Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Concept-specific pedagogical content knowledge'

This study investigated the relationship between teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) about electrostatics and learners' performance in the topic. Two in-service and two pre-service physical science teachers, together with their learners, agreed to participate in the study. The PCK of the teachers was viewed as two manifestations; the personal PCK, which is static in nature and the enacted PCK, which is dynamic. A content representation (CoRe) tool and lesson plans were used to collect data that reflected the personal PCK of the teachers. The data for the enacted PCK was collected using classroom observations, and video stimulated recall (VSR) interviews. A topic specific PCK model was adopted as the framework for this study. The model asserts that specific content is transformed for instruction through five components, namely; learners' prior knowledge, curricular saliency, what is difficult to teach, representations including analogies, and conceptual teaching strategies. Guided by the model, I developed two rubrics to assess and quantify the quality of the teachers' personal and enacted PCK on a four-point scale. Learners, on the other hand, wrote a test developed specifically for this study which explored their performance in the fundamental concepts chosen for this study. The performance of the learners was then related to the personal and the enacted PCK of the teachers separately. The results revealed that the personal and the enacted PCK of the teachers, as well as the performance of the learners, varied across fundamental concepts of electrostatics. The variations in the personal and enacted PCK provided empirical evidence that supports the notion that PCK has a concept specific nature. The results also showed that the performance of the learners was better related to the enacted PCK of the teachers compared to the personal PCK. These results imply that it is important to make teaching practice the centre of pre-service teacher education given the direct impact of enacted PCK on learning. Furthermore, exploring PCK at concept level reveals the strengths and weaknesses of the concepts. As such, pre-service teacher education and in-service teacher professional development may be tailored in a manner that addresses the concepts that require intervention.
Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2020.
Science, Mathematics and Technology Education
PhD
Unrestricted

This study investigated the comparison between captured and revealed Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) about graphs of motion. The aim of the study was to explore PCK when captured in a written format and discussions (captured PCK) and compare it to the PCK that the same teachers revealed in practice (revealed PCK) when teaching the topic. Four Grade 10 Physical sciences teachers were purposively and conveniently selected as participants of the study. Their PCK was captured through Content Representations (CoRes) and interviews. The revealed PCK on the other hand was gathered through lesson observations. The Topic Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TSPCK) model was used as the framework that guided the analysis of the two manifestations of PCK. The focus was on teachers’ competences in the TSPCK components namely; learners’ prior knowledge including misconceptions, curricular saliency, what is difficult to teach, representations including analogies, and conceptual teaching strategies. The results of this study indicated that teachers’ competences in the TSPCK components varied. This was evident in both the captured and the revealed PCK. Thus it suggested that a teacher’s level of competence in one component is not necessarily an indication of his or her competence in the other components that define PCK, and subsequently in his/her overall captured or revealed PCK. Furthermore, the study suggested that the level of competence in a component in the captured PCK is not necessarily an indication of the level of competence within that component that the teacher would reveal during lesson presentation. The level may be the same, slightly different (higher or lower) or even be drastically different in the lesson than suggested by the captured PCK. A concluding remark was then made that teachers’ captured PCK is not necessarily a true reflection of the PCK they reveal during lesson presentation and that different instruments must be used to reflect on and assess teachers’ PCK in a topic.
Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017.
Science, Mathematics and Technology Education
MEd
Unrestricted

In 1986, Shulman described Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), as the transformation of Content Knowledge into various forms which help students to understand the concepts. In a later study, Shulman (1987) identified the construct of PCK as one of the knowledge bases of teachers. Many researchers have proposed models to characterise this transformation of Content Knowledge (CK), one of the most recent of which describes the construct of Topic Specific PCK (TSPCK) (Mavhunga, 2012). This study attempts to evaluate the extent to which teachers of organic chemistry are able to transform their CK to TSPCK. The introduction of the National Curriculum Statement in South Africa in 2006 led to changes in the curriculum for all subjects; in particular there was an increase in emphasis on organic chemistry at Grade 12 level. The current research forms part of a larger project to investigate how teachers' knowledge of their subject matter affects the way they teach across several different contexts. It is premised on the assumption that PCK develops with experience and results from the transformation of CK. Two instruments based on the Mavhunga (2012) model were designed to assess Grade 12 teachers' TSPCK in organic chemistry. Her model proposes that topic specific PCK results from the transformation of CK; thus Content Knowledge is considered to be a prerequisite to develop TSPCK. Thus two instruments are required, one each to evaluate CK and TSPCK. A pilot study was conducted with a small group of teachers and the findings were used to refine the instruments. Expert teachers at local schools were consulted and assisted in the development process of the instruments, the final versions of which were administered to a larger cohort of 44 science teachers from diverse schools. The CK instrument was assessed as a conventional test on organic chemistry while the TSPCK instrument was scored using a specially designed rubric. The research methodology used a mixed methods approach to transform data collected into numerical clusters as well as to carry out a qualitative analysis. The data was analysed to yield raw scores which were later subjected to Rasch analysis. This measurement model was used to validate the instruments and also to convert raw scores into interval data. According to the Rasch analysis, both instruments met the criteria of validity and internal consistency. The findings from the CK instrument revealed that the majority of teachers performed well. Teachers with university training achieved higher scores than those trained at technikons and colleges. Performance on the TSPCK instrument was not as strong as for CK; teachers with little experience revealed less complete levels of TSPCK than those with more experience. A reasonable correlation between levels of CK and TSPCK was confirmed by a value of r = 0.68 (p< .0005) for the correlation coefficient derived from a scatter plot of CK versus TSPCK. This implies that an estimated 46% of the variance in TSPCK is accounted for by the variance in CK and provides evidence for the assumption that CK is a prerequisite for TSPCK. The main findings from this project revealed that low levels of CK are likely to result in lower levels of TSPCK while high levels of CK are likely to result in high levels of TSPCK. On the other hand the study also revealed that high levels of CK do not necessarily translate into high levels of TSPCK. An unanticipated outcome of the study was that in some cases, lower than average levels of CK can translate into high levels of TSPCK. The Rasch analysis also enabled the refinement of the CK instrument and the rubric developed to score the TSPCK instrument. The refinements will allow the researchers to use the valuable data collected during the course of this particular study as part of a data set for any future study. The instruments developed for this study have the potential to be used for a large-scale implementation to obtain a more nuanced picture of the level of PCK in organic chemistry in the teaching cohort in South Africa.

