The scope of this article is to understand to what extent Computer Science teachers can find support for their Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) in teaching material. We report the results of a study in which PCK is used as framework to develop a research instrument to examine three high school computer science textbooks, with special focus on…

In this study, we investigated the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) that physics graduate teaching assistants (TAs) developed in the context of teaching a new introductory physics curriculum, "Matter and Interactions" ("M&I"). "M&I" is an innovative introductory physics course that emphasizes a unified framework for understanding the world and…

This paper uses cultural historical activity theory to examine the interactions between the choices primary teachers make in the use of practical activities in their teaching of science and the purposes they attribute to these; their emotions, background and beliefs; and the construction of their identities as teachers of science. It draws on four…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the development of three prospective elementary mathematics teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of number patterns with its two components: (1) knowledge of students' understanding and difficulties and (2) knowledge of topic-specific strategies and representations. For our investigation, we use…

Although teachers' professional knowledge and instructional beliefs are known to have a variety of subcomponents, research on the structure and interrelations of these subcomponents is relatively scarce. This article presents some findings of a preliminary, quantitative empirical study examining the relationships between mathematics teachers'…

This paper argues that recent changes to two national high-stakes tests for English--the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) in Aoteaora New Zealand and the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) in England--have shifted the assessment emphasis further away from poetry than previously and have significantly…

An Earth science professional-development program for in-service middle- and high-school teachers increased participants' content knowledge about weather, climate, and climate change in addition to increasing their confidence in their assessment and teaching skills. The curriculum and funding gave them time, funding, and the help of content and…

Over the past 20 years task-based language teaching (TBLT) has become a dominant approach to teaching in many contexts, including schools in New Zealand and the Flemish speaking region of Belgium (East, 2012; Van den Branden, 2006), but there are challenges for teachers in adapting their teaching to this approach. This paper reports on a study…

An earlier edition of "Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom" (APMC) reported a snapshot of the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in primary mathematics classrooms in Western Australia (Day, 2013). This snapshot was taken in 2011. Eighteen months later a similar online survey was sent to the 118 school principals…

As an educator teaching an online course for the first time, I observed that the teachers in my class engaged in meaningful and sincere conversation and gained deep insight and greater awareness about their practice. Sincere conversation obviously differs from brief verbal exchanges operating at the surface level. It is conversation that invites…

In this paper, we propose a model to explore how teachers learn pedagogical concepts in teacher education programs that expect them to become competent in lesson planning. In this context, we view pedagogical concepts as conceptual and methodological tools that help teachers to design a lesson plan on a topic, implement this lesson plan and assess…

Socioscientific Inquiry (SSI) represents one approach designed to target interest and knowledge in science. In this context, students consider scientific issues that have social implications and require a range of trade-offs, concepts, and considerations in order to arrive at informed conclusions (Sadler, 2004). However, inquiry tasks in general…

This study examined the development of Technological Pedagogical And Content Knowledge (TPACK) in mathematics and science of pre-service special education teachers via one course. The course focused on the three domains of knowledge related specifically to integrating instructional technology into mathematics and science teaching and learning…

A new primarily distance education Master's degree program was focused on the development of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) for integrating appropriate digital technologies in mathematics and science classes. In this mixed-method multiple case study, we documented in-service K-8 teachers' perceptions of their TPACK…

The primary purpose of the study was to create and psychometrically test an instrument which measured teachers' perceptions of characteristics of professional development. The sample consisted of elementary teachers from five school districts in Washington State participating in a district improvement initiative. Results of exploratory factor…