Student Content Knowledge Research Articles

Competency‐based learning (CBL): Developing a competency‐based geometry methods course

AbstractObjectivesThis study aims to investigate the feasibility and efficacy of competencybased course (Conceptual Geometry). In addition, this paper presents the procedures of developing competency‐based course which include mapping out competencies of the course, developing a set of assessment instruments (e.g., diagonal, pre‐and post‐unit assessments, CBL comprehensive pre‐and post‐assessments).MethodsOne hundred seventy‐nine graduate students who enrolled in a 5‐week Conceptual Geometry online course participated in this study. During the session, three sets of assessments were administered to assess the baseline of student knowledge (diagonal assessment), effectiveness (comprehensive pre‐and post‐assessments, and student content knowledge (5 sets of pre‐and post‐unit assessments).ResultsThe results of this study showed that implementing an online CBL course is feasible and effective at a course level. Students showed higher scores on all of the post‐unit assessments (M = 95.45, SD = 4.62) than on the pre‐unit assessments (M = 69.42, SD = 7.77). This result supports the increase of student knowledge associated with geometry contents and pedagogy. The post‐comprehensive assessment results show an increase of student efficacy in geometry knowledge and skills using CBL course (pre‐assessment: M = 4.49, SD = 0.86; and post‐assessment: M = 5.14, SD = 0.40) which supports the increase of student efficacy of both content and pedagogical knowledge.

An Exploration into the Practices of the EFL Teachers of Humbo Tebela Secondary and Preparatory School Teach Writing Through Content Based Instruction

The main purpose of this study was an exploration into the perception of Humbo Tebela Secondary and Preparatory School EFL teachers in teaching writing through Content-Based Instruction. Descriptive survey research design was employed for the current study. The researcher selected all the fourteen EFL teachers without sampling because of their limited number. On the other hand, 360 students selected by using simple random sampling technique by lottery method. The data gathering instruments used for study were: interview, questionnaire and classroom observation. The interview data were taped and transcribed into textual form. The classroom observation data were noted to analyze data. The close-ended questions of the questionnaire were treated in number and percentage using SPSS. Qualitative analysis was carried out to analyze the data gathered via open-ended items of the questionnaire. Finally, the results of statistical analysis were described verbatim. From the analysis of data, different findings were obtained. The study portrayed EFL teachers of Humbo Tebela Secondary and Preparatory School teachers’ practice on teaching writing through content-based instruction seemed below the standard that means majority of EFL teachers do not use content-based instruction when teaching writing. Most of the time they were rushing to cover the portion rather than focusing on content knowledge of students; some of EFL teachers and students have misconception about content-based instruction. Therefore, positive perception is not only mandatory for its implementation and EFL teachers of the school properly implement writing skills using CBI so it needs continuous awareness creation activity is paramount. Keywords: Practice, Writing Skills and Content-Based Instruction DOI: 10.7176/JLLL/72-03 Publication date: October 31 st 2020

Student Teachers' Lived Experiences of an ODeL Flipped Instructional Design

In recent decades, research studies on the flipped class pedagogy strategy have shown significant educational benefits in student learning across subjects and contexts. This investigation determines the extent to which the ODeL flipped instructional design enhances student teachers' pedagogical content knowledge of economics. An explanatory mixed-methods design, a self-designed online survey, and blogs were employed for data collection. This article reported positive experiences of students exposed to the educational benefits of flipped class as a digital pedagogy to learn how to teach the subject. Furthermore, social interaction, building relationships, and student learning about the types of sources used to learn how to teach economics are vital for the success of the strategy. Finally, it contributes methodologically to the validation and reliability of an online data collection instrument for future data collection purposes. The findings of this study are limited to a small group of student teachers in the course Teaching Methodology of Economics.