This study investigated the effect of training in equipment use on science teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) about the wave concept. The levels of teachers' reported PCK was explored before and after in-service training through interviews and Content Representations (CoRe). Furthermore, the study extended to investigating how the teachers enacted PCK when teaching the wave concept in their classrooms after the training. This qualitative research followed a case study method with three Grade 10 Physical Sciences teachers who were selected purposefully and pragmatically. Their pedagogical reasoning was elicited through a Video Stimulated Recall (VSR) interview and their general views about the training were obtained through a post-training interview. The framework was adapted from the Refined Consensus Model (RCM) and considered PCK at a topic and concept level, with each realm of PCK being underpinned by the Topic-Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TSPCK) components, namely, the learners’ prior knowledge, the curricular saliency, representations, what is difficult and/or easy to teach and understand, and the conceptual teaching strategies. However, all five TSPCK components were considered. The study was centred on three key ideas in the topic of waves, namely: wavelength; frequency; and superposition. The participants' reported PCK improved and the footprint of the training was visible in the enacted PCK of all of the participants. This study suggests that training on the use of equipment improves teachers’ enacted PCK and this may ultimately lead to improved learner performance.
Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2020.
Science, Mathematics and Technology Education
MEd
Unrestricted

Thesis (D.M.A.)--Boston University
This study examines the pedagogical content knowledge of music teachers who teach in or out of their field of expertise. The primary goal of this study was to observe string specialists' and non-string specialists' content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and the instructional strategies used to teach vibrato, shifting, and spiccato bowing technique in an intermediate string class. The study provided an in-depth understanding of string specialists' and non-string specialists' (a) content knowledge of vibrato, shifting, and spiccato bowing; (b) content and pedagogical knowledge to teach vibrato, shifting, and spiccato bowing technique; and (c) how pedagogical content knowledge is used to teach vibrato, shifting, and spiccato bowing technique. A multiple case study design was used to examine how pedagogical content knowledge was used by string specialists and non-string specialists to teach string-specific technique. A purposeful sample of 6 cases was selected for the study. String specialists and non-string specialists were purposefully chosen to understand how pedagogical knowledge is used to teach string-specific technique. In order to perform a cross-case analysis, similar cases (e.g., location, level, program size) were chosen. Data were collected through observations of rehearsals and interviews with string specialists and non-string specialists. Each participant was observed teaching three rehearsals, and three interviews were conducted with each participant. Through the coding process, emergent themes were explored to provide detailed insight into the pedagogical and content knowledge of string specialists and non-string specialists. Interview transcripts were coded using WEFT QDA 1.01 software (Fenton, 2006). The findings suggest that non-string specialists in this study have a limited understanding of the fundamental general principles for vibrato, shifting, and spiccato bowing technique. The non-string specialists' content knowledge of vibrato, shifting, and spiccato bowing had more misconceptions, more misunderstandings, and a less organized understanding of the content when compared to string specialists. Additionally, non-string specialists with limited content knowledge chose less challenging instructional strategies than string specialists. This research will help to inform the string profession regarding the importance of string-specific content knowledge and pedagogical strategies, and assist non-string specialists who teach string classes in better understanding the knowledge and approaches they might presently be lacking.

The purpose of this study was to examine topic-specific nature of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Two experienced chemistry teachers&rsquo
PCK was examined in electrochemistry and radioactivity. To capture participants&rsquo
PCK, all PCK components were studied. To get deep and rich answers to research questions asked, qualitative methodology was used. Participants were selected through purposeful sampling. Data were gathered through card-sorting activity, Content Representation (CoRe), semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and field notes. Results revealed that participants had two types of PCK, namely, PCK A for teaching electrochemistry and PCK B for teaching radioactivity. PCK A included content-based and teacher-centered instruction, many links to other topics in chemistry and in physics. The assessment was coherent which included different types of assessment strategies used at the beginning, during, and at the end of teaching. In PCK B, it was less teacher-centered. The link to other topics was limited. Additionally, teachers used fragmented assessment and were less knowledgeable about learners&rsquo
difficulties and misconceptions in radioactivity than they were in electrochemistry. Differences between PCK A and B may be related to nature of the topics. Learners need to have much pre-requisite knowledge both from chemistry and physics to learn electrochemistry. Also, there are more concepts in electrochemistry than there are in radioactivity. It seems that when teachers have to focus on more concepts to teach, they may have a tendency to teach more-teacher centered to save time. Teacher education programs should focus on topic-specific nature of PCK and provide topic-specific training to teachers.

This study regards the central content and knowledge requirements for the subject of English 5 in the Swedish upper secondary school system. The study is based on an analytical reading of the documents and is complemented by a questionnaire that was answered by upper secondary school teachers. The aim of the study was to investigate what parts of the documents lack clarity, from a new teacher’s perspective. The study finds a few examples of terms that are likely to confuse new teachers when grading students. Furthermore, questions were raised regarding the course in general, such as how to give the students confidence to speak English, when to use Swedish in the classroom and which English speech communities and cultures teachers should focus on. The questionnaire provided answers that could be helpful to newly graduated English teachers who are preparing to work in the Swedish upper secondary school system.

