Characterisation of teacher professional knowledge and skill through content representations from tertiary chemistry educators

This paper reports on a study which was designed to examine how CoRes (Content Representations) and PaP-eRs (Pedagogical and Professional-experience Repertoires) might impact the practice of science teachers by considering how they might value (or not) pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) as part of their professional knowledge. The paper is based on a 2 year longitudinal study that used CoRes and PaP-eRs as a form of intervention with a group of teachers (n = 6) to determine how they interpreted, used and developed their understanding of PCK over time. The study concluded that the participating teachers developed rich understandings of their professional knowledge of science teaching and were of the view that CoRes and PaP-eRs were significant in shaping that development. As a consequence, the study also validates the use of CoRes and PaP-eRs as a meaningful methodology for examining science teachers’ PCK.

The qualitative research study explored Bangladeshi secondary science teacher’s experiences working in a professional learning community (PLC) in terms of enhancing professional knowledge in learning pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). The research questions that guided this study are: (1) What are the learning experiences of the secondary science teachers regarding their involvement in a Professional Learning Community (PLC) as a means of professional learning for enhancing their Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK)? (2) How do Secondary Science teachers apply their learning from Professional Learning Communities (PLC) to their teaching plans and practices through the Content Representation (CoRe) framework? (3) How do secondary science teachers use the knowledge gained from participation in a professional learning community (PLC) to design and implement effective teaching strategies in their classrooms? The study is based on a constructivist approach to learning, which views knowledge construction as a socially mediated process. Therefore, teachers’ experiences were collected as qualitative data through analyzing teachers’ lesson plans and self-reflective journals. As a result, the findings showed teacher’s enhanced professional knowledge working in a PLC in sizing up the topic, identifying the importance of the topic, exploring self-content knowledge relevant to the topic, knowing what learners might think, identifying contextual factors choosing the topic and examples, selecting more appropriate teaching-learning and assessment strategies. The findings of this study are expected to provide insights into how PLCs can be utilized to enhance secondary science teacher’s PCK knowledge. This study is significant as it contributes to the literature on professional development for science teachers and offers practical recommendations for improving science teacher’s professional knowledge in learning PCK. Teacher’s World: Journal of Education and Research, 49 (1), 155-174

The purpose of this study was to examine experienced chemistry teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for two different topics in chemistry to better understand how PCK is specific to topic, including whether all components of PCK are topic-specific and to what degree. To explore the topic-specific nature of PCK, we examined two experienced teachers' PCK using a case study methodology. Multiple data collection strategies were used, including a card-sorting activity, Content Representation (CoRe), semi-structured interviews, observations, and field notes. The data collected were analyzed both deductively and inductively. Results revealed that the teachers used more content-based and teacher-centered instruction to teach electrochemistry, whereas their instruction was less teacher-centered, and included Science–Technology–Society–Environment discussions and implicit NOS instruction to teach nuclear reactions. The teachers also varied in the extent of their knowledge of learners and curriculum in comparing their PCK for each topic. In regard to assessment, the teachers' assessment practices were at the general PK level; they lacked topic-specific PCK for either topic. We provided recommendations for professional development programs, pre-service teacher education programs, and curriculum developers to support teachers in developing topic-specific PCK.

