School of Education

Implementing Pedagogical
Content Knowledge through
partnership and relating this to
the planning and assessment of
practical activities
Maarten Tas & Jon Heywood

www.le.ac.uk

Overview

The problem
Why implementing PCK
What is PCK
Secondary Science PGCE course at Leicester
The PCK Toolkit
The PCK Framework
Example of the PCK Framework
Assessing Practicals
Example of Review of Intended Learning Outcomes
General findings
Comments from mentors and PGCE students

The problem?
Science teachers teaching out of specialism may become
secure in their subject knowledge but may not have the
pedagogical knowledge to deliver it in the most effective ways
A shortage of skilled physics and chemistry teachers means
there may be increasing numbers of teachers teaching out of
specialism
A lack of confidence with unfamiliar topics may promote
teaching through content delivery rather than developing
opportunities for Inquiry Based Learning

Why?
Education White Paper (2010)
4.8 Teachers, not bureaucrats or Ministers, know best how to teach how to
convey knowledge effectively and how to unlock understanding. In order to
bring the curriculum to life, teachers need the space to create lessons
which engage their pupils, and children need the time to develop their
ability to retain and apply knowledge.
4.9 Teachers must be free to use their professionalism and expertise to
support all children to progress. So, in outlining what children should expect
to know in core subjects, the new curriculum will allow a greater degree of
freedom in how that knowledge might be acquired and what other teaching
should complement this core.

Why?
Increasingly Science teachers are being asked to
teach out of specialism:
Only 259 physics post-graduate teaching students went into teaching in
2010 compared to 442 chemists and 764 biologists.
Given the difficulty of getting physics teachers, schools must be
tempted to appoint biologists and hope they can teach physics
Good Teacher Training Guide 2010

What is PCK?

What is PCK?
PCK includes "the most useful forms of representation of
[topics], the most powerful analogies, illustrations, examples,
explanations, and demonstrations - in a word, the ways of
representing and formulating the subject that make it
comprehensible to others
Pedagogical content knowledge also includes an
understanding of what makes the learning of specific topics
easy or difficult: the conceptions and preconceptions that
students of different ages and backgrounds bring with them to
the learning of those most frequently taught topics and
lessons.
Shulman, 1986

Secondary Science PGCE

course at Leicester
A pilot project took place during 2010-11 in which student teachers used
a PCK toolkit with their school mentors to explore a topic in a
structured way before planning, teaching and evaluating a series of
lessons.
The collaborative approach was highly rated by both students and
mentors.
PCK is now introduced to all student Science teachers and integrated into
their approach to lesson planning.
This was linked to a course activity on, and used as a tool to aid,
planning and assessing practicals.

The PCK Toolkit

The toolkit comprises:
PCK framework (Berry and Loughram, 2010)
Exemplar frameworks (from literature)
Reflective journal
Skill level descriptors / rubrics (based on:
Windschitl et al, 2010)
The toolkit was designed to provide a structure for,
and a means of recording, thinking and reflection
while working through the task of creating and
working with a framework.

The PCK Framework

The framework identifies important concepts with a topic and
encourages reflection on the following:
What you intend the students to learn about this idea.
Why it is important for students to know this.
What else do you know about this idea (that you do not intend students
to know yet).
Difficulties/limitations connected with teaching this idea.
Knowledge about students thinking (including misconceptions) which
influences your teaching of this idea.
Other factors that influence your teaching of this idea.
Opportunities for How Science Works.
Opportunities for Assessment Activities (formative/summative).
Teaching procedures (and particular reasons for using these to engage with
this idea).

An example of a PCK Framework

An example of a PCK Framework

Framework adapted to
develop student
thinking about the
place of activities linked
to
How Science Works

An example of a PCK Framework

Assessment is now an
integral component of
the PCK framework

Assessing Practicals
The task has three components:
An overview of intended learning outcomes of a series of practicals;
A review of intended learning outcomes of each practical;
A more detailed evaluation of each practical:

Were the learning outcomes met? How do I know?