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A dissertação tem como objeto de estudo o trato pedagógico com o conhecimento contemporâneo da Cultura Corporal denominado Parkour (abreviado como Pk), na formação de professores no currículo do Curso de Licenciatura em Educação Física, de Caráter Ampliado, em andamento na FACED – UFBA, enquanto possibilidade de ampliação e contribuição para o Eixo Conteúdos Específicos. Tendo como objetivo, avaliar possibilidades do trato pedagógico com o conhecimento do Parkour, enquanto elemento contemporâneo da Cultura Corporal. O referencial teórico-metodológico que fundamenta esta pesquisa é a concepção Materialista e Dialética da História. Utilizamos como procedimento de pesquisa: (a) revisão bibliográfica, (b) pesquisa de campo (educação básica e ensino superior). A pesquisa bibliográfica buscou material para estudos em diversas fontes: artigos, monografias, dissertações, teses, livros, banco de dados e documentos. A pesquisa de campo se desenvolveu em três disciplinas do curso de Educação Física da UFBA, com experiências práticas a partir do trato pedagógico com o conhecimento do Parkour. A partir da revisão bibliográfica, podemos concluir que: (a) é preciso ampliar as produções científicas acerca do Parkour, a fim de alavancar o debate; (b) ampliar os tipos das produções para além de artigos, sendo objeto de estudos tratados em monografias, dissertações e teses; (c) ampliar as produções acerca do trato pedagógico com o conhecimento do Parkour; (d) que estas produções superem as conceituações idealistas de Parkour - que são hegemônicas até o momento - na perspectiva de elaborar explicações para além da aparência, embasadas na concepção materialista e dialética da história. A partir das experiências com o trato do Parkour na Formação de professores da UFBA, reconhecemos regularidades no que se refere a necessidade de elaboração, enquanto possibilidade de organização pedagógica, de uma primeira aproximação na sistematização dos conhecimentos acerca do Parkour a partir dos ciclos de ensino. As hipóteses que levantamos: (1) é de que a relação de produção e a ideologia da classe dominante, são determinantes nas produções científicas e no trato pedagógico com o conhecimento do Parkour e; (2) existe possibilidade de trato pedagógico com o conhecimento do Parkour, que seja comprometida com os interesses da classe trabalhadora, a saber, o acesso ao conhecimento sistematizado que permita a apropriação da cultura humana e com isto a elevação do padrão cultural se confirmaram. Concluímos que, a ideologia da classe dominante se reflete diretamente nas produções acerca do Parkour e suas propostas metodológicas de ensino. No entanto, ao se confrontarem, no real concreto, com as condições objetivas da existência humana, explicitam-se as contradições e os interesses de classes antagônicas, próprios de uma sociedade capitalista e, a partir do trabalho pedagógico, em espaços formativos, existem possibilidade de essência, de apropriação, pela transmissão e assimilação deste conhecimento. Novos conhecimentos socialmente produzidos, historicamente acumulados e socializados, pedagogicamente ensinados permitem entender e agir, considerando as determinações históricas e, as condições objetivas e subjetivas, em um movimento que, ao longo da historia poderá ser capaz de superar essas contradições, orientadas para um processo de transição ao Modo de Produção Socialista.
Abstract This dissertation chose as the object of study pedagogical approach with the contemporary knowledge of the called Parkour Body Culture (abbreviated as Pk) in teacher training in the Expanded Character curriculum underway in FACED - UFBA, while the possibility of expansion and contribution to the Axis Specific content. The study aims to evaluate possibilities of the pedagogical approach with knowledge of Parkour as contemporary element of Body Culture, the Expanded character Degree curriculum Physical Education teachers UFBA and its contribution to the Axis Specific Content. The theoretical framework that justified this research is to design and Materialist Dialectics of history. We used as research procedure: (a) literature review, (b) field research (basic and higher education). The literature sought material for studies in various sources: articles, monographs, dissertations, theses, books, database and documents. The field research was developed in three disciplines of the course of Physical Education of UFBA with practical experiences based on pedagogical approach with knowledge of Parkour. From the literature review, we conclude that it is necessary to: (a) expand the scientific production about Parkour in order to leverage the debate; (B) expand the types of productions in addition to articles, the object of study treated in monographs, dissertations and theses; (C) expand the productions about the pedagogical approach with knowledge of Parkour; (D) that these productions exceed Parkour idealistic concepts - that are hegemonic to date - with a view to elaborate explanations beyond appearance, supported on historical dialectic materialism. From experience with parkour tract in the UFBA teacher training, regularities recognized as regards the need to prepare, as a possibility of pedagogical organization in a first approximation in the systematization of knowledge about Parkour, based on cycles teaching. the hypotheses were confirmed we raise for research, namely: (1) the relation of production and the ideology of the ruling class are determining the scientific production and pedagogical approach with knowledge of Parkour; (2) there is a possibility of pedagogical approach with knowledge of Parkour, which is committed to the interests of the working class. This leads us to conclude that the ideology of the ruling class is reflected directly in the production about Parkour and its methodological proposals for education. However, faced from the contradictions of class interests, own a capitalist society, based on historical determinations and the objective and subjective conditions, there is essentially possibilities of a movement capable of overcoming these contradictions, oriented to a process of transition to the socialist project.

By reviewing teacher-made revisions of regularly taught curriculum units, this set of case studies attempts to describe the pedagogical content knowledge development of four concept-oriented middle school teachers. One strand is highlighted: The nature and use of their instructional representations. A primary goal of this effort is to trace the kinds of refinements teachers make in their teaching knowledge after years of blending subject matter with pedagogy. A second goal is to detail influences on such refinements in order to inform preservice and inservice teacher education aimed at teaching for conceptual understanding.

