Abstract
Recent research, both internationally and in Norway, has clearly expressed concerns about missing connections between subject-matter knowledge, pedagogical competence and real-life practice in schools. This study addresses this problem within the domain of field practice in teacher education, studying pre-service teachers’ planning of a Physics lesson. Two means of intervention were introduced. The first was lesson study, which is a method for planning, carrying out and reflecting on a research lesson in detail with a learner and content-centered focus. This was used in combination with a second means, content representations, which is a systematic tool that connects overall teaching aims with pedagogical prompts. Changes in teaching were assessed through the construct of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). A deductive coding analysis was carried out for this purpose. Transcripts of pre-service teachers’ planning of a Physics lesson were coded into four main PCK categories, which were thereafter divided into 16 PCK sub-categories. The results showed that the intervention affected the pre-service teachers’ potential to start developing PCK. First, they focused much more on categories concerning the learners. Second, they focused far more uniformly in all of the four main categories comprising PCK. Consequently, these differences could affect their potential to start developing PCK.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abell, S. K. (2007). Perspectives: Action research: Inquiring into science teaching and learning. Science and Children, 45(1), 64–65.
Allsopp, D. H., DeMarie, D., Alvarez-McHatton, P., & Doone, E. (2006). Bridging the gap between theory and practice: Connecting courses with field experiences. Teacher Education Quarterly, 33(1), 19–35.
Anderson, R. D., & Mitchener, C. P. (1994). Research on science teacher education. In D. L. Gabel (Ed.), The handbook of research on science teaching and learning. New York, NY: Macmillan.
Appleton, K. (2003). How do beginning primary school teachers cope with science?: Toward an understanding of science teaching practice. Research in Science Education, 33, 1–25.
Appleton, K. (Ed.). (2006). Elementary science teacher education: International perspectives on contemporary issues and practice. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Appleton, K. (2008). Developing science pedagogical content knowledge through mentoring elementary teachers. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 19, 523–545.
Berry, A., Friedrichsen, P., & Loughran, J. (Eds.). (2015). Re-examining pedagogical content knowledge in science education. New York, NY: Routledge.
Borko, H., & Putnam, R. (1996). Learning to teach. In D. C. Berliner & R. C. Calfee (Eds.), Handbook of educational psychology (pp. 673–708). New York, NY: Macmillan.
Bradbury, U., & Koballa, T. (2007). Mentor advice giving in an alternative certification program for secondary science teaching: Opportunities and roadblocks in developing a knowledge base for teaching. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 18, 817–840.
Canrinus, E. T., Bergem, O. K., Klette, K., & Hammerness, K. (2015). Coherent teacher education programmes: Taking a student perspective. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 0, 1–21.
Elo, S., & Kyngäs, H. (2008). The qualitative content analysis process. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 62, 107–115.
Fernandez, M. (2005). Exploring “lesson study” in teacher preparation. In H. L. Chicl & J. L. Vincent (Eds.), Proceedings of the 29th conference of the international group for the psychology of mathematics education (Vol. 2, pp. 305–312). Melbourne: PME.
Fernandez, C., & Yoshida, M. (2004). Lesson study: A Japanese approach to improving mathematics teaching and learning. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Gess-Newsome, J. (2015). A model of teacher professional knowledge and skill including PCK. In A. Berry, P. Friedrichsen, & J. Loughran (Eds.), Re-examining pedagogical content knowledge in science education (pp. 41–52). New York, NY: Routledge.
Gess-Newsome, J., & Lederman, N. G. (1999). Examining pedagogical content knowledge: The construct and its implications for science education. London: Kluwer Academic.
Grossman, P. L. (1990). The making of a teacher: Teacher knowledge and teacher education. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Hammerness, K., & Klette, K. (2015). Indicators of quality in teacher education: Looking at features of teacher education from an international perspective. In G. K. LeTendre & A. W. Wiseman (Eds.), Promoting and sustaining a quality teacher workforce (Vol. 27, pp. 239–277). Emerald Group Publishing Limited, UK.
Handal, G., & Lauvås, P. (1987). Promoting reflective teaching: Supervision in practice. Milton Keynes: Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press.
Harlen, W. (1997). Primary teachers’ understanding in science and its impact in the classroom. Research in Science Education, 27, 323–337.
Hart, L. C., Alston, A. S., & Murata, A. (Eds.). (2011). Lesson study research and practice in mathematics education. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer.
Hartas, D. (2010). Educational research and inquiry. London: Continuum.
Henze, I., Van Driel, J. H., & Verloop, N. (2008). Development of experienced science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge of models of the solar system and the universe. International Journal of Science Education, 30, 1321–1342.
Hume, A., & Berry, A. (2013). Enhancing the practicum experience for pre-service chemistry teachers through collaborative CoRe design with mentor teachers. Research in Science Education. doi:10.1007/s11165-012-9346-6
Johnston, J., & Ahtee, M. (2006). Comparing primary student teachers’ attitudes, subject knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge needs in a physics activity. Teaching and Teacher Education, 4, 503–512.
Kagan, D. M. (1992). Professional growth among preservice and beginning teachers. Review of Educational Research, 62, 129–169.
Kellner, E., Gullberg, A., Attorps, I., Thorén, I., & Tärneberg, R. (2011). Prospective teachers’ initial conceptions about pupils’ difficulties in science and mathematics: A potential resource in teacher education. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 9, 843–866.
