Exploration of secondary science prospective teachers’ development of PCK during a school-based practicum

Abstract

Considering the amount of time prospective teachers spent in practicum during teacher education programs, it is important to understand how they develop their knowledge of teaching and learning in this setting and further inform how teacher educators can design adequate support. The objective of this study is to investigate a group of secondary prospective science teachers’ knowledge development as described by the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) framework when they attended practicum associated with a block of teacher education courses. With qualitative approaches, we analyzed prospective teachers’ interviews to probe their learning experiences. Results show that prospective teachers’ development of PCK is idiosyncratic, and they implemented different strategies to learn in the practicum when they are in the same practicum classes. Implications of designing practicum experiences to support prospective teacher learning are discussed.