The lack of teaching experience in uncertified teachers leaves them with little or no understanding of the transformation of Content Knowledge (CK) at their disposal. This transformation of CK is termed Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and it is known to develop through practice. Therefore, reflective analysis of lessons taught by these teachers is important. Research has also shown that they are often not supported as they embark on their teaching career. Therefore, the study investigated the influence of an intervention on novice unqualified graduate teachers’ (NUGTs) Topic Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge within a specific topic – the particulate nature of matter. The construct, Topic Specific PCK was the theoretical framework of my study and it consists of five topic specific categories that collectively enable transformation of content knowledge. The categories are: (1) learner prior knowledge (2) curricular Saliency (3) what is difficult to teach (4) representations and (5) conceptual teaching strategies. For measuring the quality of Topic Specific PCK, a new tool based on the topic of the particulate nature of matter was developed. The Topic Specific PCK tool was then validated using a group of 11 practising science teachers. The tool was scored using a rubric that is in line with the five categories, which are rated on a four point scale, where 1 stands for limited PCK and 4 is exemplary PCK. The research design followed in my study was mixed-methods research (MM). The study involved 16 novice teachers recruited by Teach South Africa working together with the Department of Education. The teachers hold university degrees, have done chemistry for a minimum of one year during the course of their degree and have no teaching qualifications. Four of the teachers who taught the particulate nature of matter were selected as case study teachers. Data was collected through a number of tools, including the newly designed Topic Specific PCK test on particulate nature of matter, a CK test and Content Representations (CoRes) which were all adapted from existing tools and thus considered validated. The case study teachers were observed while teaching particulate nature of matter and their lessons were analysed. All the teachers were tested before and after the professional development intervention (PDI). The findings show that the quality of Topic Specific PCK and CK in particulate nature of matter was improved in all NUGTs. The greatest improvement was observed in the NUGTs who taught the topic directly. This improvement was attributed to the experience of teaching the topic directly or teaching related concepts that need understanding of it. The improvement was observed in all the NUGTs, showing the effect of indirect experience. This can be deduced from their improved CoRe which forced the NUGTs to engage with the construct and also through the positive significant improvement in CK and Topic Specific PCK results. Finally, I suggest that although interventions like PDI have the potential to produce science teachers, care should be exercised in making assumptions about their CK and knowledge for teaching, and training programmes need to pay attention to both CK and Topic Specific PCK.

A research report in partial fulfillment of the award of Master of Science (MSc.) in Science Education submitted to the Faculty of Science, School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2017
Professional learning communities are generally regarded as having a positive impact in improving and developing teacher knowledge. Literature has shown that group planning and professional learning communities have an impact on the quality of teaching and subsequent improvement in learner performance. Practicing teachers, preservice teachers, education authorities, curriculum advisors and teacher educators all thrive to find out about the kind of teaching that brings about effective learning inside classrooms, the most appropriate approach to improve teaching and learning in class, and in particular, science classes, remains vague, though. This study examines how teacher knowledge is developed in the context of a lesson study within a specific concept of the topic stoichiometry: the ‘mole’. The case of three practicing science teachers is considered through the observation of their interactions with teacher educators during the five (5) weeks in which the participant teachers planned, taught and reflected on the mole concept together with science teacher educators and science teacher education specialists. A pretest is administered to the participant teachers at the beginning of the study; this is followed by intervention discussions based on the concept of the mole. Each of the participants then teaches the lesson to 11th grade learners in their school, each lesson is reflected upon and an iterative cycle of teaching and re-teaching the concept describes the lesson study approach used in this study. At the end of the intervention, a post-test is administered to the three participant teachers. The analysis and description of the teachers’ responses to structured test items before and after the topic specific intervention and verbal contributions during meetings are sources of qualitative data in this study. The qualitative data about topic specific pedagogy and the interaction of TSPCK components obtained in this study is used as evidence to show that topic-specific interventions assist teachers in developing pedagogical content knowledge in science education.
MT 2019

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science (Science Education) Johannesburg, 2017
Over the past three years, National Senior Certificate diagnostic reports reported that learner performance in key chemistry topics remains an aspect for concern. In these reports, poor understanding of stoichiometry is identified as an underlying factor. On the other hand, the status of mathematics and science teaching has been under critique by several education researchers, pointing to poor teacher training in the subjects. One possible way to respond to the challenge in science education is to introduce and emphasize the development of Topic Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TSPCK) as the professional knowledge for teaching science topics in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programme. TSPCK is renowned for enabling teachers to pedagogically transform difficult content of specific science topics into forms best understandable by learners. This study examined the impact on the quality of TSPCK following an intervention that explicitly targeted the development of the competence to transform content knowledge using stoichiometry as a topic of learning. This examination happened as teacher plan to teach the topic. The study followed a Mixed Method research design and a case study as a research strategy. It was located in the methodology class of physical science IV. The participants were 10 pre-service teachers who were in their final year of Bachelor study in education (B. Ed). They were bound by the requirements of the course and their common choice of physical science as their major subject. These pre-service teachers were exposed to a TSPCK based intervention that explicitly targeted the development of TSPCK component interaction. More evidence of component interactions was comprehended as developing quality of TSPCK. Quantitative data was collected as a set of pre- and post-intervention TSPCK tests using existing, specially designed tools that were developed and validated in a separate study. Five (5) of the then pre-service were followed a year later after the intervention to measure the quality of TSPCK in the topic of intervention in order to determine the extent of retention of the quality of TSPCK since the intervention. Qualitative data was collected through face to face interviews to confirm observed patterns of retention. The findings in this study indicated that pre-service teachers experienced a visible improvement in the quality of their TSPCK in stoichiometry as a direct result of the intervention. Pre-service teachers showed more evidence of component interactions post the intervention. The results further indicated that pre-service teachers experienced the components of TSPCK to have different levels of difficulty when using them to transform the content in stoichiometry during planning. The component of ―conceptual teaching strategies‖ was found to be the most difficult. A year later, the quality of TSPCK in planning to teach the topic of the intervention was found to have been retained by the then pre-service teachers. Recommendations about the implementation of TSPCK in core topics in ITE are made. Firstly, for initial teacher education, it is recommended that courses such as methodology for teaching chemistry be structured as TSPCK based intervention. Secondly, more work need to be done in the examination of retention span of TSPCK. Thus, similar studies must be conducted in an effort to increase empirical evidence about the extent at which TSPCK is retained by beginning teachers.
MT 2017

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Science, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2015.
Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) is a knowledge base for teaching that has been shown to be topic-specific. PCK in a particular science topic enables a teacher to pedagogically transform Content Knowledge (CK) to teach that topic. This ability to transform CK for teaching purposes is a version of PCK recognised as Topic-Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TSPCK). TSPCK, like PCK, is not transferable, thus we cannot assume that good pedagogical transformations observed in one topic can be consequently observed in another. In addition it has been shown that the PCK knowledge base for teaching is tacit in nature. This means that most teachers with such a knowledge base are not aware of it explicitly, or how they develop it. The purpose of the study was to explore the mechanism which pre-service teachers used to apply learnt reasoning to transform CK in a new topic.

