ERIC Number: EJ1460769
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Mar
Pages: 26
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1571-0068
EISSN: EISSN-1573-1774
Available Date: 2024-08-06
How to Assess Mathematics Teachers' TPACK? A Comparison between Self-Reports and Knowledge Tests
International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, v23 n3 p663-688 2025
Teachers need technology-related knowledge to effectively use technology in the classroom. Previous studies have often used self-reports to assess such knowledge. However, it is questionable whether self-reports are valid measures for this purpose. This study investigates how mathematics teachers' self-reports correlate with their scores in a paper-pencil knowledge test regarding TPCK (technological pedagogical content knowledge), CK (content knowledge), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and technological knowledge (TK). Participants were N=173 pre- and in-service mathematics teachers. To assess self-reports, we adapted an existing survey from the literature. We also compiled a knowledge test based on items from existing test instruments. To increase comparability between the two instruments, both the self-report and the paper-pencil knowledge test addressed the specific topic of fractions. The four subscales in both instruments had sufficient reliability. The correlations between the self-reports and the paper-pencil test scores were low or very low for all subscales r=0.00 - 0.23, suggesting that the two instruments captured different underlying constructs. While paper-pencil tests seem more suitable for assessing knowledge, self-reports may be influenced more strongly by participants' personal traits such as self-efficacy. Our findings raise concerns about the validity of self-reports as measures of teachers' professional knowledge, and the comparability of studies that use distinct assessment instruments. We recommend that researchers should be more cautious when interpreting self-reports as knowledge and rely more strongly on externally assessed tests.
Descriptors: Technological Literacy, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Teacher Competencies, Technology Uses in Education, Evaluation Methods, Paper and Pencil Tests, Mathematics Teachers, Self Efficacy, Preservice Teachers, Measurement Techniques, Teacher Characteristics, Test Validity
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Technical University of Munich, Department of Educational Sciences, TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology, Munich, Germany