Conceptual Teaching Strategies Research Articles

Integration of topic-specific pedagogical content knowledge components in secondary school science teachers’ reflections on biology lessons

Teachers’ reflections on their practice are a powerful tool for measuring and supporting their professional knowledge. Pedagogical content knowledge is one of the most influential domains of teacher professional knowledge. This multiple-case study investigated the topic-specific pedagogical content knowledge (TSPCK) components that Zambian secondary school science teachers integrate when reflecting on biology lessons. Three teachers from the same school were observed teaching a biology lesson and attended post-observation interviews. Data were mainly collected through lesson plans, lesson observation field notes and post-observation interviews. The data were analysed using in-depth analysis of explicit TSPCK, enumerative and constant comparative approaches. TSPCK maps were constructed to illustrate each teachers’ integration of TSPCK components. The results revealed four features about the integration of TSPCK components: (a) None of the teachers depended solely on a single TSPCK component as they integrated other components (b) The components curricular saliency, students’ prior knowledge and misconceptions, and conceptual teaching strategies were central in the TSPCK maps of all the teachers, while representations and analogies, and what make the topic easy/difficult to teach/learn were least integrated (c) All teachers had different pairs of reciprocal connections among TSPCK components, and (d) All teachers had different pairs of most integrated components. The implications of these findings for science and teacher education research were presented and discussed. It was concluded that teachers’ reflections revealed the integration between TSPCK components and showed them differently. The study recommends investigating teachers’ reflections over several lessons and tracking any changes in their TSPCK integration.

Examining the educative nature of selected physical sciences textbooks about electrostatics using pedagogical content knowledge

ABSTRACT Curriculum statements are crucial documents for guiding teaching and learning as they describe the content and skills to be acquired by learners. Textbooks translate curriculum statements into materials for use in schools. This study examines the educative nature of three physical sciences textbooks about electrostatics using the lens of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). PCK describes the transformation of content into teachable forms and its evidence in textbooks would contribute to the teachability of the content in question. The study analyses textbooks as a source of information that can help teachers transform concepts of electrostatics into teachable forms. The study also proposes a possible model that describes the role of textbooks on teachers' knowledge and practice, as they are not considered in current PCK theories. The framework includes components of PCK described in the grand rubric and the support provided by curricular materials to teachers. The components of PCK are curricular saliency, learners' understanding of concepts, representations, and conceptual teaching strategies. The analysis revealed that curricular saliency was the most predominant component displayed in the textbooks compared to the other components. It is therefore recommended that textbooks should consciously include other PCK components, i.e., representations and strategies that address learners' difficulties.

Pedagogical Factors Affecting the Translation of Pedagogical Content Knowledge About Electrostatics into Practice

ABSTRACT Teaching practice internships provide opportunities for pre-service teachers (PSTs) to enact their knowledge in real classroom settings. This paper investigated PSTs’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) about electrostatics, its translation into practice and factors that affect the translation. The refined consensus model (RCM) of PCK served as theoretical framework. Guided by the RCM, two manifestations of enacted PCK (ePCK) focusing on lesson planning (ePCKP) and teaching (ePCKT) were investigated. Data reflecting ePCKP was collected using content representations (CoRe) tools and lesson planning forms. Data reflecting the ePCKT was explored using classroom observations. The components of the grand PCK rubric served as the analytical framework. These are teacher knowledge and skills related to (i) curricular saliency, (ii) learners’ understanding of concepts, and (iii) conceptual teaching strategies including representations. These components were used to analyze the manifestations of ePCK before they were compared. Components that revealed variations between ePCKP and ePCKT were used to formulate interview questions to elicit the pedagogical factors that affected the translation of the PCK into practice. The results revealed multiple instances where there were misalignments between ePCKP and ePCKT. The misalignments were ascribed to the following pedagogical factors: interactions with learners, the involvement of mentor teachers, reflections, management of time for teaching concepts, and teacher efficacy. The results have implications for PST education and mentorship during teaching practice internships.