A research report submitted to the faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulflment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science by combination of coursework and research. Johannesburg, 2018
This study was concerned with assisting pre service teachers who were in the beginning stages of their Bachelor of Education (B. Ed) programme. This development was focused on content knowledge (CK) on the topic of chemical bonding making use of the Topic Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge model which enables transformation of science CK using five components. These are learner prior knowledge, representations, curricular saliency, what makes the topic easy or difficult to teach and conceptual teaching strategies. The students referred were a sample of 30 early pre service teachers (EPT) registered in the second year Natural Sciences Methodology II course. CK and TSPCK development was fostered through the use of three components during a 6-week intervention. I adopted a Mixed Methods research design (MM) and gathered both qualitative (written tasks and semi structured interviews) and quantitative (CK and TSPCK tests) data. The results in the study show: (1) that there was general improvement in CK in pre and post-tests (2) that there was evidence of general improvement in TSPCK components used in the intervention; (3) that there was evidence of general improvement across the three components; (4) that there was interaction of TSPCK components observed, including those in those components that were not covered in the course; (5) that pre service teachers were observed to be using their knowledge of the topic of chemical bonding to draw on similarities and differences between the concepts imbedded in the topic of intervention, (6) that pre service teachers at their beginning stages of teacher training display, in planning, that they ‘miss’ the important aspects of teaching chemical bonding and (7) pre service teachers in their beginning stages of their teacher education programme developed explicit ways of thinking about their teacher knowledge. It was recommended that further research is needed regarding the nature and development of the interaction among preservice teachers' PCK components, and regarding how various contexts can stimulate the development and strengthen the interaction of these components. Furthermore, it has been suggested that more focus should be on the four aspects highlighted as the core problems in the learning of chemical bonding. The four problems were (1) EPT’s showed no mention of the electrostatic nature of chemical bonding, (2) EPT’s used macroscopic levels of representations to explain and describe bonding (3) EPT’s in the study over emphasized the rule of the octet to explain chemical bonds (4) EPT’s struggle with the idea of delocalized electrons in metals and since EPTs have shown that ii they prefer the macroscopic representations, rather teacher educators focus on developing this preference to enhance their learning. Key words Topic specific pedagogical content knowledge, content knowledge, early pre service teachers, chemical bonding, transformation
GR2019

Research has ranked electrochemistry as one of the more difficult topics to teach and learn. Examiners in South Africa have complained about the poor performance in electrochemistry related concepts in Grade 12 public exams. This may suggest that the physical science teachers may not be teaching it very well. Accomplished teachers use specialized knowledge to transform their knowledge of subject matter into a form that can easily be understood by learners, known as pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Little is known about the quality of PCK of teachers within this topic and currently there is no instrument to measure quality of topic specific PCK of practicing physical science teachers. The main purpose of the study was to design and validate an instrument that could be used to measure the quality of topic specific PCK of practicing physical science teachers in electrochemistry. The study was a methodology study which used a Mixed Methods (MM) approach. MM were used because the design of the instrument requires both qualitative and quantitative methods in the various steps towards its creation. The topic specific PCK (TSPCK) theoretical framework guided the design of the instrument. TSPCK comprises of 5 components namely: (i) Learners’ Prior Knowledge including misconceptions; (ii) Curricular Saliency; (iii) What makes topic easy or difficult to understand; (iv) Representations or models; and (v) Conceptual teaching Strategies that enables transformation of content knowledge into its teachability. The new instrument was designed to elucidate TSPCK in electrochemistry according to these five components which each component represented a test item. The design process followed these steps chronologically: (i) Conceptualization of test items, (ii) construction of the instrument and judgment of items, (iii) piloting and construction of the actual instrument and finally validation of the instrument. After its conceptualization and development, the instrument was validated with a convenience sample of 21 practicing physical science teachers in Johannesburg schools, Gauteng province, South Africa. A topic specific PCK rubric was used to score the teachers’ responses on a 4 point scale-from 1 “limited” to 4 “Exemplary” Topic Specific PCK. The Rasch Winsteps program analysed the teachers’ scores and ascertained the validity of the instrument through statistics of goodness of fit. In addition, the Rasch 2 model determined the hierarchy difficulty of topic specific PCK components as well as instrument reliability. Both the items and persons’ responses fell within an acceptable conventional range of -2 and +2 Infit/outfit statistics. The item and person reliability indices of the developed instrument were 0.97 and 0.89 respectively. The results show that it is possible to design an instrument that is valid and reliable instrument. Data on content knowledge of teachers was collected using the Content Knowledge test. It was found that a high concentration of teachers possessed a sound knowledge of electrochemistry but with a corresponding low topic specific PCK. This is likely the reason of poor performance of grade 12 learners in exams on electrochemistry related topics. Furthermore, a positive statistically significant linear relationship was found to exist between Content knowledge and the measured teachers’ topic specific PCK. The findings suggest that TSPCK instrument might be used for teaching purposes so as to boost the practicing teachers’ TSPCK on electrochemistry. In addition, the findings suggest that the instrument might be incorporated as a training tool in inservice teacher workshops.

Students studying organic chemistry often have difficulty applying prior knowledge from general chemistry in their thinking about organic reaction mechanisms. In the United States, electrophilic aromatic substitution (EAS) mechanisms can be taught towards the end in a second-semester course of organic chemistry, providing students with almost two-semesters' worth of experience with organic chemistry reactions before solving problems on synthesis of substituted aromatic compounds.

