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Most South African township science teachers’ subject matter knowledge is not sufficient when compared to their counterparts in well developed countries. This disadvantages many Physical Science learners because teachers find it difficult to use their subject matter knowledge flexibly so that learners can understand basic concepts within the learning area. Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) is a term used to label the knowledge that is used by teachers to make learning concepts easier. This study sought to investigate teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge of the mole in two high school township schools of teachers in Gauteng. This was done by interviewing two high school teachers in Katlehong, a township south of Gauteng near Johannesburg, and observing their classroom practice and thus analyzing the role played by their content knowledge in developing their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). The teachers were also exposed to a three hour workshop in conceptual approaches to teaching the mole. The study drew on the literature on PCK which helped to (1) analyse the responses obtained from the teachers, and (2) develop Professional and Pedagogical Representations (PaPe-Rs) and Content Representation (CoRe) of the two teachers who participated in the study. The CoRe is about representing the educators’ understanding of PCK, namely, the different aspects that educators consider when preparing and presenting a particular content in their field of teaching, whilst PaPeRs are like a window into a teaching and learning situation wherein it is the content iii that shapes the pedagogy. This was achieved by employing a case study approach. Findings in this study indicate that both teachers preferred to use prescribed and study manuals that are examination orientated which promote algorithmic approach; both teachers’ subject knowledge of the mole was insufficient and described the mole as a number; that they preferred methods that promote memorization of definition and to use algorithmic rather than conceptual approach when teaching the mole. Some traces of elements of PCK could be identified although not well developed. One of teachers attempted to teach for conceptual understanding, a strategy that was suggested in a workshop, but was unable to link it to algorithmic approach, an approach that she was comfortable to use. The findings of this study imply that algorithmic approaches to the teaching of chemistry abound in South African schools. There is a need to move from algorithmic to conceptual approach. However, moves to conceptual approaches will involve far more than short presentation of packages using conceptual approaches. Teachers need to come to understand the importance of conceptual approaches to a meaningful understanding of chemistry and this can be achieved by long term exposure of teachers to such practices.

Teachers today are required to develop flexible teaching models based on their perceptions, applications, and combinations of various emerging technology resources. This study aimed to identify core teaching patterns of two E-mentors with different TPCK level and to explore the characteristics of their teaching journey in an online English Teaching environment. Through the constant comparative analysis of various data collected, the researcher explored English E-mentors¡¦ teaching patterns of their online English teaching process and identified core categories that depicted two English e-mentors online teaching journey. Last, the researcher summarized the results and brought up related suggestions. ¡@The conclusions of this study were: 1.In this study, researcher combines the concept of time line with E-mentors¡¦ teaching patterns, and it would be marked by three stages- early, middle, and final. In the early stage, E-mentors use the content of online learning platform as their main teaching materials. Besides using the content of the online learning platform, E-mentors also add multiple teaching methods and self-made teaching materials in the middle stage. In the final stage, E-mentors turned to guidance teaching approach to match students¡¦ learning problems. 2.The eight core concepts of both E-mentors¡¦ teaching were the e-learning system resources, Skype, extra resources, learning experiences, technological skills, environmental constructions, and attributions of responsibility belongs to eight core concepts what E-mentors used during the teaching patterns. 3.The E-mentors¡¦ teaching beliefs, experiences, and students¡¦ learning situation were factors which informed the eight core concepts and characters. 4.The materials and approaches E-mentors utilized during the teaching patterns were divided into virtual type and non-virtual type. 5.Two E-mentors technological knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and content knowledge reflected formed complex interplay during their teaching process. 6.Applications of teaching resources, the inheritance of learning skills, and transmitting teaching affection contributed to the two E- Mentors¡¦ portraits of their online teaching journey. According to the findings, the researcher provided both investigative and practical suggestions and recommendations for further investigations.

The research aims to investigate Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) of a junior high school Chinese teacher, and to analyze its content, sources of construct, reasoning and action, and its instructional presentation. This research adopted case study that targeted an experienced Chinese teacher (Pseudonym: Miss Huang). The researcher, a main research instrument, entered Miss Huang¡¦s teaching field to collect data for one semester by means of classroom observation, formal and informal interviews and documents, expecting the research findings can be used as reference of Chinese-related curriculum of Teachers Training Institute. The results indicated as follows. First of all, the content of Miss Huang¡¦s PCK, based on teaching belief, and integrates the knowledge of subject matter, of teaching, understanding to the learners and the grasp of context. Miss Huang continuously expanded her content and her PCK presents three characteristics: (1) Teacher¡¦s belief and attitude toward subject affect the development of PCK (2) Teacher adopts appropriate ways to solve students¡¦ problems by realizing their difficulties in learning (3) Teacher¡¦s cognition to context influences the presentation of PCK. Secondly, there are three sources of constructing Miss Huang¡¦s PCK. (1) The practical teaching experience is the most important source of PCK. The novice¡¦s teaching experience plays an important role in learning teaching. (2) With the accumulation of the teaching experience, the source of constructing PCK becomes diversified. (3) The practical teaching and learning experience complement each other. Miss Huang¡¦s reasoning and action is divided into three stages: pre-teaching, in-teaching, after-teaching. The pre-teaching preparation is based on the previous teaching experience, and derives new thought from prior experience. The in-teaching presentation is diversified, and the interpretation is the most common way of presentation. The after-teaching evaluation still adopts paper-and-pencil test, together with other ways of evaluation, such as reports, learning sheets, and activities.