This study aimed to explore the occupational identities of early-career music teachers. Specifically, the project investigated how the occupational identities of two Chinese music teachers were influenced and shaped by pedagogical content knowledge and skills, professional knowledge and skills, self-knowledge, performer/teacher identities, and school context. Previous literature suggests that early-career teachers usually face inconsistencies between their expectations of what music teachers are and what they do, and the reality of how they are to survive and function in their workplaces (Ballantyne, 2007a; Cook, 2009; Kagan, 1992; Perkins & Triantafyllaki, 2013; Wagoner, 2011). Those who fail to adjust their expectations to the real teaching environment may experience frustrations or drop out of the teaching occupation. An effective way to secure teachers’ commitments to their occupation and ensure success in the field is to develop a functional and productive teacher identity (Akkerman & Meijer, 2011; Ballantyne, 2005; Ballantyne, Kerchner, & Arostegui, 2012; Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009; Britzman, 2003; Hoban, 2007; Scheib et al., 2007), as identity can shape the teacher’s disposition, professional expectations, and occupational obligations (Hammerness, 2005). Negotiation between idealised and realised identities can be especially difficult for music teachers (Ballantyne, 2007a) because they also face the challenge of inadequate resources, multiple responsibilities, high workload, professional isolation, and a low level of music perception in school communities (Wagoner, 2011). Despite a wide acceptance of this notion, the development of music teachers’ occupational identities may receive little attention in their early teaching years (Ballantyne, 2007a; Wagoner, 2011). My motivation for embarking on this study rests with a desire to understand the ways in which self-knowledge influences early-career music teachers’ level of commitment to being a music teacher. Specifically through an explanation from the basic psychological needs perspective, I sought to find out why music teachers exhibit varying thoughts and behaviours when they face similar challenges and difficulties in the pedagogical, professional and school context. Using the methodological approach of case studies, data were gathered by interviewing the two teacher participants, their mentors and colleagues. These data were then constructed into case descriptions of each teacher within their school context. The findings of this study suggest that occupational identities of Chinese early-career music teachers can include musician, performer and music teacher. The distinctions between the idealised and realised lives of music teachers are mainly influenced by having to undertake tasks outside their professional areas, difficulties in effective teaching, classroom management and student discipline, and low salaries and status within the school. Importantly, the study found that fulfilling the psychological needs of relatedness, competency and autonomy at work are beneficial for early-career music teachers in maintaining confidence and knowledge. Fulfilling these needs enables them to reconstruct an appropriate music teacher identity, allowing them to function in their workplace. Another significant outcome of the research found that early-career music teachers who have more intrinsic motivations than extrinsic motivations at work will more readily accept the realised school context and develop a positive attitude towards teaching. The last finding of the study is that early-career music teachers are not equally influenced or shaped by pedagogical content knowledge and skills, professional knowledge and skills, self-knowledge, performer/teacher identities, and school context. The case studies in this thesis revealed that self-knowledge and performer/teacher identities are the two most important themes; they are mutually constitutive, dually influencing, and are shaped by the other three themes (pedagogical content knowledge and skills, professional knowledge and skills, and school context). This finding reinforces the need for pre-service and in-service music teachers to critically reflect upon how their occupational identities are shaped by their basic psychological needs and work motivation. Such reflection could enable early-career music teachers to negotiate their idealised teacher identities with their realised teacher identities, assisting them to adapt to their working lives and increase their effectiveness as professionals.

A detailed insight into how the current educational climate influences the pedagogical decisions made by primary school teachers when teaching games is limited. Studies examining the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of teachers within physical education have revealed its close relationship with specific forms of subject knowledge. In recognition of this, Veal and MaKinster's framework of general, domain and topic-specific PCK was employed to examine 12 primary school teachers' PCK of games. It was concluded that when personal experiences of pedagogy and content knowledge are unchallenged and reinforced by teachers' training and continuing professional development (CPD) programmes, very narrow topic-specific PCK results. This PCK was characterised bythe inseparable paring of constricted pedagogical strategies and limited content knowledge. When teachers do not integrate this very narrow topic-specific PCK with other types of PCK, it has significant repercussions upon the planned curriculum and learning experiences offered to pupils.