Analysis of supervisor’s written feedback addressing pre-service science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge during teaching practice

The feedback received during teaching practice (TP) has a lasting impact on pre-service teachers’ teaching knowledge and practice among the learning experiences of the teacher education program. This study analyzed written feedbacks offered by supervisors to pre-service science teachers (PSTs) (biology, chemistry, physics, health education, and mathematics) during TP observation generally, but with particular attention to those addressing pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). The study adopted a phenomenological design of qualitative research and written feedback in 40 PSTs’ lesson notes were analyzed using deductive thematic analysis. Apart from the few written feedback related to PCK, some were not specifying the teaching knowledge or practice they intend to correct or affirm. Majority of the written feedback addressed general pedagogical knowledge. The written feedback related to PCK was more generic to the science discipline than topic-specific. Conceptual teaching strategies and representation were the components of PCK addressed in the feedback. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the college supervisor should avoid offering feedback that specifies no direction of improvement during the supervision of PSTs during practicum.

Topic-Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge-Based Instruction and Level of Conceptual Understanding of Chemical Kinetics and Equilibrium concepts on Grade 11 Students

The goal of this study was to assess students’ level of conceptual understanding of chemical kinetics and equilibrium using topic-specific pedagogical content knowledge (TSPCK)-based instruction in chemistry grade 11 students. The research was a mixed approach that involved 159 grade 11 chemistry class students from Addis Ababa administrative city, Ethiopia, and employed a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Purposive sampling was used for the sample procedure and four intact classes were selected as three intervention groups and one control group: curricular saliency-based, representation-based, conceptual teaching strategy-based instruction, and comparison groups. The level of conceptual understanding was assessed using reasoned questions, specifically a two-tiered multiple-choice pretest, and posttest. The findings revealed that students’ conceptual understanding of chemical kinetics was higher than that of chemical equilibrium concepts. According to the findings of the students’ pretest and posttest, the level of conceptual understanding increased from 27.08% to 32.21% in chemical kinetics and from 15.91% to 23.68% in chemical equilibrium. Overall, representation-based instruction and conceptual teaching tactics boosted students’ conceptual knowledge and accomplishment in chemical kinetics and equilibrium concepts. This study proposes that the level of conceptual understanding of grade 11 students in chemical kinetics should take into account the horizontal relationship between mathematics and the chemical kinetics concepts, which should be taught using technology-assisted teaching strategies such as conceptual teaching strategies and three-fold mental representations.

Chemistry Teachers’ Stoichiometry Pedagogical Content Knowledge and its Relationship with Chemistry Students’ Achievement in Stoichiometry

This study surveyed 19 chemistry teachers’ stoichiometry pedagogical content knowledge (SPCK) in Ijebu Ode local government area of Ogun state, Nigeria using Malcolm’s Physical Science Teachers’ SPCK test. The qualitative data were transformed to scores, which revealed the level of chemistry teachers’ knowledge of students’ prior knowledge, curriculum saliency, what makes stoichiometry easy or difficult to understand representations and conceptual teaching strategies. In addition, the study determined how the level of teachers’ SPCK is related to students’ stoichiometry achievement. The results showed that 89% of the chemistry teachers provided novice or basic responses for all the five components of SPCK. The group mean of teachers’ responses for each of the SPCK components revealed that the teachers had the highest knowledge level for the component of what makes stoichiometry easy or difficult to understand. The group means for the other four SPCK components are below the basic level; specifically, the knowledge of representations and analogies used in stoichiometry teaching and of conceptual teaching strategies were at a very low SPCK level. Out of the 19 teachers, six are classified as novices, eleven are basic and two are developing experts. The results also showed that the teachers’ SPCK level is associated with students’ achievement in stoichiometry, in that, the students of the developing expert teachers had a significantly higher achievement than their peers taught by the novice and basic level SPCK teachers. Therefore, it is recommended that in-service and pre-service chemistry teachers are exposed to training that will improve their SPCK specifically regarding students’ prior knowledge, curriculum saliency, representations and conceptual teaching strategies.