Hands-on learning is at the heart of science learning. This study examined increased changes of student content knowledge in biology, particularly biotechnology, after a hands-on biotechnology intervention was implemented into a secondary school. A traditional learning school was selected for a control. Both teachers had participated in a biotechnology professional development program called Project Crawfish. Students from both schools took the same assessment before and after their respective units (biotechnology intervention and genetics unit), and the classroom was the unit of analysis (n=5, n=6, respectively). The assessment was compared as a whole and then divided into five components, eight questions each: DNA extraction/gel electrophoresis, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), DNA sequencing, bioinformatics, and phylogenetics. The pre-tests were compared to establish a baseline between the two schools. The biotechnology intervention school began with a higher pre-test raw score than the traditional learning school. After adjusting for the pre-test scores, each school was analyzed for increases in student content knowledge and then compared to each other for any significant increases between the two schools. When the entire assessment was analyzed, each school had statistically significant increases in student content knowledge (<0.0001 for the biotechnology intervention school and 0.0481 for the traditional learning school). When the schools were compared to each other, a p-value of 0.0543 provided a suggestive relationship that the biotechnology intervention school had a larger increase in student content knowledge. When the assessment was divided into the five components, the traditional learning school had statistically significant increases in student content knowledge in the PCR and DNA sequencing components (0.0459, 0.0043, respectively). The biotechnology intervention school had statistically significant increases in student content knowledge in all five components. However, there were no significant differences in learning between the two schools. Implementing biotechnology through hands-on teaching methods should be considered by secondary science teachers. Further research would scale up this study to include more classrooms.

This study investigates to what extent educators’ pedagogical content knowledge affects learners’ achievement in quadratic functions. The components of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) examined are: (i) mathematical content knowledge (MCK), (ii) knowledge of learners’ conceptions, and misconceptions, and (iii) knowledge of strategies. The participants were seventeen mathematics educators and ten learners from each educator’s class. The sample of educators was a convenient sample, while the sample of learners was selected by means of random sampling. A mixed method design was used to execute the study. Data about educators’ MCK, and knowledge of learners’ misconceptions were collected by means of a questionnaire. An interview was used to gather data about educators’ knowledge of strategies. Data on learners’ achievements and misconceptions was collected by means of a questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the effect of each component of the educators’ PCK on learners’ achievements. The result indicates that the achievement of learners who are taught by educators who have strong PCK is higher than the achievement of learners who are taught by educators who have weak PCK. / Mathematical Sciences / M. Ed. (Mathematics Education)

Thesis advisor: Joseph J. Pedulla / There is considerable evidence that new teachers are ill prepared for classroom practice, including self-reported evidence collected from teachers (e.g., Levine, 2006), and statistical evidence for differences in the achievement of students with new versus more experienced teachers (Rivkin, Hanushek, and Kain, 2005). In light of the challenges encountered by new teachers (e.g., Levine, 2006), this study examined the value of different forms of teacher knowledge for teachers with different levels of experience. In particular, this study investigated the interactive relationship between teaching experience and teacher content knowledge, and student achievement in mathematics and science. In New York City, Boyd et al. (2009) linked practice-focused teacher preparation to student mathematics achievement in the first year of teaching and teacher content preparation to achievement in the second. However, other studies demonstrated interactions between teaching experience and content knowledge with different interpretations (e.g., Kukla-Acevedo, 2009; Monk, 1994). At the same time, this study examined the interactive relationship between teaching experience and teachers' pedagogical content knowledge, and student achievement. Extant models of teacher career development (Huberman, 1989; National Research Council, 2010) and how teacher education affects student achievement (e.g., Desimone, 2009) offered theoretical grounding for the study. With nationally representative samples of fourth and eighth grade U.S. students--participants in the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study--this study employed hierarchical linear modeling to address its research questions among an array of student achievement outcomes in the domains of mathematics and science. This study attempted to account for salient student, teacher, and contextual factors, and the probabilities of teachers' receipt of various teacher education "treatments" (i.e., propensity score analysis) to reduce the plausibility of selection threats to internal validity. The study found no evidence for relationships between teacher content knowledge or pedagogical content knowledge and student mathematics and science achievement in fourth and eighth grade. Furthermore, the results indicated no interactive relationships between forms of teacher knowledge and teaching experience, and student achievement in these grades/subjects. The limitations of cross-sectional, observational studies using large-scale data and directions for further research are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation.