ABSTRACTThis paper concludes the Special Issue (SI) ‘Probing the Amalgam: the relationship between science teachers’ content, pedagogical and pedagogical content knowledge’. We review the five papers (Sorge et al; Gess-Newsome et al; Kind; Pitjeng-Mosabala and Rollnick; and Liepertz and Bronowski) by discussing evidence these present regarding the relationships between content knowledge (CK), pedagogical knowledge (PK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK); the development of CK, PK and PCK in novice and experienced secondary science teachers and how CK, PK and/or PCK impact students’ learning. In conclusion, we draw these findings together in offering proposals for future research via reconsideration of Shulman’s amalgam. This includes post-hoc examination of a PCK model known as ‘the Consensus Model’ (Gess-Newsome, [2015]. A model of teacher professional knowledge and skill including PCK: Results of the thinking from the PCK Summit. In A. Berry, P. J. Friedrichsen, & J. Loughran (Eds.), Re-examining Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Science Education (pp. 28–42). New York, NY: Routledge; Neumann, Kind, & Harms [2018]. Probing the amalgam: The relationship between science teachers’ content, pedagogical and pedagogical content knowledge. International Journal of Science Education, 1–15) and presentation of a novel PCK structure based on evidence from the SI studies.

In view of the lack of instruments for measuring biology teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), this article reports on a study about the development of PCK items for measuring teachers' knowledge of pupils' errors and ways for dealing with them. This study investigated 9th and 10th grade German pupils' (n = 461) drawings in an achievement test about the knee-jerk in biology, which were analysed by using the inductive qualitative analysis of their content. The empirical data were used for the development of the items in the PCK test. The validation of the items was determined with think-aloud interviews of German secondary school teachers (n = 5). If the item was determined, the reliability was tested by the results of German secondary school biology teachers (n = 65) who took the PCK test. The results indicated that these items are satisfactorily reliable (Cronbach's alpha values ranged from 0.60 to 0.65). We suggest a larger sample size and American biology teachers be used in our further studies. The findings of this study about teachers' professional knowledge from the PCK test could provide new information about the influence of teachers' knowledge on their pupils' understanding of biology and their possible errors in learning biology.

Professional knowledge is an important source of science teachers' actions in the classroom (e.g., personal professional content knowledge [pedagogical content knowledge, PCK] is the source of enacted PCK in the refined consensus model [RCM] for PCK). However, the evidence for this claim is ambiguous at best. This study applied a cross‐lagged panel design to examine the relationship between professional knowledge and actions in one particular instructional situation: explaining physics. Pre‐ and post a field experience (one semester), 47 preservice physics teachers from four different universities were tested for their content knowledge (CK), PCK, pedagogical knowledge (PK), and action‐related skills in explaining physics. The study showed that joint professional knowledge (the weighted sum of CK, PCK, and PK scores) at the beginning of the field experience impacted the development of explaining skills during the field experience (β= .38**). We interpret this as a particular relationship between professional knowledge and science teachers' action‐related skills (enacted PCK): professional knowledge is necessary for the development of explaining skills. That is evidence that personal PCK affects enacted PCK. In addition, field experiences are often supposed to bridge the theory‐practice gap by transforming professional knowledge into instructional practice. Our results suggest that for field experiences to be effective, preservice teachers should start with profound professional knowledge.