Investigating the Influence of an Online Intervention on the Development of High School Chemistry Teachers’ PCK about Environmental Sustainability

Creating awareness of environmental sustainability issues through formal education may be an effective way to help citizens deal with these issues. Teachers, however, have not been sufficiently trained on how to teach with sustainability concerns in mind. For this study, a purposively selected group of six chemistry teachers was exposed to an online professional development intervention (PDI) whose content draws on collective pedagogical content knowledge (cPCK) about the extraction of metals and mining as related to environmental sustainability. This paper reports on a study that explores the transfer of knowledge from cPCK to personal PCK (pPCK), and from pPCK to enacted PCK (ePCK). Data were collected using a pre- and post-PDI questionnaire, interviews and a lesson plan template. These tools were used to capture the teachers’ pPCK and ePCK. During the analysis of the data, a validated PCK rubric and a master content representation created by experts were used. The PCK components of knowledge of curricular saliency, student thinking and conceptual teaching strategies constituted the lens through which the researchers investigated the chemistry teachers’ PCK. The findings of this study revealed that the intervention enhanced the quality of the teachers’ ePCK about extraction of metals, by informing their pPCK. It also showed that despite being exposed to the same intervention, the PCK of all the teachers did not develop to the same extent. Four of the six participants showed a positive gain in the quality of their PCK across all three components, while the other two only showed a positive gain on two of the three components. The differences in PCK development within the context of chemistry teaching were attributed to the presence of amplifiers and filters. The study contributes to both theory and practice, highlighting the need for research-informed continuous professional development of teachers in education for sustainability and suggesting ways to infuse sustainability into their teaching of chemistry.

IMPROVING SECONDARY SCHOOL BIOLOGY TEACHERS’ TOPIC-SPECIFIC PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE: EVIDENCE FROM LESSON STUDIES

Since pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) influences the teaching-learning process, it has dominated research on teacher effectiveness. This case study explored teachers’ enacted topic-specific PCK (TSPCK) during the biology lesson study stages: planning, teaching, and reflecting. The enacted TSPCK in two video-recorded research lessons was analysed qualitatively. The results showed that the teacher enacted both high-order and low-order pedagogical actions in the enactment of the TSPCK on eight themes, namely: teaching strategies, classroom interactions, representations, curricular saliency, conceptual teaching strategies, students’ prior knowledge and misconceptions, and what makes teaching or learning difficult. The results also show that the teachers’ collective planned TSPCK was more developed than their personal TSPCK, indicating that participation in the lesson study improved the teachers’ TSPCK. The study is important as it shows how teachers enact their personal and collective TSPCK in respiration. It also demonstrates the potential of lesson study to improve teachers’ PCK through collaborative planning and reflection on taught lessons. The study recommends using lesson study to improve teachers’ enacted TSPCK in respiration, and biology as a whole. Keywords: enacted pedagogical content knowledge (ePCK), topic-specific pedagogical content knowledge (TSPCK), respiration, secondary school, lesson study

Teachers’ Perceived Enacted Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Biology at Selected Secondary Schools in Lusaka

The pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of teachers influences students’ achievement of the learning outcomes. This study examined teachers’ perceived enactment of PCK in biology. The quantitative survey design was adopted by using a Likert-scale questionnaire consisting of six components of PCK, namely curricular saliency, students’ prior knowledge, what makes the subject easy or difficult, representations, conceptual teaching strategies, and assessment. Data on teachers’ perceived enacted PCK (ePCK) were collected from 54 biology teachers selected from 14 secondary schools in three districts of Lusaka province. The data were analyzed by computing descriptive and inferential statistics using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The findings revealed that: (a) respondents’ perceived ePCK was high (M = 4.29, SD = .37), (b) respondents’ perceived ePCK was not influenced by gender, teaching experience, and type of school, (c) respondents’ perceived ePCK was influenced by their academic qualifications, (d) the component students’ prior knowledge and misconceptions was the most enacted component, and (e) the component what makes the subject easy or difficult was the least enacted component. The results highlight areas in teachers’ PCK that require enhancement. The study recommends using teacher professional development to enhance teachers’ ePCK in the component what makes the subject easy or difficult to understand. Further research may use larger samples and more data sources to increase the validity of the findings.