The lack of teaching experience in uncertified teachers leaves them with little or no understanding of the transformation of Content Knowledge (CK) at their disposal. This transformation of CK is termed Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and it is known to develop through practice. Therefore, reflective analysis of lessons taught by these teachers is important. Research has also shown that they are often not supported as they embark on their teaching career. Therefore, the study investigated the influence of an intervention on novice unqualified graduate teachers’ (NUGTs) Topic Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge within a specific topic – the particulate nature of matter. The construct, Topic Specific PCK was the theoretical framework of my study and it consists of five topic specific categories that collectively enable transformation of content knowledge. The categories are: (1) learner prior knowledge (2) curricular Saliency (3) what is difficult to teach (4) representations and (5) conceptual teaching strategies. For measuring the quality of Topic Specific PCK, a new tool based on the topic of the particulate nature of matter was developed. The Topic Specific PCK tool was then validated using a group of 11 practising science teachers. The tool was scored using a rubric that is in line with the five categories, which are rated on a four point scale, where 1 stands for limited PCK and 4 is exemplary PCK. The research design followed in my study was mixed-methods research (MM). The study involved 16 novice teachers recruited by Teach South Africa working together with the Department of Education. The teachers hold university degrees, have done chemistry for a minimum of one year during the course of their degree and have no teaching qualifications. Four of the teachers who taught the particulate nature of matter were selected as case study teachers. Data was collected through a number of tools, including the newly designed Topic Specific PCK test on particulate nature of matter, a CK test and Content Representations (CoRes) which were all adapted from existing tools and thus considered validated. The case study teachers were observed while teaching particulate nature of matter and their lessons were analysed. All the teachers were tested before and after the professional development intervention (PDI). The findings show that the quality of Topic Specific PCK and CK in particulate nature of matter was improved in all NUGTs. The greatest improvement was observed in the NUGTs who taught the topic directly. This improvement was attributed to the experience of teaching the topic directly or teaching related concepts that need understanding of it. The improvement was observed in all the NUGTs, showing the effect of indirect experience. This can be deduced from their improved CoRe which forced the NUGTs to engage with the construct and also through the positive significant improvement in CK and Topic Specific PCK results. Finally, I suggest that although interventions like PDI have the potential to produce science teachers, care should be exercised in making assumptions about their CK and knowledge for teaching, and training programmes need to pay attention to both CK and Topic Specific PCK.

In the Teaching Principle (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM], 2000), it explained that development and utilization of pedagogical content knowledge required teachers to continually increase their knowledges of mathematics content and pedagogy. This study researched the amalgamation of multi-faceted factors and inter-relatedness of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), content knowledge for teaching mathematics (CKTM), and mentoring support perceptions throughout elementary and middle level student teachers’ and interns’ initial full-time teaching experiences. In the first article 13 elementary and seven middle grade student teachers’ are examined based on differences between pedagogical content knowledge and content knowledge for teaching mathematics. Standardized difference scores were calculated and compared using multivariate contrasts on certification level. Results showed statistically significant differences (p < .01) on all three CKTM domains but no statistically significant differences were found on any of the five Classroom Observation and Assessment for Teachers (COPAT) domains. Both groups had the highest mean difference in the CKTM number/concept domain. COPAT results showed middle grade level pre-service teachers primarily had all positive mean differences, in comparison to the elementary level pre-service teachers, which had all negative mean differences. In the second article the mathematics mentoring support perceptions of 11 first year teachers who participated in a year-long urban internship program were examined. Semi-structured interviews revealed that district and grade level campus mentors provided the most mathematics instruction and pedagogically-based support to both groups of interns. Middle school level interns relied more on their team of mathematics teachers and elementary level interns received more mathematical content support from their district mentor than did middle level interns. Pedagogical support was greatest in the areas of lesson design and implementation of classroom management strategies. In the third article 14 elementary and six middle level student teachers were observed and interviewed on general and content-specific pedagogical skills and perceptions. Results indicated both groups of student teachers perceived themselves as most competent in having lesson plans ready, routines evident, and utilizing studentcentered instruction. Conversely, both groups felt least competent in getting students on task quickly, using a variety of teaching strategies, using critical thinking skills, and handling inappropriate behavior effectively.

Principals' leadership content knowledge in reading was investigated by examining the relationship between the perceived reading knowledge of principals and perceived leadership actions principals take to support reading instruction. Survey results from 78 principals and 1,876 teachers were analyzed. Results showed a positive, statistically significant correlation between principals' perceptions of their reading knowledge and principals' perceptions of the actions they take to support reading. A stronger positive, significant correlation between teachers' perceptions of their principal's reading knowledge and teachers' perceptions of their principal's actions was also demonstrated. These correlations substantiated studies that purported principals with more reading knowledge are more likely to take leadership actions to support effective reading instruction. In this study, reading knowledge was defined by both reading content and pedagogy. Significant but weak relationships were found between: teachers' perceptions of their principal's reading knowledge and type of school; teachers' perceptions of their principal's actions and type of school; and teachers' perceptions of their principal's actions and teachers' years of experience. Non-significant results were found for all other relationships examined. Comparisons of survey responses revealed discrepancies between principals' and teachers' perceptions of the degree of principals' reading knowledge and extent of their actions, which may be important since the literature suggests that differing levels of knowledge and ideas of actions a principal should take can stymie school progress. The study's results suggest: changes in principal preparation programs; ongoing content training for current principals; streamlining principal tasks; and a formal understanding of roles and responsibilities for instructional leadership.