification, metaphors, etc. Then I would ask them to choose one of the images from the Heart of Darkness and take 5 minutes to think about how they could use it to describe their own experiences that they wrote about in the wiki chat the previous class.

2. What is the TP knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how does the technology you have chosen support the teaching strategies and methods you have chosen?)


The most important technology I will use to approach Heart of Darkness is the Wiki we will use consistently throughout the class. The reason for using this piece of technology is that my students are very familiar with this type of social networking and it would be a natural extension for them to bring this type of technology into the classroom to address the literature they are reading. We may use Edmodo because it has a simple interface that allows chat and a lot of teacher control in an enclosed environment. This Wiki will be used to post important links (to reliable sources for reference materials and resources, an agenda, materials covered, weekly assignments and a log of what we have covered. The assignments posted to the wiki will include:
a) Writing (or speaking) from the voice of one of the characters.
b) Writing a passage in the literary style of the author
c) A personal responses to Marlows’ view of the natives and linking this type of cultural thinking to similar scenarios in their own lives today (this should be relatively simple for my students since they are in an international environment where cultural misunderstandings and prejudices are somewhat familiar)
d) Student posting images they feel represent the mood, landscape or characters in the Heart of Darkness to create a visual library that represents the book.
Again because my students often relate more easily to the feelings expressed in a movie, I would bring in a key scene from Apocalypse Now, (which is based on the book Heart of Darkness) in the second or third lesson, using http://handbrake.com/. I will search for my film clips at http://movieclips.com/

3. What is the TC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically does this technology make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible? Be sure to think about representation.)


Using several technological approaches to access the Heart of Darkness will make the material accessible to more students. Posting assignments and responses questions in a wiki is a better way to communicate for some students who may be too shy to participate in a class discussion or ask questions about the work. For most it will be familiar setting for communication and a natural extension of the classroom. Uploading images to a central location and using visuals, such as film or images, to represent feelings and emotions may help make the language of the Heart of Darkness more accessible to many students.