A thesis submitted to the Wits School of Education, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, 2012
Reflection about lessons delivered is a practice widely encouraged in teaching. Reasoning, particularly about transformation of subject matter knowledge of lessons yet to be taught, is an internal process and a speciality evident largely in expert teachers. The study investigates the feasibility of fast-tracking its development in pre-service chemistry teachers. It focuses on developing this specialty within a specific topic, as a theoretical construct called Topic Specific PCK (TSPCK). Five knowledge components of TSPCK are identified as the enablers that transform subject matter knowledge. The components are: (1) students’ prior knowledge, (2) curricular Saliency, (3) what is difficult to teach (4) representations, including powerful analogies, and (5) conceptual teaching strategies. These components are identified, with reference to literature, as aspects specific to the subject matter knowledge of the teacher and useful in its teachability. A new tool to measure the quality of TSPCK is developed. The procedure for developing the tool consists of the following steps: (i) confirming the characteristics of the test items fitting the Topic Specific PCK construct, (ii) production of test items, (iii) judgment of items, (iv) construction of the instrument (v) piloting and (vi) validation of the instrument. Care is taken to ensure presentation of multiple evidence and discussions, addressing the interpretive and arguments as requirements for showing validity of the construct measured by the instrument. The Topic Specific PCK tool is validated with a group of 20 practicing teachers. The tool is scored, using a rubric corresponding to the five components with each being rated on a four point scale, from 1 (Limited) to 4 (Exemplary). The analysis of the generated scores is done using the Rasch statistical model (Winstep, version 3.72.3). The reliability indices as indicated by person reliability and item reliability are found to be high at 0.86 at 0.91, respectively. The persons and item scores reflect measures well inside the conventionally acceptable range of -2 and +2. A further indicator of validity of the tool is the empirically calculated hierarchy of test items’ order of difficulty, found similar to the theoretically predicted pattern for the teacher group. Based on the above analysis and findings, I regard the tool as valid and reliable. My research design is based on mixed-methods research (MM). The research strategy takes the form of a case study. The study is located in a methodology class for final year physical science pre-service teachers. They formed an experimental group (N=16) for this study. I delivered an intervention, targeting understanding of transformation of Chemical Equilibrium concepts, using the above listed five knowledge components. I collected data through a combination of tools, including the newly designed Topic Specific PCK tool in Chemical Equilibrium, an Achievement tool and a science teacher Belief tool. Both the Achievement and the Belief tools were adapted from existing tools, and were thus considered tried and validated. The findings suggest that the quality of Topic Specific PCK in chemical equilibrium may be improved in pre-service teachers by the explicit discussion of the knowledge enabling its transformation. They also suggest that, in the process of discussing aspects of subject matter knowledge related to its transformation, pre-service teachers improve their conceptual understanding of chemical equilibrium. Both these improvements were not affected by the shift or lack of shift in teacher beliefs from teacher-centred towards studentcentred practices. I acknowledge the small size of the sample as a practical limitation to the generalization of the statistical findings in this study. I suggest that emphasis be placed on the trends displayed, as they are similar to those obtained from the multiple sources of the qualitative component of the study. Finally, I recommend that the development of PCK in pre-service teachers be considered in a topic by topic manner. I urge that the teaching of chemistry topics be explicitly organized in a format in which pre-service teachers would be expected to reason about them, and particularly transform them for teaching. Keywords Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Topic Specific PCK, Chemical Equilibrium, Transformation of Subject Matter Knowledge.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Science, School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, in partial fulfilment of the award of Master of Science (M.Sc) in Science Education. 6 November 2017.
The gap between theory and practice in education remains a persistent problem identified by some researchers as today’s “Achilles heel of teacher education”. The experience in science education is no different. Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) has emerged as a theoretical construct that offers science education practitioners a framework to bridge the theory-practice divide because of its ability to transform content knowledge. However, little is known about how the complexity of classroom practice influences PCK acquired by pre-service teachers from structured courses. The purpose of this study was to illuminate pre-service teachers’ PCK as it develops from a point of reasoning about teaching a specific topic into classroom delivery. This study was performed as a qualitative case study of 23 final year pre-service science teachers. It was located in a methodology class that had a specific objective to develop PCK in core topics of science. The students were exposed to an explict intervention on developing PCK in teaching stochiometry then placed in various High Schools around Johannesburg during teaching experience. Data collected was largely during their placement in schools. It consisted of qualitative data such as lesson plans, audio recordings of classroom teaching and self - analysis reports submitted after the teaching experience. Analysis was based on a qualitative in-depth method for identification of evidence of teaching segments illustrating pedagogical transformation. These are segments where there is evidence of two or more topic specific components of PCK defined as Topic Specific Content Knowledge (TSPCK). These were called TSPCK episodes. The TSPCK episodes identified in lessons plans and in recorded lessons were analysed for identificaton of components present and the nature of interactions. These were turned into pictorial TSPCK MAPS. The analysis of pre-service teachers’ views on TSPCK were analysed through a combination of open statements and a science teacher belief tool. The findings indicated that TSPCK episodes identified in lessons plans experience an authentic expansion, blossoming into a cluster of episodes which still carried out the original intention. In some cases the intention could be seen through a similar TSPCK episode in some cases the component sequence and identity had changed. Furthermore, pre-service teachers showed positive awareness of their own level of teacher development and credited their development to the TSPCK framework. Recommendations in this report include promotion of the implementation of the TSPCK framework in Initial Teacher Education, particularly in the methodology courses with reference to classroom complexity.
LG2018