Shocking Escape: A Cardiac Escape Room for Undergraduate Nursing Students

Background. Cardiovascular content is challenging for students to master in the undergraduate nursing curriculum. Educational escape rooms have been shown to be useful in increasing student knowledge, immersing students in the learning process, and facilitating the growth of soft skills among learners. Aim. This article details a cardiovascular educational escape room in an undergraduate nursing course, including educational objectives, design considerations, and all materials for seamless transferability into other curricula. Methods. Faculty designed, implemented, evaluated, and revised a nursing cardiovascular escape room over three years. In this sequential-style escape room, junior-level students worked together in groups to complete nine puzzles and activities. The student teams solved puzzles during the allotted 60 minutes to save a fictional patient at risk for further clinical deterioration related to cardiogenic shock. Participants complete activities including drug dosage calculations, rebus puzzles, multiple choice items, and clinical reasoning activities based around course and licensing objectives for the content area in nursing education. Upon game conclusion, faculty lead a guided debriefing to close the loop of learning. The escape room has been implemented for groups ranging from 31 to 68 students in each cohort. Results. Previously published results on this topic indicate that student content knowledge improved after the event. Students also reflected growth in confidence, critical thinking, and teamwork and also appreciated the real-life nature of the activity. The educational game can be adapted and transferred to other schools of nursing or clinical sites.

Content representations to support out-of-field physics teachers

A global shortage of qualified physics teachers requires some teachers to teach physics out-of-field (OOF). A concern for OOF physics teaching is that without appropriate physics content knowledge (CK), these teachers tend to focus on rote learning and may find it difficult to support students who require additional assistance or extension; they tend to teach in ways that do not foster conceptual understanding. This paper reports on research that investigated how content representations (CoRes) could be used to support OOF physics teachers’ knowledge for teaching electricity and magnetism. CoRes were used to elicit discussions between OOF and in-field physics teachers about important teaching and learning considerations (e.g. appropriate CK for students and appropriate instructional strategies for promoting conceptual understanding). Prior to engaging with CoRes, three OOF teachers were interviewed about teaching electricity and magnetism and their lessons during this topic were video recorded. Later, as these OOF teachers worked with their in-field colleagues using the CoRe framework, all discussions were audio recorded. To explore changes to the OOF teachers’ knowledge and practice from the CoRe process, they were interviewed and their follow-up electricity and magnetism lessons (for a different class) were video recorded. Findings showed that the CoRe processstimulated important discussions about teaching electricity and magnetism and considerations for students learning this topic. As a result, the OOF teachers developed their professional knowledge, including refinement of their CK, acquirement of new topic-specific instructional strategies, and more awareness of students’ understanding during lessons. This study concludes that CoRes are an effective strategy for supporting the professional learning of OOF physics teachers.

Fostering Middle School Teachers’ Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching via Analysis of Tasks and Student Work

Mathematical knowledge for teaching is a complex web of knowledge domains. In this article, we share findings from an 18-month professional development project that aimed to improve middle school mathematics teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) of proportional reasoning by focusing on the critical analysis of mathematical tasks and student work. Although multiple studies have shown that professional development can contribute to teachers’ MKT globally, little is known about how this knowledge grows and how specific domains of MKT can be targeted through professional development. Findings in this study show how professional development positively influenced participants’ knowledge of content and teaching and knowledge of content and students, two domains of MKT, through teachers’ twinned analyses of tasks and student work in proportional reasoning.

Investigating U.S. Preschool Teachers’ Math Teaching Knowledge in Counting and Numbers

ABSTRACT Research Findings: The aim of this study was to investigate U.S. preschool teachers’ math teaching knowledge in a specific content domain: counting and numbers. One hundred in-service and pre-service teachers participated in the study; they completed a questionnaire that is composed of learning scenarios and scenario-based math teaching questions. A mixed qualitative and quantitative method was applied in analyzing the data. Results show that the majority of U.S. preschool teachers failed to identify the concept of count-out that is embedded in a math game, the one-to-one correspondence error was the most identified counting error comparing to the other errors such as the cardinality principle error, and the knowledge of content and teaching appears to be more satisfactory than specialized content knowledge or knowledge of content and students. Practice or Policy: The study serves to fill some gap in addressing a pressing need in the field that is to identify and measure the unique body of preschool teachers’ math teaching knowledge. The study also justifies that preschool teachers need intensive training such as a coursework that wholly focuses on math teaching in order for their math teaching knowledge to be more refined and teaching to be more knowledge-informed.

