Effects of a Specialized Content Knowledge Workshop on Preservice Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Physical Education Teaching

Abstract

It has been known that specialized content knowledge (SCK) is directly related to pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). However, little is known about the direct relationship between SCK and PCK. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a SCK workshop with knowledge packet on preservice teachers’ PCK in physical education teaching. A total of 18 preservice teachers, who were taking secondary methods class, were randomly divided by two different groups (i.e., control group and experimental group). Pedagogical content knowledge in physical education (PCKPE) tool and concept map assessment were used to examine preservice teachers’ PCK. A SCK workshop using knowledge packet was conducted only for the experimental group. A 2 X 2 (Group X Time) analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures was utilized and a significant interaction was found between group and time (Wilks’ ramda = .48, F (1, 7) = 7.68, p .05). The preservice teachers’ PCKPE scores significantly improved from pre-test (M = 29.54, SD = 3.17) to post-test (M = 40.95, SD = 3.37) in experimental group (p .001). The PCKPE scores were strongly related to the concept map scores in both pre- and post-test (r = .82 and .86, respectively, p .001). Results confirm that the PCKPE measurement tool can be used to accurately measure PCK as a direct observational tool.