Students’ Perceptions of Biology Teachers’ Enacted Pedagogical Content Knowledge at Selected Secondary Schools in Lusaka Province of Zambia

Since teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) plays a vital role in attaining educational goals, it has become a favourable construct in science education research. Because students are more perceptive when evaluating teachers, this quantitative survey examined students’ perceptions of biology teachers’ enacted PCK (ePCK). The sample consisted of 319 students from six secondary schools in three districts of Lusaka province, Zambia. Data were collected using a Likert- scale questionnaire called “students’ perceptions of teachers’ enacted PCK” questionnaire. It had a Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.842, indicative of good reliability. Data were collected on six ePCK components: curricular saliency, what makes the subject easy or difficult to understand; conceptual teaching strategies; representations; students’ prior knowledge; and assessment. The findings revealed that the students perceived that their biology teachers’ ePCK was moderate (M=3.61, SD=0.47). While the component ‘students’ prior knowledge’ was the most enacted (M=4.01, SD=0.73), while ‘what makes the subject difficult to understand’ was the least enacted component (M=3.01, SD=0.77). Statistically significant differences were observed in students’ perceptions pertaining to the variables grade level and type of school but not gender. These findings suggest that students’ perceptions of the teachers’ ePCK may highlight areas that teachers may reflect on to improve their PCK and, hence, students’ learning. The implications of these findings on teaching and learning were discussed. The study recommends using students’ perceptions to evaluate teachers’ knowledge and the general teaching-learning process.

Early statistics in kindergarten: analysis of an educator's pedagogical content knowledge in lessons promoting informal inferential reasoning

PurposeThis study aims to describe the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of a kindergarten educator who implements a lesson plan about informal inferential reasoning designed in a lesson study group.Design/methodology/approachTo this end, we analyzed teaching interventions in two kindergarten lessons focused on the playful task of tossing two coins, associated with inferential statistical reasoning. The study highlights the importance of arguing and promoting this reasoning to develop statistical thinking. It is crucial to recognize how early students can be subject to learning experiences that promote a language of uncertainty, assess the evidence provided by the data, and make generalizations.FindingsThe results reveal that while the educator demonstrated knowledge and skills relevant to the curriculum and conceptual teaching strategies, the understanding of the content by the students and the integration of the PCK components still present a challenge.Practical implicationsThe lesson study collaborative teaching practices that promote PCK have proven effective for informing the design and implementation of instructional practices supporting the development of early statistical thinking in young children.Originality/valueThe study enriches the knowledge regarding the potential of the lesson study (LS) in the professional learning of kindergarten educators. It also contributes to a comprehensive approach based on authentic playful experiences in grade K that supports the development of early statistical thinking in young children.

Zambian Secondary School Biology Teachers’ Profiles of Planned Topic-specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Teaching Respiration

Teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) has the potential to influence lesson planning, teaching and students’ academic performance in science. Since PCK is embodied in lesson planning (as planned PCK), this study employed the multiple-case design to describe in-depth the biology teachers’ profiles of planned topic-specific PCK (plTSPCK) for teaching respiration. While the target population comprised all biology teachers in Chipata district of Zambia, data were collected from nine teachers drawn from six secondary schools. The study used face-to-face lesson planning interviews which were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Mavhunga and Rollnick’s model of TSPCK was adopted as the analytical framework. After analysing each interview transcript, the teachers’ integration of plTSPCK components was summarised into plTSPCK maps. The findings reveal that (a) the integration of the plTSPCK components in the teachers’ profiles was idiosyncratic; (b) the components conceptual teaching strategies, curricular saliency and students’ prior knowledge were central to the integration of plTSPCK; and (c) representations and what makes the topic easy/difficult were the least integrated components. The study recommends enhancing teachers’ PCK through teacher professional development activities such as lesson studies using the TSPCK framework as an analysis tool for the lesson plans and the observed lesson to demonstrate the planned and enacted PCK respectively.

