Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) is used to describe the knowledge teachers use to teach a specific subject to a specific audience. Although PCK is linked to student success and motivation, relatively little is known about the PCK of geography teachers. Through a mixed methods approach, we surveyed a group of 73 Dutch pre-service teachers in their final year of geography teacher education. We used the PCK-consensus model to address both PCK-on action (teacher knowledge) and PCK-in action (teacher practice). We investigated the former through a CoRe-assignment and the latter through a quantitative survey. Teacher’s PCK-in action focussed on teacher-centred lessons with ample attention for visualisations, current events, and efforts to engage students. The results for PCK-on action confirmed the content dependency of PCK. Pre-service teachers chose different geographical topics and used different goals and strategies when teaching these topics. In this context, we also found that they experienced difficulties when teaching controversial issues. In a final step, we combined the results of both methods for 9 teachers in individual PCK portraits. These portraits show that coherence between PCK-elements and, therefore, PCK-quality is still weak for most pre-service teachers. Consequently, their fragile subject matter knowledge seems to influence their developing PCK.
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Online supplements to Smit, E., Tuithof, H., Savelsbergh, E., & Béneker, T. (2023). Geography teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge: A systematic review. Journal of Geography. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221341.2023.2173796 Supplement 1: Extended information on selected studies Supplement 2: Full references of studies used in the review Supplement 3: Codebook Abstract: Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) is the knowledge teachers use to teach a specific subject to a specific audience. The importance of PCK to quality teaching is widely recognized. However, an overview of research about geography teachers’ PCK is missing. To fill this gap, we conducted a systematic review. We analyzed 43 empirical studies, but only 9 used PCK as a framework. Most studies addressed instructional strategies or teaching orientations. The studies were too diverse to draw conclusions on geography teachers’ PCK in general. But portraits of 16 geography teachers emphasized the necessity of geographical knowledge and teaching experience for PCK-quality.
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PCK is seen as the transformation of content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge into a different type of knowledge that is used to develop and carry out teaching strategies. To gain more insight into the extent to which PCK is content specific, the PCK about more topics or concepts should be compared. However, researchers have rarely compared teachers’ concrete PCK about more than one topic. To examine the content dependency of PCK, we captured the PCK of sixteen experienced Dutch history teachers about two historical contexts (i.e. topics) using interviews and Content Representation questionnaires. Analysis reveals that all history teachers’ PCK about the two contexts overlaps, although the degree of overlap differs. Teachers with relatively more overlap are driven by their overarching subject related goals and less by the historical context they teach. We discuss the significance of these outcomes for the role of teaching orientation as a part of PCK.
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Integrated curricula seem promising for the increase of attention on science and technology in primary education. A clear picture of the advantages and disadvantages of integration efforts could help curriculum innovation. This review has focussed on integrated curricula in primary education from 1994 to 2011. The integrated curricula were categorized according to a taxonomy of integration types synthesized from the literature. The characteristics that we deemed important were related to learning outcomes and success/fail factors. A focus group was formed to facilitate the process of analysis and to test tentative conclusions. We concluded that the levels in our taxonomy were linked to (a) student knowledge and skills, the enthusiasm generated among students and teachers, and the teacher commitment that was generated; and (b) the teacher commitment needed, the duration of the innovation effort, the volume and comprehensiveness of required teacher professional development, the necessary teacher support, and the effort needed to overcome tensions with standard curricula. Almost all projects were effective in increasing the time spent on science at school. Our model resolves Czerniac’s definition problem of integrating curricula in a productive manner, and it forms a practical basis for decision-making by making clear what is needed and what output can be expected when plans are being formulated to implement integrated education.
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Hoe wordt de breed geïmplementeerde mobiele technologie didactisch ingezet door leerkrachten en hoe kan deze inzet versterkt worden? Om op deze vragen antwoord te kunnen geven, hebben we een verkennend onderzoek uitgevoerd bij Atlant Basisonderwijs in de regio IJmond. Op basis van deze verkenning kunnen geïnformeerde beslissingen genomen worden ten aanzien van het ontwerpen, uitvoeren en evalueren van de innovatieve didactische inzet van mobiele technologie op de scholen die onder hetzelfde bestuur vallen. Het pedagogisch-didactisch model iPAC waarbij mobiel leren wordt ingezet ten behoeve van gepersonaliseerd leren, samenwerkend leren en authentieke leertaken, was bruikbaar om leerpraktijken te beschrijven. Vervolgens zijn we met focusgroepen in gesprek gegaan. In dit rapport zijn de bevindingen terug te lezen.
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Het doel van het verkennende onderzoek is om inzicht te krijgen in de huidige didactische inzet van de mobiele technologie door leerkrachten op de scholen en welke ondersteuningsbehoefte leerkrachten ervaren. Op basis van deze verkenning kunnen geïnformeerde beslissingen genomen worden ten aanzien van het ontwerpen, uitvoeren en evalueren van de innovatieve didactische inzet van mobiele technologie op de scholen. Belangrijke vragen hierbij waren: hoe zetten leerkrachten de mobiele technologie in voor leren en lesgeven, wat zijn de doelstellingen die de school daarmee wil bereiken, wat zijn belemmerende en stimulerende factoren en welke ondersteuningsbehoefte hebben leerkrachten? In het onderzoek is gebruik gemaakt van het pedagogisch-didactisch model iPAC om te beschrijven hoe mobiel leren wordt ingezet voor gepersonaliseerd leren, samenwerkend leren en authentieke leertaken. Met een vertaalde iPAC-vragenlijst voor leerkrachten is de huidige situatie in kaart gebracht. De resultaten hiervan zijn besproken in focusgroepen met leerkrachten, maar er is ook gesproken met leerlingen in focusgroepen en met leidinggevenden.
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Centraal staat de vraag van vijf basisscholen hoe de breed geïmplementeerde mobiele technologie didactisch wordt ingezet door leerkrachten en hoe deze inzet versterkt kan worden. Op basis van deze verkenning kunnen geïnformeerde beslissingen genomen worden ten aanzien van het ontwerpen, uitvoeren en evalueren van de innovatieve didactische inzet van mobiele technologie op de scholen. De huidige situatie is in kaart gebracht aan hand van de iPAC vragenlijst. Vervolgens zijn de resultaten besproken in focusgroepen met leerkrachten, leerlingen en de leidinggevenden. Uit het onderzoek blijkt dat de inzet op dit moment veelal gebonden is aan de gangbare onderwijsmethodesoftware, instructie van de leerkracht en voor het digitaal maken van verwerkingsopdrachten in het klaslokaal. Maar leerkrachten zien zeker meer kansen en benoemen in het rapport ondersteunende factoren.
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Explicit language objectives are included in the Swedish national curriculum for mathematics. The curriculum states that students should be given opportunities to develop the ability to formulate problems, use and analyse mathematical concepts and relationships between concepts, show and follow mathematical reasoning, and use mathematical expressions in discussions. Teachers’ competence forms a crucial link to bring an intended curriculum to a curriculum in action. This article investigates a professional development program, ‘Language in Mathematics’, within a national program for mathematics teachers in Sweden that aims at implementing the national curriculum into practice. Two specific aspects are examined: the selection of theoretical notions on language and mathematics and the choice of activities to relate selected theory to practice. From this examination, research on teacher learning in connection to professional development is proposed, which can contribute to a better understanding of teachers’ interpretation of integrated approaches to language and mathematics across national contexts.
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