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Johannesburg 2018
In science education, Topic Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TSPCK) is attested to as a valid theoretical construct for implementation within topics in initial teacher preparation programs (Abell, 2008; Mavhunga, 2015). This study investigated the advantage brought about by the early exposure of Graduate Beginning Teachers of physical sciences, (intervention GBTs) to explicit TSPCK development at the time of their pre-service training in the quality of their classroom teaching. The study employed a qualitative comparative case study design of 7 intervention GBTs. A control sample of 3 GBTs, and 1 expert teacher were added to this sample. Data was collected and analyzed at four sampling stages. The first stage entailed fresh analysis of sets of data that were retrospectively collected from archived completed pre-versus-post TSPCK tools, which were used to measure the quality of planned TSPCK in the topics of intervention before and immediately after the intervention. The second stage comprised analysis of sets of freshly completed TSPCK tools in the same topics of intervention administered 2 years into the actual teaching practice of the intervention GBTs. The third stage involved a comparison of the freshly completed TSPCK test tools in the same topics of intervention and in new topics, collected from a sub-set sample of 3 intervention-GBTs vs. 3 control GBTs and 1 expert teacher. The new topics were different from those used during the intervention. The fourth stage included analysis of sets video-recorded lessons and pre- (post) lesson interviews, captured during the actual classroom teaching of the same sub-set of 3 GBT cohort pairs and the expert teacher. The completed TSPCK tools were analyzed and scored using the criterion based Mavhunga & Rollnick TSPCK (2013) rubric for scoring planned TSPCK. Measurement of the quality of enacted classroom teaching involved qualitative in-depth analysis for TSPCK episodes contained in the recorded lessons. This was followed by matching the identified episodes into pre-determined categories of quality in a newly developed and validated TSPCK classroom rubric, with assistance of three independent raters. The inter-rater reliability agreement in both planned and enacted TSPCK was calculated at a Cohen Kappa value of 0.80 and 0.822, respectively. The findings from the first and second sets of data confirmed a positive gain in the quality planned TSPCK at the end of the final year of the intervention GBTs training program and retention of the acquired quality two years into actual teaching practice. Findings from the third and fourth sets of data revealed that; the intervention-GBTs displayed added advantage over their control GBTs in planning and reasoning about teaching, as well as their real classroom teaching. The above findings suggests that an early exposure to explicit TSPCK as part of teacher preparation may influence the retention of the aquired competency for planning and enactment of TSPCK across different topics in real classroom teaching among beginning physical science teachers. I acknowledge the small sample size used as a limitation to the generalization of the research findings. I however suggest that emphasis be placed on the displayed patterns, as they emerged from multiple qualitative data sources and recommend for the development of PCK in core science topics in pre-service teacher preparation programmes
XL2019

Extensive research describes common misconceptions when learning to understand how electric circuits function and the concurrent difficulties of teaching this content. The primary purpose of this study was to design and validate an assessment tool that uses these misconceptions to measure teachers’ Topic Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TSPCK) for teaching electric circuits. In conjunction with the TSPCK assessment tool, a Content Knowledge (CK) assessment tool was adapted from existing content tests for electric circuits. The purpose of the CK assessment tool was to test the assumption that teachers’ TSPCK cannot develop without them having prior CK.

