ERIC Number: EJ1031477
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0950-0693
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
When Teaching Makes a Difference: Developing Science Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge through Learning Study
Nilsson, Pernilla
International Journal of Science Education, v36 n11 p1794-1814 2014
It is a common view that developing teachers' competence to restructure or reframe their knowledge and beliefs is inevitably a complex challenge. This paper reports on a research project with the aim to develop science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) through their participation in a learning study. A learning study is a collegial process in which teachers work together with a researcher to explore their own teaching activities in order to identify what is critical for their students' learning. During one semester, three secondary science teachers worked in a learning study together with a researcher in a cyclical process in order to create prerequisites and further identify conditions for students' learning. During the learning study, data were collected from video-recorded lessons and stimulated recall sessions in which the teachers and the researcher reflected on the lessons to analyze their development of PCK, their students' learning and the impact of that knowledge on their own teaching. The results provide an insight into how the teachers developed their self-understanding in which they questioned their own epistemological beliefs, aims and objectives of teaching and taken-for-granted assumptions about science teaching and learning. As such, the study provides an understanding of teacher professional learning through a careful investigation of how teachers' PCK is enhanced through their participation in the learning study, and further, how students' learning might be developed as a consequence.
Descriptors: Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Science Teachers, Teacher Collaboration, Science Instruction, Secondary School Teachers, Academic Achievement, Prerequisites, Video Technology, Teacher Attitudes, Program Effectiveness, Action Research, Participatory Research, Epistemology, Researchers, Pretests Posttests, Chemistry, Scientific Concepts, Comprehension, Teaching Methods, Educational Strategies, Misconceptions
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education; High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A