Enacted Pedagogical Content Knowledge Profiles of Chemistry Teachers

This research focuses on chemistry teachers’ enacted pedagogical content knowledge (ePCK) in equilibrium in chemical reactions. The enactment dimension of this pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) encompasses enacted knowledge and skills as well as those embedded in practice concerning the Refined Consensus Model of PCK, the most recent PCK model in science education. As ePCK plays out throughout the whole pedagogical cycle, it was conceptualized as to exist in three forms, such that ePCKP, ePCKT, and ePCKR. While ePCKP and ePCKR represent the knowledge and skills that a teacher uses for planning and reflecting respectively, ePCKT is related to what a teacher does in the classroom. The holistic nature of ePCK was investigated by using multiple data sources in real-life contexts. Specifically, pre-and post-observation interviews and lesson observations were used to elicit ePCK profiles and to provide triangulation. The grand rubric was customized for use both as an interview protocol and as an observational protocol for analyzing all of the three dimensions of ePCK around the analytical parameters of knowledge and skills related to curricular saliency, conceptual teaching strategies, and student understanding of science. Results revealed that chemistry teachers’ ePCK profiles are not uniform across planning, teaching, and reflecting phases, ePCK components, and evaluation criteria. Chemistry teachers perform highest in reflection concerning conceptual teaching strategies and lowest in teaching in terms of curricular saliency. Recommendations for science PCK research were shared.

The development of ePCK of newly hired in-field and out-of-field teachers during their first three years of teaching

ABSTRACT This study explored the potential impact of teaching outside of one’s field of expertise. This longitudinal cross-case study examined the development of enacted pedagogical content knowledge (ePCK) among a group of in-field and out-of-field (OOF) physical science teachers during their first 3 years of teaching. The components of ePCK investigated included the knowledge and skills related to conceptual teaching strategies and student understanding of science. Seventeen newly hired teachers teaching in and outside their field of expertise participated in the study. The data collected included semi-structured interviews and classroom observations of the teachers. The study’s findings showed that early career OOF physical science teachers exhibited less developed ePCK and showed more inconsistencies in their ePCK compared to their in-field counterparts. The findings also revealed that ePCK fluctuated for most teachers, representing the tentative nature of emerging ePCK. This study has implications for those who prepare and support newly hired teachers.

Development of Science Teachers’ PCK About Waves Through Training in the Use of the Ripple Tank Apparatus

This study investigated the effect of in-service training in the use of the ripple tank equipment on science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) about the topic of waves. Three Grade 10 Physical Sciences teachers participated in this qualitative case study. The Refined Consensus Model informed the conceptual framework of this study, considering PCK at a topic level within each of the three realms of PCK. The training exposed teachers to the collective realm of PCK with the intention of developing their personal PCK about the topic. Teachers’ personal PCK was explored by means of written Content Representations before as well as after the training. After the training, teachers’ enacted PCK was observed and video-recorded while teaching the topic of waves to their learners. Pedagogical reasoning was elicited through video stimulated recall interviews. The post-training interviews also provided insight into participants’ general views about the in-service training. The results show that the participants’ personal PCK improved and that some of the content and skills taught during in-service training were utilized in the enacted PCK of two of the participants, particularly regarding conceptual teaching strategies. Least improvement occurred for the component of teachers’ knowledge of learners’ understanding. We found evidence that teachers’ beliefs influence their pedagogical reasoning, acting as amplifiers and filters to translate newly acquired personal PCK into enacted PCK: teachers who prioritise hands-on experiences and teaching for understanding as opposed to rote learning are more receptive to training in the use of apparatus. The study therefore shows that training in the use of the ripple tank equipment improved in unique ways each of the teachers’ PCK about waves.

Teaching Electromagnetism for the First Time: a Case Study of Pre-service Science Teachers’ Enacted Pedagogical Content Knowledge

This paper reports on topic-specific pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) enacted by three pre-service science teachers during their final year school-based internship. An interpretive, qualitative case study was conducted to investigate to what extent the pre-service teachers applied the knowledge taught during a preceding physical science method course, when teaching electromagnetism for the first time. The study is rooted in the revised consensus model of PCK with focus on the enacted PCK (ePCK) of pre-service teachers. Five topic-specific PCK components informed the design of an ePCK rubric used to assess the extent to which the pre-service teachers’ PCK manifested in their practice. Data were captured by written content representations (CoRes), lesson observations and interviews. The rubric, together with further qualitative analysis, was used to determine how the pre-service teachers translated the knowledge taught during training into practice. Findings indicate that the participating pre-service teachers enacted certain components of the taught PCK and reasoned pedagogically about their teaching, though not at the same level for all main ideas in the topic. After teaching the topic, the pre-service teachers indicated that they would like to improve their sequencing of key concepts. It was concluded that the teaching experience contributed to a better understanding of conceptual teaching strategies. The findings of the study may inform PCK development in teacher education.