thesis submitted to the Wits School of Education, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, 2015
The effective teaching of water resource management is critically important to the future sustainability of Botswana, considering that water resources are a shared and scarce resource, unevenly distributed over time and space. Preliminary research (Mosothwane, 2002; Mogotsi, 2007; Ketlhoilwe, 2003/7) suggests that teachers in Botswana struggle to select suitable teaching strategies for Environmental Education (EE)-oriented topics. For this reason, the introduction of Environmental Education (EE) into the Social Studies curriculum could potentially pose a challenge for Batswana teachers to construct and use Pedagogic Content Knowledge (PCK) to teach the topic of ‘Water Resources and their management’ effectively. Teachers would need to develop a nuanced understanding of EE core concepts to enable them to use appropriate pedagogic methods that promote students’ sustainable approaches to environmental management of resources. Environmental education means much more than environmental awareness; it also encompasses the understanding of issues, concern for the environment and a commitment to the wise and sustainable use of resources. This implies a need to link subject knowledge to an appropriate pedagogic approach. Research has established that there exists a relationship between teachers’ knowledge of the topic to be taught, their beliefs and their ability to transform content knowledge into a form that is appropriate for teaching. My study, therefore, explores teachers’ beliefs about teaching, their environmental worldview and their understanding of EE teaching. I assess their content knowledge on the topic of Water Resources and their Management in Botswana, establish the extent to which they are able to portray topic-specific PCK, and use this knowledge to make appropriate pedagogic choices. I analyse the extent to which their beliefs and understanding of teaching, EE and their content knowledge enable them to approach the topic, Water Resources and their Management in Botswana for effective teaching. The theoretical framework of the study relies on Shulman’s knowledge bases for teaching and Palmer’s components for teaching and learning in EE, that is, in, about and for the environment. These were instrumental in developing the data collection tools and the analysis of the data. I used a small selection of participants - Social Studies teachers in Botswana - for data collection purposes rather than a huge survey. The data collection was done through questionnaires, belief tests, Content Representations (CoRes) and lesson planning. Data analysis relied on Shulman’s knowledge bases for teaching and Palmer’s components for teaching and learning in EE, that is, in, about and for the environment, formed the base of my theoretical framework. The findings of my study indicated that the teachers’ understanding of what it means to teach effectively foregrounds the role of providing care and backgrounds to the mediation of knowledge. While teachers professed concern for the environment, these concerns were not translated into learning tasks that might develop such concerns, awareness and commitment to environmental sustainability. Although teachers were well able to describe students’ prior knowledge, they struggled to articulate how the topic fitted into the curriculum, what constituted appropriate representations of the key issues and which teaching strategies would be most appropriate. My findings further showed that, although the teachers possessed knowledge about water and its use, abuse and management in the country, they did not design lessons that provided opportunities for links between students’ experiences in their communities. Instead, the lessons developed provided a variety of generic teaching strategies that were not EE-specific. Their selection was unjustified, lacking Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK). The proposed teaching strategies showed no evidence of transformation of the content-specific to EE, did not take into account the students’ prior knowledge and were also not closely connected to the goals of EE for motivating students to adopt sustainable lifestyles. The implications of the findings of this study suggest that there is a gap between EE policy intentions in Botswana and the implementation of EE in secondary schools. Although teachers appear to be well informed about the content knowledge of water resources and their management, they are not yet able to translate their content knowledge into constructing topic-specific PCK. My study suggests that teachers are not yet rising to the challenge of developing a subtle understanding of EE core concepts for an implementation that promotes activism to prompt changes for sustainable living. The study, therefore, proposes an ideal framework for PCK in EE to enable effective teaching of EE-oriented topics. The model incorporates the categories of teacher professional knowledge bases, Topic Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge and beliefs influencing classroom practice. The model also takes into consideration the national goals of EE, as well as the components of teaching and learning of EE, that is: in, about and for the environment.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Education (Maths and Science Division), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment for the degree of M.Ed., 2020
Literature shows that teacher education programmes aim to equip teachers with not only strong content knowledge but also the capability to reason soundly about teaching (Shulman, 1987). This sound reasoning requires both a process of thinking about how the teaching will be enacted as well as a sufficient body of content knowledge and experience to draw from (Shulman, 1987). Pre-service teachers in their fourth year of study may not have a wealth of experience to draw from as part of their pedagogical reasoning but they have been sufficiently exposed to instruction that has equipped them with the ability to reason soundly about their teaching. A large part of this instruction has involved use of the Topic Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework. The topic specific nature of PCK has been attested to in many empirical studies (Loughran, Berry, & Mulhall, 2004). This framework has been used as a tool to help pre-service teachers transform knowledge of specific topics, particularly in maths and physical science into instruction. This research is a case study that followed three PSTs as they planned and enacted three different Life Sciences topics over a period of three lessons, respectively. The study aimed to contribute to a larger study by investigating the extent to which and ways in which pre-service teachers, in their final year of study, made use of the TSPCK framework in the planning and teaching of Life Sciences lessons. More specifically, the study looked at how PSTs were reasoning about the transformation of specific topics in the subject whilst using the TSPCK framework as the basis for their reasoning. Methods of data collection included lesson plan documents, video and audio taped lesson observations and semi-structured video (and audio) stimulated recall (VSR) interviews. The necessity of the three data collection methods was not only for triangulation and validity purposes but also to bring out the elusive nature of both pedagogical reasoning and planned and enacted TSPCK. Findings indicate that indeed, PSTs use the TSPCK framework as the basis for their pedagogical reasoning and action however, between both planned and enacted lessons, the TSPCK components that manifested the most are learner prior knowledge, representations and conceptual teaching strategies. It was further shown that pre-service teachers lacked knowledge of some aspects of TSPCK components. That being said, instruction in teacher education programmes that develops pre-service teachers’ capabilities to plan and enact richly in their teaching of science topics remains a challenge (Mavhunga, 2014). It is hoped that this study brings out the effectiveness of the Life Sciences teacher training programme at a South African university, particularly by shedding light on the effectiveness of the TSPCK framework as a content knowledge transformation tool for Life Science teachers as well as its usefulness once teachers are out in the field. Recommendations for this study include a call to develop pedagogical transformation competence in PSTs as opposed to waiting for this competence to be gained with experience
CK2021

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Science, School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, in partial fulfilment of the award of Master of Science (MSc.) in Science Education May, 2016
There have been indications of inadequate content knowledge of South African physical science teachers and poor pedagogical content knowledge in making the concepts accessible to students. With this, the pre-service teachers are considered a part of the science education foremost links to schools and young science learners. Empirically, it has been reported that this unique teacher knowledge could be developed particularly in pre-service teachers in a planning context and that the new technique of developing pre-service teachers’ PCK within a topic helps in their good mastery of teaching concepts and thus making them specialists in topics. The Topic Specific PCK (TSPCK) construct focuses on the transformation of the understanding of content of a particular topic. This study investigated the extent to which focus on kinematics improves pre-service teachers’ PCK in the topic and possible transferability of the learnt pedagogical competence to a new physics topic – electric circuits. Guiding this study were two research questions: What is the impact of the intervention on the quality of pre-service teachers’ Topic Specific PCK in Kinematics? To what extent is the preservice teachers’ learnt pedagogical transformation competence transferrable to their planning of a new topic in physics topic – Electric circuits? This study used mixed methods to investigate TSPCK in pre-service teachers. It was located in the methodology class of Twenty-three (23) 4th year physical science majors. The study included an intervention where the theoretical framework for TSPCK was used to introduce the construct in Kinematics. The intervention explains each of the five components of Topic Specific PCK using the knowledge concepts of Kinematics. Data were collected using three instruments: an instrument measuring content knowledge in kinematics; an instrument measuring the quality of Topic Specific PCK in kinematics administered as a set of pre/post intervention tests; and an instrument measuring transferability of learnt competence in planning for teaching a new topic electricity. The pre-service teachers’ written responses to the TSPCK kinematics tool were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Both methods of analysis revealed that the pre-service teachers improved in their quality of TSPCK in kinematics following the intervention. It was also found out that the pre-service teachers’ improvement in the quality of TSPCK in kinematics was as result of rigorous engagement with the TSPCK components at varying degrees. Similarly, on the topic of transfer, electricity which was not discussed during the intervention, TSPCK tool in electric circuits was administered to the pre-service teachers and few records of their actual classroom teaching were analyzed. This was done to examine possible transferability of learnt pedagogical transformation competence to the new physics topic of electricity. The findings revealed that the pre-service teachers had ‘developing level’ of TSPCK in the topic of transfer similar to the finding in the topic of kinematics. The study demonstrated that focus on a single topic in a methodology course will enable transfer to another topic provided the teachers have the pre-requisite content knowledge. The findings of this study would contribute to the training of the Physical science student teachers and specifically improve their planning of other physics topics to enhance effective teaching and learning process.