Examining the relationship between the Educative Teacher Performance Assessment and preservice teachers' pedagogical content knowledge

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between preservice teachers' Educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) scores, the most widely implemented preservice teacher performance assessment in the United States, and the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) levels reflected in their edTPA portfolios. PCK is a specialized form of teacher professional knowledge widely considered a paramount construct of teacher quality. Thirty‐six preservice science teachers' PCK levels were determined by analyzing their edTPA portfolios, including videos and written commentaries, with the PCK mapping approach, an enumerative analytical method capable of quantifying and visualizing the integration of PCK components. Data analysis indicates there was a significant positive correlation between participants' edTPA scores and their PCK levels (rs[36] = 0.949, p < 0.0001). Through further analysis, this study also identified several key features of preservice teachers' PCK revealed in their edTPA portfolios: (1) preservice science teachers' Knowledge of Student's Understanding (KSU) and Knowledge of Instructional Strategies and Representations (KISR) were the most developed components of PCK; (2) accounting for over 50% of all connections between PCK components, KSU, KISR, and Knowledge of Assessments were among the most frequently integrated components of PCK; (3) Knowledge of Science Curriculum was the least frequently integrated, and therefore the weakest, component of preservice teachers' PCK; and (4) inquiry was the most frequently mentioned, and typically the only Orientation toward Teaching Science found in participants' edTPA materials. This study contributes to the growing body of scholarship on the characteristics of preservice science teachers' PCK and becomes one of only a handful of empirical studies that examine the edTPA's diagnostic abilities. Finally, potential implications regarding the edTPA in science teacher education, as well as directions for future research surrounding preservice science teacher PCK and PCK development, are discussed.

Sosyobilimsel argümantasyona yönelik pedagojik alan bilgisi (PAB) bileşenlerinin etkileşimindeki değişimin incelenmesi: Deneyimlerin etkisi

“…Furthermore, OTS and KSU components were at the center. This result confirms the results of similar studies on the nature of the interaction among PCK components (Park & Chen, 2012;Reynolds & Park, 2021;Suh & Park, 2017). Although learning and teaching experiences did not lead to an explicit change in terms of PCK interaction, it was revealed that the connection between OTS-KSU, KSU-KISR and KSU-KAS was strengthened at the end of the course.…”

“…Furthermore, it was observed that learning and teaching experiences increased the importance of the KSU component in particular Ali Yiğit Kutluca Sosyobilimsel argümantasyona yönelik pedagojik alan bilgisi (PAB) bileşenlerinin etkileşimindeki değişimin incelenmesi: Deneyimlerin etkisi (Park & Oliver. 2008b;Reynolds & Park, 2021). This development may contribute to teachers in terms of understanding student potential, responding to different ideas and considering personal perspectives (Sadler, 2006;McNeill & Pimentel, 2010).…”

“…Therefore, teachers have specific knowledge differentiated by subject for each individual component (Gess-Newsome et al 2019). The studies aimed at determining the PCK and the structure and nature relationship between the components that constitute PCK have revealed that these components interact with each other in very complicated ways (Suh & Park, 2017;Park & Suh, 2019) and that a consistent integration between them is of critical importance for PCK development and the changes in practice, which reveals that PCK is more than the sum of its components (Reynolds & Park, 2021). Teachers should have all PCK components and integrate them while planning and implementing teaching (Abell, 2008).…”

“…Ayrıca OTS ve KSU bileşenleri merkezdedir. Bu sonuç, PAB bileşenleri arasındaki etkileşimin doğası üzerine benzer çalışmaların sonuçlarını doğrulamaktadır (Reynolds & Park, 2021;Suh & Park, 2017). Ayrıca öğrenme ve öğretme deneyimlerinin özellikle KSU bileşeninin önemini arttırdığı görülmüştür (Park & Oliver.…”

Portraying secondary science teacher retention with the person‐position framework: An analysis of a state cohort of first‐year science teachers

“…As evidenced by decades of this journal's published research, the teaching and learning of science is often a specialized affair (e.g. Anderson, 2000; Feldman et al, 2009; Gawley, 1965; Reynolds & Park, 2021; Rutt et al, 2021). Someone who has an advanced understanding of their science subject matter along with a sense of how they intend to teach it, coupled with the ability and willingness to teach in a secondary science classroom, is someone who deserves the attention and care of our field.…”