PROFILE OF STUDENT PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT ABILITIES INTEGRATED FIELD INTRODUCTION PRACTICE STUDY PROGRAM OF PHYSICS EDUCATION

This research aims to describe the profile of pedagogical knowledge (PK) capabilities, content knowledge (CK), and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of physics students who are conducting integrated field recognition practices (PPLT). This research is qualitative descriptive research, where all data are collected based on facts obtained in the field, so descriptive data were obtained from respondents who were selected. The research subjects involved 6 physics education students who conducted PPLT at school as respondents. The selected category is based on a cumulative achievement index. The selected respondents were 2 high ability students, 2 medium students, and 2 low ability students. Data obtained through pedagogical knowledge observation sheets, content knowledge tests, and pedagogical content knowledge observation questionnaires. The data was taken from PPLT student learning compilation in schools. Based on the results of research on the ability of PK, CK, and PCK PPLT physics education students obtained, that students who have high PK and CK abilities have high PCK abilities, while students who have PK abilities and low CK abilities also have high PCK abilities.

A national analysis of the content knowledge of Turkish physical education teacher education students

ABSTRACT Background: Content knowledge is universally acknowledged as one of several knowledge bases that inform pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Content knowledge has been both hypothesized and demonstrated to influence PCK in two ways. First, teachers must know the rules, safety, etiquette, technique, and tactics of a movement form to teach it. This domain of content knowledge is called common content knowledge (CCK), that is the knowledge that one needs to perform the content. Second, in addition teachers must also know how to select, design, and represent instructional tasks that describe the rules, safety, etiquette, techniques, and tactics to students in ways that they will understand and respond to errors by students in terms of rules, safety, etiquette, techniques, and tactics, that is called specialized content knowledge (SCK) for physical education. Purpose: This study examined the effects of teacher training on the levels of soccer and gymnastics CCK and SCK that preservice teachers learn in physical education teacher education (PETE) programs. Method: Participants were 1514 undergraduate physical education teacher education students (i.e. freshman n = 435; sophomore n = 397; junior n = 383; senior n = 299) enrolled in 16 universities that were representative of all geographical regions of Turkey. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted to examine the depth of CCK and SCK. To measure the depth of CCK, we used validated multiple-choice soccer and gymnastics tests. Content maps were used to examine the depth of SCK. To analyze the differences in the CCK and SCK scores of soccer and gymnastics at each grade level, a one-way ANOVA test, and Bonferroni follow-up test was used. To compare the differences between the entrance and exit CCK and SCK levels, t-test was utilized. In addition, we conducted an analysis of content class syllabi and interviews with the instructors (soccer n = 8; gymnastics n = 9) to determine the extent to which the content and delivery of the courses distinguished between CCK and SCK. Findings: Regardless of the grade level, PETE students’ CCK scores were below the success criterion of 60% that is being used in the Turkish Higher Education system (the soccer CCK = 51.85%; the gymnastics CCK = 49.91%). In terms of SCK, scores were below the 3.0 benchmark of adequate SCK (the soccer SCK = 0.23; the gymnastics SCK = 0.20). Despite the significance of differences between CCK and SCK scores among grade levels, the scores were very low showing little content knowledge. Conclusion: Freshman data showed that neither CCK nor SCK in soccer and gymnastics were acquired at meaningful levels upon entering PETE programs. The students in PETE programs examined in this study demonstrated limited improvement in CCK and SCK from freshmen to seniors. Turkish PETE programs must be redesigned to teach each domain of content knowledge. Results of this study may help to change the prevalent, though incorrect, mindset that students obtain CCK and SCK by learning how to perform a sport.