What worked well and why?
How does this practical session relate to How Science Works?
What other forms of assessment could I have included?
How would I change my ILOs for next time?
How could I modify the activity to meet the ILOs more effectively?
What links could I make to other topics?
What could I change in my PCK framework?

Review of Intended Learning Outcomes

General findings
Both students and mentors reported significantly increased familiarity
with the concept of PCK
Both students and mentors reported significant increases in awareness
of the potential for PCK as a planning tool and for encouraging
collaborative planning and sharing best practice within departments
There was a clear awareness of wider issues associated with the topic
that would benefit from inclusion in the PCK framework notably
approaches to:

Assessment for Learning

Practical work

Comments from mentors

Helps to give new ideas and even changes ideas
after teaching 14 years
Made me stop and reconsider what I had done
previously. I thought in more detail about the
order I taught learning objectives and how they
link together
It made me think more carefully about what
pupils do/don't understand

Comments from PGCE students

It made me think about trying to think of new ways to teach the
same topic and think about what is the best way to explain it
Wow, some of the kids in the classit was the best they had ever
done, they were really proud of what they had done
I found the collaboration with teachers was the most useful
I felt a lot more prepared and I think the pupils benefited an awful
lot because I had structured how I was gonna put things across
so again building through overall understanding of...the topicI
could do individual evaluations for each practical and look at
assessing practicals as part of the PCK framework overall

Developments
Use of the PCK framework is now fully
integrated into student teachers work on
Assessing Practicals
A train the trainer course is being developed
for dissemination of Implementing PCK at
all Science Learning Centres (SLC)

Wider implications?
Duggan-Haas et al (2000)
suggest clearer links are
needed between
Pedagogical Knowledge,
Content Knowledge and
other required standards
for Science teaching in the
US.
Similar potential exists in
the UK for new curriculum
developments.

Duggan-Haas, Enfield and Ashmann (2000) Electronic Journal of Science Education

V4 N3. Accessed 13/4/12 at https://www.msu.edu/~dugganha/PCK.htm

Inquiry Based Learning

A key component acknowledged in this US model for
science teacher training is the importance of IBL to help
students link understanding and application.
Similarly, we suggest that it is important for teachers to
link content and pedagogical knowledge to consider and
develop effective Inquiry Based Learning activities.
The collaboration with the Science Learning Centres will
guarantee a wider dissemination of the concept of PCK and
collaborative curriculum development

Collaborative Curriculum Development

Schools

ITE

SoE

Sharing
good practice
Sustainable CPD
Research

CPD

SLC

References

Berry, A. and Loughram, J. (2010) What do we know about effective CPD for developing
science teachers pedagogical content knowledge? Paper presented at the International
Seminar, Professional Reflections, National Science Learning Centre, York. Available as
pdf: https://www.sciencelearningcentres.org.uk/research-and-impact/researchseminars/NSLC%20UYSEG%20seminar%20Berry.pdf
Education White Paper (2010)
Duggan-Haas, Enfield and Ashmann (2000) Content and Pedagogy: Intersection in the
NSTA Standards for Science Teacher Education. Electronic Journal of Science Education
V4 N3. Accessed 13/4/12 at https://www.msu.edu/~dugganha/PCK.htm
Good Teacher Training Guide (2010)
Millar, R. and Abrahams, I. (2009) Practical work: making it more effective. School Science
Review, 91(334): 5964
Shulman, L.S. (1986) Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational
Researcher 15 (2), 4-14
Windschitl, M., Thompson J. and Braaten M. (2010) Fostering Ambitious Pedagogy in
Novice Teachers: The Role of Tool-Supported Analyses of Student Work. Paper presented
at the International Seminar, Professional Reflections, National Science Learning Centre,
York. Available as pdf: https://www.sciencelearningcentres.org.uk/research-andimpact/research-seminars/NSLC%20UYSEG%20seminar%20windschitl.pdf