Exploring dynamic pedagogical content knowledge across fundamental concepts of electrostatics

Ernest Nkosingiphile Mazibe; Estelle Gaigher; Corene Coetzee

doi:10.29333/ejmste/13023

Full Text (PDF)

Ernest Nkosingiphile Mazibe ¹ ^* , Estelle Gaigher ² , Corene Coetzee ²

More Detail

¹ Department of Science and Technology Education, College of Education, University of South Africa, Pretoria, SOUTH AFRICA² Department of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, SOUTH AFRICA^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

This paper reports a case study that explored teachers’ dynamic pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) across three big ideas of electrostatics namely the electrostatic force, electric field, and electric field strength. Two pre-service and two in-service teachers participated in the study. The refined consensus model of PCK was adopted as the theoretical framework for the study. We studied PCK as enacted during classroom teaching using observations and interviews. Data was analyzed alongside a four-point scale grand PCK rubric used to score the competence of the teachers for every big idea. The results showed that PCK of the teachers varied across the big ideas, which is attributed to the nature of concepts, as well as teachers’ content knowledge in each. The findings imply that pre-service teacher education programs should involve focus on teaching specific concepts to support the development of holistic PCK for a topic.

Keywords

pedagogical content knowledge
fundamental concepts
electrostatics

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 19, Issue 3, March 2023, Article No: em2241