Kinchin, I. M., & Alias, M. (2005). Exploiting variations in concept map morphology as a lesson-planning tool for trainee teachers in higher education. Journal of In-Service Education, 31, 569–592.
Lannin, J. K., Webb, M., Chval, K., Arbaugh, F., Hicks, S., Taylor, C., et al. (2013). The development of beginning mathematics teacher pedagogical content knowledge. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 16, 403–426.
Lee, E., & Luft, J. A. (2008). Experienced secondary science teachers’ representation of pedagogical content knowledge. International Journal of Science Education, 30, 1343–1363.
Lewis, C., & Tsuchida, I. (1999). A lesson is like a swiftly flowing river: How research lessons improve Japanese education. Improving Schools, 2(1), 48–56.
Loughran, J., Berry, A., & Mulhall, P. (2012). Understanding and developing science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (2nd ed.). Rotterdam/Boston/Taipei: Sense Publishers.
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, 370–391.
Loughran, J., Mulhall, P., & Berry, A. (2008). Exploring pedagogical content knowledge in science teacher education. International Journal of Science Education, 30, 1301–1320.
Magnusson, S., Krajcik, J., & Borko, H. (1999). Nature sources and development of pedagogical content knowledge for science teaching. In J. Gess-Newsome & N. G. Lederman (Eds.), Examining pedagogical content knowledge: The construct and its implications for science education (pp. 95–132). London: Kluwer Academic.
Marble, S. (2007). Inquiring into teaching: Lesson study in elementary science methods. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 18, 935–953.
Ministry of Education. (2010). National curriculum regulation for teacher education. Oslo.
Mulhall, P., Berry, A., & Loughran, J. (2003). Frameworks for representing science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, 4(2), 1–25.
Munby, H., Russell, T., & Martin, A. (2001). Teachers knowledge and how it develops. In V. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (4th ed., pp. 807–904). Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.
Munthe, E., Helgevold, N., & Bjuland, R. (2015). Lesson Study i utdanning og praksis. Cappelen damm.
Murata, A., & Pothen, B. (2011). Lesson study in preservice elementary mathematics courses: Connecting emerging practice and understanding. In A. Alston, L. Hart, & A. Murata (Eds.), Lesson study research and practice in mathematics education. New York, NY: Springer.
Neuendorf, K. A. (2002). The content analysis guidebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Nilsson, P. (2008). Teaching for understanding: The complex nature of pedagogical content knowledge in pre-service education. International Journal of Science Education, 30, 1281–1299.
Nilsson, P., & Loughran, J. (2011). Exploring the development of pre-service science elementary teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 23, 669–721.
NOKUT. (2006). Evaluering av allmennlærerutdanningen i Norge, Del 1: Hovedrapport. Oslo: NOKUT.
Norgesnettrådet. (2002). Evaluering av allmennlærerutdanningen ved fem norske institusjoner. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
NVivo, [Computer Software]. (2014). (Version 10). Doncaster, AU: QSR.
Ottesen, E. (2007). Reflection in teacher education. Reflective Practice, 8, 31–46.
Padilla, K., Ponce de León, A. M., Rembado, F. M., & Garritz, A. (2008). Undergraduate professors’ pedagogical content knowledge: The case of “amount of substance”. International Journal of Science Education, 30, 1389–1404.
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, 261–284.
Pongsanon, K., Akerson, V., & Rogers, M. (2011). Exploring the use of lesson study to develop elementary preservice teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge for teaching nature of science. Presented at the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, Orlando, FL: NARST.
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, 1365–1387.
Schneider, R., & Plasman, K. (2011). Science teachers learning progressions: A review of science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge development. Review of Educational Research, 81, 530–565.
Shulman, L. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Reasearcher, 15(2), 4–14.
Shulman, L. (2015). PCK: Its genesis and exodus. In A. Berry, P. Friedrichsen, & J. Loughran (Eds.), Re-examining pedagogical content knowledge in science education (pp. 14–26). New York, NY: Routledge.
Skagen, K. (2000). Kunnskap og handling i pedagogisk veiledning. Oslo: Fagbokforlaget.
Smith, J. P., & Girod, M. (2003). John Dewey & psychologizing the subject-matter: Big ideas, ambitious teaching, and teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 19, 295–307.
Sundli, L. (2007). Mentoring: A new mantra for education? Teaching and Teacher Education, 23, 201–214.
Talbert, J. E., McLoughlin, M. W., & Rowan, B. (1993). Understanding context effects on secondary school teaching. Teachers College Record, 95, 45–68.
Van Driel, J. H., & Berry, A. (2012). Teacher professional development focusing on pedagogical content knowledge. Educational Researcher, 41, 26–28.
Weiland, I., Akerson, V. L., Rogers, M. P., & Pongsanon, K. (2010). Lesson study as a tool for engaging preservice teachers in reflective practice. Presented at the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, Philadelphia.
Zeichner, K. (2010). Rethinking the connections between campus courses and field experiences in college- and university-based teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 61, 89–99.
Acknowledgments
The present research was supported by the Norwegian Research Council, Grant No. 212276.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Juhler, M.V. The Use of Lesson Study Combined with Content Representation in the Planning of Physics Lessons During Field Practice to Develop Pedagogical Content Knowledge. J Sci Teacher Educ 27, 533–553 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-016-9473-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-016-9473-4