Pre-service Secondary Teachers’ Mathematical Pedagogical Content Knowledge Self-concept related to their Content Knowledge of Functions and Students

Pre-service teachers’ beliefs, attitudes, and values about mathematics have a significant influence on their self-concept about mathematics as a subject and determine how confident they are to teach it. The purpose of this study was to examine Zambian pre-service secondary mathematics teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge self-concept about the function concept in relation to their knowledge of content and students. Data was collected from 150 pre-service teachers using a sequential approach in two phases. The first, quantitative phase, involved 150 pre-service teachers who responded to a functions survey and a mathematical pedagogical content knowledge survey. The second, qualitative phase, involved two pre-service teachers who were purposively selected from phase one to respond to vignettes and interviews for an in-depth understanding of their knowledge. Results of the study revealed that pre-service teachers’ level of their pedagogical content knowledge self-concept was low. They would not be confident enough to teach the function concept in secondary school. Results further revealed that their knowledge of content and students was weak. A weak correlative relationship between pre-service teachers’ KMLS and KM was revealed whereas a moderate correlative relationship of their KL and KC was revealed. It was further revealed that there was no significant correlative relationship between KTS and their knowledge of the function concept Thus, pre-service teachers needed to improve before leaving university for them to effectively teach secondary school concepts.

Soft skills and implications for future professional practice: Qualitative findings of a nursing education escape room

BackgroundEducational escape rooms have been shown to improve student content knowledge; however, research about other skills developed during escape rooms is lacking. ObjectivesTo explore baccalaureate nursing students' perceptions of a cardiovascular-themed educational escape room. During the data analysis, researchers uncovered unique findings related to participant soft skill development and implications for participant future professional practice. DesignA basic interpretive qualitative methodology was used. SettingThe study was conducted at a medium-sized, private, not-for-profit university in the Midwest United States. ParticipantsBaccalaureate nursing students who had recently participated in a cardiovascular-themed educational escape room were purposefully recruited. MethodsA total of two focus groups were conducted using a semi-structured focus group guide. Data were analyzed using a conventional content analysis approach with both inductive and deductive components. ResultsFour overarching themes were identified in the data, including game and learner characteristics, learning outcomes, and implications for future professional practice. The theme of implications for future professional practice included two sub-themes: soft skill development and the real-life nature of the activity. ConclusionA nursing educational escape room may be one strategy to enhance student professional practice skills.

Development of a CURE course aimed at characterization of bacterial Toll/interleukin 1 receptor (TIR) domain-containing proteins

Abstract Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) can engage a large, diverse group of students in authentic research, promote student research skills, student content knowledge, scientific literacy, critical thinking and analysis skills, support student self-efficacy, and at the same time provide a means to advance faculty research productivity. These varied goals of a CURE course, at times, can prove to be competing. For example, courses aimed at providing advanced levels of student input in design of research questions, hypotheses and protocols can veer from faculty research goals. In an effort to balance these competing objectives, we designed a CURE course engaging students at Towson University with research ongoing at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine aimed at characterizing the function of bacterial Toll/interleukin 1 receptor (TIR) domain containing proteins. Bacterial TIR proteins were originally characterized as virulence factors that impede mammalian innate immune signaling, but recently also have been shown to exhibit enzymatic NADase activity. Students in the CURE course used bioinformatics analysis of modeled structures of bacterial TIRs to predict sites for NADase function and hypothesized the effects of mutations of these sites on TIR functions. Students then designed and created recombinantly-expressed proteins mutated at their predicted sites and tested their mutant proteins for both NADase function and potential inhibition of mammalian innate immune signaling. This course outline thus allowed student engagement in project design and hypothesis formation, while also maintaining projects aimed at advancing a specific faculty research program.

PCK (Pedagogical Content Knowledge) profile of mathematics education students at Universitas PGRI Yogyakarta

The aim of this research was to analyze the Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) of mathematics education students at Universitas PGRI Yogyakarta. PCK is a representation of the teacher’s Pedagogic and Professional abilities. The subjects of this study were students of the Mathematics Education undergraduate program Universitas PGRI Yogyakarta semester VI. Research data were obtained through a questionnaire instrument in the form of a Content Representation (CoRe) questionnaire accompanied by documentation. The analysis was carried out by means of a qualitative descriptive method by observing each answer and classifying each answer to determine the PCK level of Mathematics Education students at PGRI Yogyakarta University. The results showed that, in general, mathematics education students at the PGRI Yogyakarta university were still at the Pre PCK level, seen from the analysis of the objectives, concepts and pedagogical aspects. This is an indicator that it is necessary to develop modules that can facilitate students in developing PCK capabilities.

Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Pre-service Physics Teachers

This study aims to describe the content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge of students of pre-service physics teachers at Walisongo Semarang. The type of research is quantitative descriptive. The samples were Physics Pre-service teachers at Universitas Islam Negeri Walisongo Semarang. The samples were 65 pre-service physics teachers determined by the purposive sampling technique. The method of collecting data used was a test, observation, and documentation. The results showed that pre-service physics teachers' content knowledge capabilities were in three categories, namely: 35% poor, 42% sufficient, and 23% good. The pedagogical knowledge test showed that 16% of physics pre-service teachers were in a good category, 77% were in a good category, and 7% were in a very good category. The results of the pedagogical content knowledge test showed that 12% of the pre-service physics teachers were in the poor, 30% were in the moderate category, 35% were in a good category, and 23% were in the very good category. Pre-service physics teachers had the lowest ability in determining other factors that influence teaching concepts, and the highest ability in determining important science concepts in the material to be taught. This research implies that remediation is needed to improve physics pre-service teachers' Pedagogical Content knowledge capabilities, which can be applied in the Plan of Learning course

PENCAPAIAN PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE MELALUI PEMBELAJARAN MATEMATIKA

Pedagogical content knowledge is a combination of understanding of teaching material (content knowledge) and understanding how to educate (pedagogical knowledge) that needs to be possessed by a teacher. The purpose of this study was to determine the pedagogical content knowledge concept, the achievement of pedagogical content knowledge for prospective teacher students, and to determine the role of prospective mathematics teacher students towards pedagogical content knowledge. A teacher in carrying out his professional assignments must have the competence that is always maintained. Because of this, competency development is an important requirement to ensure that the quality of learning in the classroom adjusts to the development and demands of the times. Always maintained competence also ensures that the implementation of education is consistent in achieving educational goals. There are ten pedagogical content knowledge criteria that must be possessed by prospective teacher students before conducting the practice in the field. Prospective teacher students must also be able to implement learning, knowledge of ways to represent and explain the material to make the material understandable to others.

The In’s and Out’s of Science Outreach: Assessment of an Engaging New Program

Many professors are interested in providing science outreach to local K‐12 students, but may not have the time or resources needed to create an engaging presentation. The American Physiological Society supports outreach initiatives through programs such as the Physiology Understanding (PhUn) Week. Building upon these activities, it was desired to create and assess an immersive and engaging outreach program in a disadvantaged K‐12 student population. Three distinct modules were created on cardiovascular physiology, respiratory physiology, and oral health. All resources for these modules underwent peer‐review and publication, allowing other professors to easily execute their own outreach programming. The outreach modules were presented to 288 students in 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 7th grade classes. Implementation of the modules resulted in significant increases in student content knowledge, ranging from 32–57% improvement (P<0.001, dependent t‐test) with an average increase of 46%. K‐12 science teachers reported that the program was at an appropriate educational level, increased students’ enthusiasm for science, and increased students’ exposure to science careers. Additionally, the presenters of the outreach program were perceived to be enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and proficient at interacting with the students. On open‐response survey items, the science teachers indicated a high level of satisfaction with the program and an enthusiasm for continued collaborations. These results indicate the importance of organized and interactive science activities for the success of a new outreach program.Support or Funding InformationThis work was supported in part by a basic grant from the University of Louisville School of Medicine and a support grant from the Dean’s Office of the University of Louisville School of Dentistry.