هدفت الدراسة إلى استقصاء فعالية تخطيط الدرس في تنمية المعرفة البيداغوجية للمحتوى الرياضي لدى الطلبة/المعلمين. اهتم الباحثون في العقدين الأخيرين بمعرفة المعلم المهنية، ومن هنا ظهر الاهتمام بالمعرفة البيداغوجية للمحتوى کمکون أساسي لمعرفة المعلم. المعرفة البيداغوجية للمحتوى الرياضي هي مزيج من معرفة المعلمين العميقة لمحتوى الرياضيات، ومعرفتهم لخصائص المتعلمين فيما يتعلق بالمحتوى الرياضي، ومعرفتهم لأصول التدريس الضرورية لمساعدة المتعلمين على تعلم المحتوى الرياضي. في الدراسة الحالية تم مطالبة الطلبة المعلمين بتحضير سبعة دروس وفقا لنموذج مقترح لتخطيط الدرس. شارک في الدراسة ٣٠ طالبا معلما من طلاب الفرقة الثالثة شعبة الرياضيات. تم استخدام المنهج شبه التجريبي في إعداد أدوات المعالجة التجريبية للدراسة وتطبيقها باستخدام تصميم المجموعة الواحدة ذات القياس القبلي البعدي. تم جمع البيانات من خلال مقياس المعرفة البيداغوجية للمحتوى الرياضي واختبار المعرفة الرياضية اللازمة لتدريس الجبر وتحليل تخطيط درس رياضيات. أظهرت نتائج الدراسة فعالية تخطيط الدرس في تنمية المعرفة البيداغوجية للمحتوى الرياضي لدى الطلبة/المعلمين. وفي ضوء نتائج الدراسة، تم تقديم التوصيات المناسبة. This study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of lesson plan in the development of mathematical pedagogical content knowledge of students / teachers. In the last two decades, researchers interested in the professional knowledge of teachers, therefore pedagogical content knowledge became an essential ingredient for the teacher's knowledge. Mathematical pedagogical content knowledge is a combination of teachers’ deep knowledge of math content, their knowledge of the characteristics of learners in respect of the content, and their knowledge of pedagogy. In the current study, students/teachers were required to prepare seven lesson plans according to a suggested model. The study group consisted of 30 pre-service math teachers. The quasi-experimental approach was used in the preparation of the experimental treatment study tools and applied using the design of one group with pre and post test. Data were collected through the mathematical pedagogical content knowledge questionnaire, mathematical knowledge test, and analysis of lesson plans. Study results showed the effectiveness of lesson plan in the development of mathematical pedagogical content knowledge of students / teachers. In light of the results of the study, appropriate recommendations were presented.

Research interest in the professional knowledge of mathematics teachers has grown considerably in recent years. In the COACTIV project, tests of secondary mathematics teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and content knowledge (CK) were developed and implemented in a sample of teachers whose classes participated in the PISA 2003/04 longitudinal assessment in Germany. The present article investigates the validity of the COACTIV constructs of PCK and CK. To this end, the COACTIV tests of PCK and CK were administered to various “contrast populations,” namely, candidate mathematics teachers, mathematics students, teachers of biology and chemistry, and advanced school students. The hypotheses for each population’s performance in the PCK and CK tests were formulated and empirically tested. In addition, the article compares the COACTIV approach with related conceptualizations and findings of two other research groups.

Preservice teachers enter professional teacher education programs with personally constructed (but often implicit and unexamined) knowledge of what good teaching is and what kind of teachers they wish to become. If they are unable to connect new and/or expanded professional knowledge of teaching with their own unexamined narrative knowledge of teaching, professional knowledge presented in courses remains decontextualized theory; their personal narrative knowledge of teaching remains implicit and unexamined; and they teach as they believe they were taught. Here the use of four versions of narrative inquiry with preservice teachers are examined. Each one—Response to Practicum Experiences, Responses to Readings, Small and Large Group Discussions, and Reflection Papers—is intended to enable students to explore narrative assumptions that contribute to their images of teaching. Each form of narrative inquiry enables students to explore unexamined parts of their personal and professional knowledge of teaching and link these in explicit ways.

This article outlines a systematic process for developing the different knowledge domains required for teaching sound-based (electroacoustic) music as a new subject area. As a new area within the discipline of music, teachers are novices to the field. This requires epistemological deconstruction ofwhat knowledgeteachers need in this new field. Then the analysis outlineshow todevelop teachers’ new knowledge, which can be constructed assubject content knowledge(SCK),pedagogic content knowledge(PCK) andtechnology pedagogic content knowledge(TPACK). This epistemological analysis informed our creation of teaching materials that develop these different knowledge domains and take account of the complex interplay between them. This process was demonstrated through the ElectroAcoustic Resource Site Projects, which first builtsubject content knowledgeand then created teacher’s packs to buildpedagogic content knowledge, and a bespoke CPD programme, which embedded their inter-relationships and builttechnology pedagogic content knowledge. Most importantly, creating the teacher’s packs employed a user-centred design approach, putting teachers and pupils in the centre of the development process, thereby giving them voice. Voice is an integral part of empowerment in our model, which disrupts the hegemonic grip of the academic curriculum dominated by the traditional music canon. This article adds to the knowledge-base regarding how to develop the different domains required for teaching a new subject. We argue that sound-based music is accessible to all teachers and learners, thereby increasing inclusivity. This in turn can radically disrupt ways of teaching music in schools and the model created provides the necessary scaffolding for a paradigm shift in music teaching on an international level.

