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M.Sc., Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011 / Some teachers perceive radioactivity as a difficult topic to teach due to its abstract nature. This topic is included at senior secondary level in the combined science syllabus and is taught for the first time to learners who study physics. This study was carried out to make explicit two teachers‟ PCK (pedagogical content knowledge) on teaching radioactivity and to investigate the role of experience in the PCK of the two physics teachers. Mr Victor had 19 years while Ms Grace had 3 years of teaching experience at the time of this study. I used pre-observation interviews, video recorded classroom observations, field notes, diagnostic test and post observation discussions as data collection methods. The data was processed using Content Representation (CoRe) and Pedagogical and Professional experience Repertoires (PaP-eRs) as methodological tools to document and portray the teachers‟ PCK in teaching radioactivity. The CoRe that helped to give insights into how the two teachers framed the topic of radioactivity was constructed from the pre-observation interview data and video recorded classroom observations transcripts. The PaP-eRs were constructed from video recorded classroom observation transcripts and field notes and they were narratives of the classroom practice of the teachers. I also used the model of Rollnick et al. (2008) to analyse data. This study has not come out clear on total absence of PCK in Ms Grace as a beginning teacher. There are some very good aspects that have been demonstrated by Ms Grace that have not been demonstrated by Mr Victor with reference to the topic specific strategies. Both teachers showed that they had a repertoire of teaching strategies to suit their teaching context. As Mr Victor did, Ms Grace as a beginning teacher employed some effective strategies to suit her learning demands and this indicated that the teachers were able to manifest their well developed PCK when the four knowledge domains that generate teachers‟ PCK were integrated. Pertaining to knowledge of assessment and curricular saliency, there were no observable PCK differences between the two teachers. The study showed that Mr Victor used a variety of representations to teach radioactivity while Ms Grace‟s use of representations was more limited. Through the use of the model of Rollnick et al. (2008), I indicated that Mr Victor had well developed PCK while Ms Grace‟s was less developed with regard to representations used. The manifested knowledge of various representations for Mr Victor was produced from the integrated knowledge of the four knowledge domains in the model. The diagnostic test revealed that Mr Victor had required subject matter knowledge to teach within the syllabus he was teaching. Ms Grace‟s subject matter knowledge seemed fragile. The existence of PCK in Ms Grace implies that both experienced and beginning teachers can learn from each other to improve their teaching.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Kent State University, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed May 28, 2009). Advisor: Andrew Gilbert. Keywords: snake, Kenya, conception, perception, environmental education, conservation education. Includes bibliographical references (p. 273-291).

Dissertation--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro / directed by Catherine Matthews; submitted to the Dept. of Curriculum and Instruction. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jun. 2, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 216-232).

Education is always changing and science education is no exception, with many influential publications passing through science education over the years. The latest wave in science standards is called the Next Generation Science Standards. The Next Generation Science Standards are anticipated to have a significant effect on state science standards around the entire country. One thing about these new standards is very different from all previous science standards—they include the principle of engineering design in them. Asking science teachers to teach engineering design is asking them to teach a principle for which their teaching licensure would not have formally prepared them. Consequently, the hypothesis of this study was that the feeling of preparedness to teach engineering design would be low among public secondary education Utah science teachers. This study shows that hypothesis to be correct: Utah science teachers do not feel prepared to teach engineering design. The feelings of teacher preparedness can be improved through professional development and inclusion of engineering design into science teacher education programs. It should be infused into these arenas now that teachers have indicated their low feelings of preparedness. More teacher preparation should be sought because an unprepared teacher will not prepare students as well as a prepared teacher. And, creating prepared students is the goal of the education system.

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