Time to Re-Conceptualize the Role of Secondary Schools in New Zealand

Technology education in New Zealand has evolved from a subject with technical beginnings, to be a learning area with the potential to develop the types of knowledge and capabilities that students are likely to need in a technologically mediated future. The recent review of the technology education curriculum, and proposed changes for our schooling assessment framework, presents opportunities for teachers to develop or embed their curriculum practices. This article reports on findings from an interpretivist, qualitative study, which considered secondary technology education teachers' perceptions and practice. The findings suggest that participants viewed their subject as a means to predominately develop student skills and specialist content knowledge, and practice was impacted by teacher ability to make meaning of curriculum intent. There is an urgent need to challenge some established teachers' views and teaching practices, which negate or marginalise curriculum policy and intent. Recommendations are made to support the alignment of technical and technological ways of thinking and practice, for those teachers who are motivated by the curriculum, which aims to develop student technological literacy.

Examining the Effects of Reflection Type and Abstraction Order on Content Knowledge and Content Knowledge Retention During Experiential Learning

Experiential learning is fundamental to agricultural education. Current literature indicates some methods of pedagogically implementing experiential learning are more effective than others. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of reflection type and abstraction order on content knowledge and content knowledge retention when teaching experientially. This research experiment was conducted with secondary school students enrolled in agriscience courses. The findings of this study indicated neither the method in which students reflected nor the order in which they received abstraction affected students’ ability to attain content knowledge. However, when analyzing student content knowledge retention, a statistically significant interaction effect indicated reflection type and abstraction order were dependent upon one another. It is recommended those who are interested in knowledge retention outcomes should implement purposeful reflection-on-action techniques when delivering abstract conceptualization prior to an experience.

Argument-Driven Inquiry, Gender, and Its Effects on Argumentation Skills

Argumentation is considered by science teachers as a major component of science education. Middle school students need to be empowered in their argumentation skills to answer challenges to global competition. This study aimed to compare the argumentation skills between male and female students in science through the Argument-Driven Inquiry (ADI) model and guided inquiry model. There were 317 participants (150 male and 167 female) eighth-grade students of several schools in Bandar Lampung. The Pretest-posttest Non-equivalent Control Group Design was used as a part of a quasi-experimental design. The experiment class applied the ADI model and the control class applied the guided inquiry model. The data were collected by argumentation test, questionnaire of implementation learning syntax, and participant’s response. The data were analyzed by ANCOVA test and qualitative techniques. The results indicated that the ADI model led to a significant increased in argumentation skills in the science context. Moreover, there is no difference in the achievement of females and males. When students were encouraged to state claims and support their claims with data, warrants, and backing, it was observed that their argumentative discourse increased in terms of both the structure and the complexity of the argumentation. In light of the findings, it is suggested that the argumentation activities should be developed to promote students' science content knowledge and argumentation skills of both male and female students.

Decolonising technological pedagogical content knowledge of first year mathematics students

Decolonising students’ knowledge of technology, pedagogy, and mathematics content is important because it helps students understand their learning needs. Decolonisation is a process of critiquing and renewing the curriculum. Learning needs are circumstances that demand individuals’ actions in order to address professional, personal, and/or social needs. The purpose of this article is to explore and decolonise students’ knowledge of technology, pedagogy, and content in the learning of first year Bachelor of Education mathematics. Ten students learned a mathematics module at a South African university and were purposively selected to participate in this study. Semi-structured interviews, observation, and reflective activities/questionnaires, framed by critical action research, were used for data generation. The students’ knowledge revealed that the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) was useful when used as the learning framework, which generated curriculum concepts for the module to support the student knowledge of technology, pedagogy, and content. The concepts were learning needs, content, goals, activities, time, environment, community, assessment, and GeoGebra resources. GeoGebra was the main learning resource that helped the students to integrate other resources into the module. The study concluded that, although the technological and content knowledge dominated the learning in other cases of the module, the pedagogical knowledge which was a result of their self-reflection to understand their identities, drove the module all the time. This study, consequently, recommends that students should use their knowledge of technology, pedagogy, and content as taxonomies of learning, in order to address mathematics, individual, and societal needs through the integration of technology.