Comparing Pedagogical Content Knowledge Across Fundamental Concepts of Electrostatics: A Case of Three Pre-service Teachers

It has recently been suggested that pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) has a concept-specific nature, beyond the topic-specific level of PCK. This paper reports a case study of three pre-service teachers’ reported PCK about three fundamental concepts within the topic of electrostatics, namely electrostatic force, electric field and electric field strength. The aim of the study was to compare the quality of the PCK of each of the individual participants across these fundamental concepts. Data was collected using a content representation tool and a lesson planning form prescribed by the participants’ teacher training institution. A topic-specific PCK model was adopted as the framework for this study. The model asserts that the content of a particular topic 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, we designed a rubric to assess the concept-specific PCK of the participants on a four-point scale. The results of the study indicated that the PCK of the participants varied across the fundamental concepts of electrostatics, with each participant reporting better PCK for a different concept. The results of the study imply that describing PCK at concept level is appropriate and recommend that PCK should be strengthened at concept level during teacher training to ensure that it develops across all of the concepts within a topic.

Multirater Assessment to Teacher Professionalism based on Pedagogical Content Knowledge

The Indonesian Government has performed teacher certification program since the establishment of the Teacher Law No. 14 year 2005 and PCK has been acknowledged as the indicator of science teachers’ professionalism in some countries. Therefore, this research aims to explore teachers’ PCK as a case study to 20 middle school science teachers with different teaching experiences in the special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. This research was conducted in PCK planning and enacted PCK by collecting lesson plans, recorded the learning activities in the classroom, and structured interviews. The assessment to all research material was employed by 6 raters using PCK assessment rubric consisting of 12 items that was later analyzed with Many Facet Rasch Model. The analysis result informed that all items had good validity and reliability. This study found that only 15% of participants were classified as good teachers’PCK. In-depth analysis on the difficulty level item concluded that the teacher participant’s PCK ability on the representation and conceptual teaching strategies aspects still needed to be improved.

Exploring the Mediation of Learning of Chemical Equilibrium to High-achieving Students in a Selected Senior Secondary School in Namibia

Chemical equilibrium is one of the most important yet difficult topics to teach. The purpose of this study was to examine how two science teachers experienced the mediation of and how they mediated learning of this topic, chemical equilibrium, to high-achieving students. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, lesson observations and stimulated recall interviews. The five topic-specific pedagogical content knowledge (TSPCK) components, namely, teacher knowledge of student prior knowledge, curricular saliency, what is difficult to understand, representations and conceptual teaching strategies, were used as conceptual tools to analyse the data. The findings revealed that the two science teachers struggled to mediate learning of chemical equilibrium concepts to high-achieving students and therefore the approaches used to teach them should not necessarily be any different from those used for average-ability students. Similarly, the teacher’s role as a mediator of meaningful learning is equally important for high-achieving students. We thus recommend that there is a need for continuing professional development for science teachers focussing on the development of materials and strengthening of their TSPCK components.

Planning for teaching a genetics course to pre-service teachers: Experiences of a biology teacher educator

There is limited evidence of guidelines for planning for teaching at the higher education level either in the research literature or in higher education institutions themselves. As a result, novice lecturers struggle to plan for their teaching. The purpose of this study was to explore how planning can be done at a higher education institution by documenting the process of planning of a genetics course for teaching pre-service teachers. A self-study methodology was employed and multiple forms of data were collected including pre- and post-testing results, interviews and journal entries of reflections with critical friends on the different forms of data. Reflections and journaling were ongoing processes throughout the study. The study revealed that planning effectively for teaching at higher education institutions requires lecturers to consider pre-service teachers’ multiple identities, which include pre-service teacher as a learner, a teacher and a member of society. These identities gave meaning and significance to the content that I presented to the students and impacted their learning. This study also revealed that the use of a framework such as the topic-specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework with its five components of learners’ prior knowledge, curricular saliency, what is easy or difficult to teach, representations and conceptual teaching strategies results in structured and informed planning for teaching at university level, contributing to transformation of the content knowledge into a form that is understandable to the students.