This study examined the influence of an intensive chemical demonstration workshop on fostering pedagogical content knowledge growth among science teachers identified as novice chemical demonstrators. The two‐week summer workshop was designed around four training elements considered important to effective teacher in‐servicing: theory, modeling, practice, and feedback. Clinical interviews served to probe various aspects of novice demonstrators' pedagogical content knowledge prior to and after the workshop. The interview protocols were analyzed using the methods of taxonomic, componential, and theme analysis. Differences in pre‐ and postworkshop clinical interview responses suggested growth in novices' representational and adaptational repertoires for demonstrating fundamental topics in chemistry. This growth was reflected in the increased number of chemical demonstrations and demonstration variations on each of the target chemical concepts that the novice demonstrators discussed after the in‐service intervention. Their interview responses also suggested an increased awareness of the complexity of several chemical demonstrations, how these complexities could interfere with learning, and how simplified variations of the chemical demonstrations could promote science concept understanding. The research findings suggest that science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge in chemistry can be enhanced through intensive, short‐term in‐service programs.

Political didactics is a field that has long resisted examination of teaching efficacy. Of particular importance are questions concerning what teaching personnel know and where their content-based expert knowledge comes from, what is to be taught and how teachers deal with problems in understanding content. Teachers’ professional knowledge can be divided into ‘content knowledge’ (CK), ‘pedagogical content knowledge’ (PCK) and pedagogical knowledge. Beliefs regarding teaching and learning processes, pupils have active or passive, receptive or constructive roles ascribed to them. These roles are generally distinguished as the basic positions of constructivist and transmission-based concepts of teaching and learning. This study collected the results for German gymnasium teachers (N=196). 38.6 per cent of respondents were female, on average the age of respondents stands at 43.5 years old (SD=11.4). The assumptions about the structure of subject-specific professional knowledge are checked by comparing a one-dimensional IRT model with various multidimensional ones. The model comparison shows a statistically significant model improvement for the two-dimensional model distinguishing between CK and PCK. PCK can be divided into normative political didactic discourses in one dimension and lessonbased items in a second dimension. Investigation of the structural assumptions shows that politics teachers’ beliefs on teaching and learning can be integrated into overlapping belief syndromes. Cognitive constructivist orientations go hand in hand with greater subject interest, while transmission-based orientations tend to be related to less interest in politics. There is a slightly significant small negative correlation between a constructivist orientation and lesson-based knowledge (LBK). Those who have been teaching for a long time attain lower scores in the subject-specific didactic part of the test. Participation in further training only has an impact on normative and not on LBK.

In the context of the impact teachers have on students’ learning (teachers matter), there is an increasing interest in teachers’ competences, which are seen as an amalgam of professional knowledge, beliefs, motivational orientation, and self-regulation. Following Shulman, professional knowledge in turn comprises content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. In line with these categories of professional teacher knowledge, we define the ability to identify students’ errors and the knowledge about typical, domain-specific students’ errors as content knowledge (CK), whereas the ability to tailor learning opportunities (errors can be used as learning opportunities), to give adequate feedback and to foster learning from errors is seen as a facet of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Both facets are essential if teachers want to support student learning from errors. In this chapter we define central competence facets and present the state of research on teacher competence, teacher professional competence in general and professional error competence in particular. Furthermore, we describe the German system of vocational education and teacher education and give reasons why our research is situated in the domain of accounting. These general explanations are intended to serve as a basis for all following chapters.