Exploring the relationship between subject knowledge and pedagogic content knowledge in primary teachers' learning about forces

Abstract

This study explores the tension between subject knowledge and pedagogic content knowledge in primary teacher education. It documents students and in-service teachers learning about forces within the context of floating and sinking. In doing so it describes not only significant features of the learning process itself but also examines subject specific aspects of learning, identifying some of the inherent difficulties for learners within this domain and demonstrating how learners construct links between tacit knowledge and abstract scientific notions. Implications for teacher education and the teaching of science in the classroom are explored.

Understanding of Earth and Space Science Concepts: Strategies for Concept‐Building in Elementary Teacher Preparation

“…To overcome students' alternative conceptions, a number of researchers have explored the effects of hands-on activities and science experiments for different age groups. These researchers focused on elementary school students (Dalton & Morocco, 1997;Weaver, 1998;Pyle & Akins-Moffatt, 1999;Marinopoulos & Stavridou, 2002), middle school students (Ertepinar & Geban, 1996;Alexopoulou & Driver, 1996), high school students (Wood-Robinson, Lewis, & Leach, 2000;Hofstein, Navon, Kipnis, & Mamlok-Naaman, 2005), college students (Colburn & Henriques, 2000;Niaz, 2002), preservice teachers (Kelly, 2000;Gibson, Bernhard, Kropf, Ramirez, & Van Strat, 2001;Plourde & Klemm, 2004), and inservice teachers (Bulunuz & Jarrett, 2006;Parker & Heywood, 2000). The research done with elementary school students, preservice teachers and inservice teachers will be the focus here.…”

“…It is very likely that these teachers can easily teach their incorrect understanding to their students without even realizing it. Parker and Heywood (2000) mention teachers'…”

“…Since elementary teachers often take few science courses, especially in earth science, one purpose of teacher education must be concerned with helping teachers develop their conceptual understanding about scientific concepts (Parker & Heywood, 2000).…”

Effect of Technology Enhanced Conceptual Change Texts on Students' Understanding of Buoyant Force

“…In addition, a review of the literature shows that students have many misconceptions about the subject of buoyancy [e.g, 2,40,41,42,43]. Studies on buoyancy reveal that students have various misconceptions, such as "buoyancy increases as the amount of liquid increases," "buoyancy depends on the size of an object" and "gases do not exert a buoyant force".…”

Insights on how to shape teacher learning policy: The role of teacher content knowledge in explaining differential effects of professional development

“…First, building teachers' CK in meaningful ways requires sustained, contentfocused PD that is embedded in teachers' work lives and that allows for practice, discussion, and feedback (Ball & Cohen, 1999;Garet, Birman, Porter, Yoon, & Desimone, 2001;Ingvarson, Meiers, & Beavis, 2005;Little, 1982, Loucks-Horsley, Hewson, Love, & Stiles, 1998. Second, translating CK into improved instructional strategies is not automatic; the process works through various mechanisms including increased confidence, willingness to ask higher level questions, proclivity to experiment, ability to identify student mistakes, and many others (e.g., Bitan-Friedlander, Dreyfus, & Milgrom, 2004;Hill, Rowan, & Ball, 2005;Lee & Luft, 2008;Maskit, 2011;Parker & Heywood, 2000). Third, teachers vary considerably in what they learn and how they translate that knowledge into practice, and we do not know as much as we should about why this variation occurs.…”