Use Of Content Knowledge Research Articles

Novice and expert teachers’ use of content-related knowledge during pedagogical reasoning

We investigate the use of content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge among 32 novices' and different types of experts' pedagogical reasoning, as exemplified in the field of mathematics education. Think-aloud interviews based on a planning task that required pedagogical reasoning were evaluated using verbal analysis. Our results show differences in the use of mathematics-related content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge between novices and experts, as well as between types of experts. We conclude that novices tend to emphasise knowledge of teaching procedures and that experts’ use of knowledge is related to their respective qualifications and experiences.

Motivation Reinforcement Strategies to Improve Teachers’ Performance in High Schools: A Perspective of Amathole East District of South African

Teacher job-related stress, high turnover, poor educational quality, and a lack of interest in work have all resulted from the rising prevalence of low teacher motivation for work. The goal of this research is to look at incentive reinforcement tactics for teachers to increase their performance. This study took a qualitative approach and used a case study research methodology. Focus group and one-on-one interviews were used to collect data from participants, while purposive and convenient sampling techniques were employed to select ten participants. These entailed eight teachers from two schools and two district education officials. Data were analysed through thematic and comparative analyses. Many strategies to improve motivation and teacher performance emerged from data, were analysed, and presented. The study recommended school leaders to address factors leading to demotivation of teachers. A further recommendation was making use of content knowledge and professional development to deal with teacher content gap.

Student teachers’ problem-based investigations of chemical phenomena in the nearby outdoor environment

Learning science outdoors can enhance the understanding of theoretical scientific content taught in the classroom. However, learners are rarely afforded the opportunity to go outdoors to learn chemistry. This study investigates how problem-based learning outdoors can facilitate the understanding of basic chemistry in teacher education. A teaching unit was designed according to which student teachers at two Norwegian universities were asked to examine and identify corroded metals in the nearby outdoor environment and propose solutions to avoid this corrosion. Video data from this task were collected by using chest-mounted cameras for four groups of student teachers (N = 17). A thematic analysis of the videos yielded four themes related to the student teachers’ use of content knowledge and experimental competence. Based on these findings, three learning opportunities were deduced for how the nearby outdoor environment allows learners to use everyday phenomena for learning basic chemistry. First, the availability of different corrosion incidents allowed the student teachers to choose and solve one of interest to them. Second, the proximity of the outdoor location to the classroom enabled the seamless continuity of discussions when switching between the learning arenas, and allowed for different approaches to solve the task. Third, being asked to conduct analyses outside customary laboratory routines led to an unexpected awareness of health and safety issues among the student teachers, indicating that outdoor chemistry is an overlooked opportunity for teaching these.

Elementary teachers’ use of content knowledge to evaluate students’ thinking in the life sciences

ABSTRACTScience learning environments should provide opportunities for students to make sense of and enhance their understanding of disciplinary concepts. Teachers can support students’ sense-making by engaging and responding to their ideas through high-leverage instructional practices such as formative assessment (FA). However, past research has shown that teachers may not understand FA, how to implement it, or have sufficient content knowledge to use it effectively. Few studies have investigated how teachers gather information to evaluate students’ ideas or how content knowledge factors into those decisions, particularly within the life science discipline. We designed a study embedded in a multi-year professional development program that supported elementary teachers’ development of disciplinary knowledge and FA practices within science instruction. Study findings illustrate how elementary teachers’ life science content knowledge influences their evaluation of students’ ideas. Teachers with higher levels of life science content knowledge more effectively evaluated students’ ideas than teachers with lower levels of content knowledge. Teachers with higher content exam scores discussed both content and student understanding to a greater extent, and their analyses of students’ ideas were more scientifically accurate compared to teachers with lower scores. These findings contribute to theory and practice around science teacher education, professional development, and curriculum development.

A Tri-part Model for Genetics Literacy: Exploring Undergraduate Student Reasoning About Authentic Genetics Dilemmas

Genetics literacy is becoming increasingly important as advancements in our application of genetic technologies such as stem cell research, cloning, and genetic screening become more prevalent. Very few studies examine how genetics literacy is applied when reasoning about authentic genetic dilemmas. However, there is evidence that situational features of a reasoning task may influence how students apply content knowledge as they generate and support arguments. Understanding how students apply content knowledge to reason about authentic and complex issues is important for considering instructional practices that best support student thinking and reasoning. In this conceptual report, we present a tri-part model for genetics literacy that embodies the relationships between content knowledge use, argumentation quality, and the role of situational features in reasoning to support genetics literacy. Using illustrative examples from an interview study with early career undergraduate students majoring in the biological sciences and late career undergraduate students majoring in genetics, we provide insights into undergraduate student reasoning about complex genetics issues and discuss implications for teaching and learning. We further discuss the need for research about how the tri-part model of genetics literacy can be used to explore students’ thinking and reasoning abilities in genetics.

River Views of Beginning Pre-service Teachers: Content Knowledge Use

How beginning teachers organize themselves to teach new or unfamiliar topics is an important issue for research. This paper discusses information about rivers in pre-service teachers' lessons taught to fourth grade students. Lessons were videotaped and transcribed for analysis. The data consisted of all information about rivers found in the lessons. Lesson content was analyzed for accuracy, coherence, centrality, over-simplification, and undue emphasis. Seven kinds of problems with lesson content occurred because the beginning teachers lacked sufficient knowledge about rivers. Inaccurate information was either presented or allowed to stand unchallenged in the lessons. The lessons lacked coherence, because the beginning teachers tended to make passing references to concepts. About twice as many of the lesson concepts were peripheral to the study of rivers, the problem of centrality. The relationships between some river-related ideas were misunderstood or ignored. Both physical and human geography concepts were consistently over-simplified. The recreational use of rivers was consistently over-emphasized.