Abstract
The concept of pedagogical content knowledge is integral to teaching as a profession and is often considered to be an important aspect of a teacher’s lived experience. Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is described as a transformation of teacher knowledge from a variety of domains of knowledge, which includes subject matter knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and knowledge about content. This exploratory study reports on in-service natural science teachers’ inferences regarding preservice teachers’ performance in natural science teaching, as observed during a practice teaching period. Perspectives of in-service teachers of the different knowledge domains of pre-service teachers during their final year were investigated. Semi-structured interviews, incorporating a specific set of open-ended questions, were conducted with in-service teachers following a practice teaching period of four weeks. The findings indicate that the in-service teachers rated the pre-service teachers positively in some knowledge domains but less positively in other knowledge domains. This has prompted some rethinking on the structure and presentation of the curriculum, in our undergraduate teacher education programme, to include and accommodate approaches that would enable better uptake of various knowledge domains and improve PCK development.Keywords: in-service teachers; pedagogical content knowledge; pre-service teachers; teacher knowledge
Highlights
In order to improve professional development in pre-service teachers, in particular, learning communities need to be established between schools and tertiary education institutions, between experienced mentor teachers and pre-service teachers as well as between teacher educators and in-service teachers (Agbo, 2003)
These served as a framework for analysis of opportunities for Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in the school curriculum and to recognise the level of pre-service teachers’ experience of PCK in the context of the curriculum
It became evident during this study that the development of sound PCK is crucial during the training of pre-service teachers, as emphasised in the policy documents
Summary
In order to improve professional development in pre-service teachers (teachers in training), in particular, learning communities need to be established between schools and tertiary education institutions, between experienced mentor teachers (in-service teachers) and pre-service teachers as well as between teacher educators and in-service teachers (Agbo, 2003). Agbo (2003) argues that collaboration within professional development communities and learning communities alike could be seen as “learning about teaching and teaching about learning”. This learning from one another could only be possible when one of the parties/participants is an experienced teacher/mentor or teacher educator. There is a need for experienced mentors at the schools where pre-service teachers do their practical training (Aitken & Mildon, 1992:33)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