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13023

Publication date: 03 Mar 2023

Article Views: 1127

Article Downloads: 865

Open Access References How to cite this article

References

Alonzo, A. C., & Kim, J. (2016). Declarative and dynamic pedagogical content knowledge as elicited through two video‐based interview methods. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 53(8), 1259-1286. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21271
Alonzo, A. C., Berry, A., & Nilsson, P. (2019). Unpacking the complexity of science teachers’ PCK in action: Enacted and personal PCK. In A. Hume, R. Cooper, & A. Borowski, (Eds.), Repositioning pedagogical content knowledge in teachers’ knowledge for teaching science (pp. 271-286). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-5898-2_12
Alonzo, A. C., Kobarg, M., & Seidel, T. (2012). Pedagogical content knowledge as reflected in teacher–student interactions: Analysis of two video cases. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 49(10), 1211-1239. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21055
Barendsen, E., & Henze, I. (2019). Relating teacher PCK and teacher practice using classroom observation. Research in Science Education, 49(5), 1141-1175. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-017-9637-z
Bernardo, R., du Plessis, H., du Plessis, S., Fanoy, C., Jones, E., Lees-Rolfe, P., McDougall, J., Reynecke, K., Schmidt, M., & Smith, L. (2012). DocScientia grade 11 textbook and workbook (4th ed).
Bilal, E., & Erol, M. (2009). Investigating students’ conceptions of some electricity concepts. Latin-American Journal of Physics Education, 3(2), 193-201.
Bohigas, X., & Periago, M. C. (2010). Modelos mentales alternativos de los alumnos de segundo curso de Ingenierıá sobre la ley de Coulomb y el campo eléctrico [Alternative mental models of second-year engineering students of Coulomb’s law and the electric field]. Revista Electrónica de Investigación Educativa [Electronic Journal of Educational Research], 12(1), 1-15.
Broster, P., Horn, W., James., & Solomons, N. (2012). Oxford successful grade 11 learner's book (3rd ed).
Carlson, J., & Daehler, K. R. (2019). The refined consensus model of pedagogical content knowledge in science education. In A. Hume, R. Cooper, & A. Boroswki (Eds.), Repositioning pedagogical content knowledge in teachers’ professional knowledge (pp. 77-92). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-5898-2_2
Chan, K. K. H., & Hume, A. (2019). Towards a consensus model: Literature review of how science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge is investigated. In A. Hume, R. Cooper, & A. Borowski (Eds.), Repositioning PCK in teachers’ professional knowledge for teaching science (pp. 3-76). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-5898-2_1
Chan, K. K. H., Rollnick, M., & Gess-Newsome, J. (2019). A grand rubric for measuring science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. In A. Hume, R. Cooper, & A. Boroswki (Eds.), Repositioning pedagogical content knowledge in teachers’ knowledge for teaching science (pp. 251-269). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-5898-2_11
Childs, A., & McNicholl, J. (2007). Science teachers teaching outside of subject specialism: Challenges, strategies adopted and implications for initial teacher education. Teacher Development, 11(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530701194538
DoBE. (2011). Curriculum and assessment policy statement: Grade 10-12 physical sciences. Department of Basic Education. https://www.education.gov.za/Curriculum/NationalCurriculumStatementsGradesR-12.aspx
Garza, A., & Zavala, G. (2013). Contrasting students’ understanding of electric field and electric force. AIP Conference Proceedings, 1513(1), 142-145. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4789672
Gess-Newsome, J. (2015). A model of teacher professional knowledge and skill including PCK: Results of the thinking from the PCK summit. In A. Berry, P. Friedrichsen, & J. Loughran (Eds.), Re-examining pedagogical content knowledge in science education (pp. 28-42). Routledge.
Grossman, P., Hammerness, K., & McDonald, M. (2009). Redefining teaching, re‐imagining teacher education. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 15(2), 273-289. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540600902875340
Hekkenberg, A., Lemmer, M., & Dekkers, P. (2015). An analysis of teachers’ concept confusion concerning electric and magnetic fields. African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 19(1), 34-44. https://doi.org/10.1080/10288457.2015.1004833
Henze, I., & Barendsen, E. (2019). Unravelling student science teachers’ pPCK development and the influence of personal factors using authentic data sources. In A. Hume, R. Cooper, & A. Borowski (Eds.), Repositioning pedagogical content knowledge in teachers’ knowledge for teaching science (pp. 201-221). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-5898-2_9
Kind, V. (2009). Pedagogical content knowledge in science education: Perspectives and potential for progress. Studies in Science Education, 45(2), 169-204. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057260903142285
Li, J., & Singh, C. (2017). Investigating and improving introductory physics students’ understanding of the electric field and superposition principle. European Journal of Physics, 38(5), 055702. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6404/aa7618
Loughran, J., Mulhall, P., & Berry, A. (2004). In search of pedagogical content knowledge in science: Developing ways of articulating and documenting professional practice. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 41(4), 370-391. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20007
Mavhunga, E., & van der Merwe, D. (2020). Bridging science education’s theory-practice divide: A perspective from teacher education through topic-specific PCK. African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 24(1), 65-80. https://doi.org/10.1080/18117295.2020.1716496
Mazibe, E. N. (2020). The relationship between teachers' pedagogical content knowledge about electrostatics and learners' performance [Doctoral dissertation, University of Pretoria]. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/80475
Mazibe, E. N., Gaigher, E., & Coetzee, C. (2020). Comparing pedagogical content knowledge across fundamental concepts of electrostatics: A case of three pre-service teachers. African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 24(2), 143-155. https://doi.org/10.1080/18117295.2020.1765607
Melo, L., Cañada, F., & Mellado, V. (2017). Exploring the emotions in pedagogical content knowledge about the electric field. International Journal of Science Education, 39(8), 1025-1044. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2017.1313467
Park, S., & Oliver, J. S. (2008). Revisiting the conceptualization of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK): PCK as a conceptual tool to understand teachers as professionals. Research in Science Education, 38(3), 261-284. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-007-9049-6
Park, S., Jang, J. Y., Chen, Y. C., & Jung, J. (2011). Is pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) necessary for reformed science teaching?: Evidence from an empirical study. Research in Science Education, 41(2), 245-260. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-009-9163-8
Rollnick, M., Bennett, J., Rhemtula, M., Dharsey, N., & Ndlovu, T. (2008). The place of subject matter knowledge in pedagogical content knowledge: A case study of South African teachers teaching the amount of substance and chemical equilibrium. International Journal of Science Education, 30(10), 1365-1387. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690802187025
Shulman, L. S. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(2), 4-14. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X015002004
Shulman, L. S. (2015). PCK: Its genesis and exodus. In A. Berry, P. Friedrichsen, & J. Loughran (Eds.), Re-examining pedagogical content knowledge in science education (pp. 3-13). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315735665-6
Taskin, T., & Yavas, P. U. (2019). Examining knowledge levels of high school students related to conductors at electrostatic equilibrium and electric field lines using the drawing method. Research in Science Education, 51, 577-597. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-018-9808-6
Veal, W. R., & MaKinster, J. G. (1999). Pedagogical content knowledge taxonomies. The Electronic Journal for Research in Science & Mathematics Education, 3.

How to cite this article

APA

Mazibe, E. N., Gaigher, E., & Coetzee, C. (2023). Exploring dynamic pedagogical content knowledge across fundamental concepts of electrostatics. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 19(3), em2241. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13023

Vancouver

Mazibe EN, Gaigher E, Coetzee C. Exploring dynamic pedagogical content knowledge across fundamental concepts of electrostatics. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2023;19(3):em2241. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13023

AMA

Mazibe EN, Gaigher E, Coetzee C. Exploring dynamic pedagogical content knowledge across fundamental concepts of electrostatics. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2023;19(3), em2241. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13023

Chicago

Mazibe, Ernest Nkosingiphile, Estelle Gaigher, and Corene Coetzee. "Exploring dynamic pedagogical content knowledge across fundamental concepts of electrostatics". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2023 19 no. 3 (2023): em2241. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13023

Harvard

Mazibe, E. N., Gaigher, E., and Coetzee, C. (2023). Exploring dynamic pedagogical content knowledge across fundamental concepts of electrostatics. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 19(3), em2241. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13023

MLA

Mazibe, Ernest Nkosingiphile et al. "Exploring dynamic pedagogical content knowledge across fundamental concepts of electrostatics". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 19, no. 3, 2023, em2241. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13023