Introduction+to+PCK

**This page explores the concept of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and how it relates to Content Representations, or ** **CoRe/s.**

The idea of PCK was introduced by Lee Shulman (1986) and he described it as subject matter //for teaching//. This construct has attracted considerable interest amongst science education researchers, but is not widely recognized or used in the classroom context. This doesn't mean that experienced classroom teachers lack PCK, but it does mean that they often have trouble talking to other teachers about what they do and why.

There has been much discussion about what actually constitutes PCK but there is reasonable consensus that it involves some integration of good content knowledge, good knowledge of pedagogy, as well as experience in teaching specific topics (van Driel, 1998). Given these characteristics it might seem obvious that well developed PCK is not something that novice teachers are likely to have, and that its development takes some considerable time to achieve. Nevertheless, the construct of PCK strongly suggests that to adequately teach for conceptual understanding requires a deep conceptual knowledge on the part of the teacher, and that this knowledge has a complex structure particular to the teaching environment (PCK). This is where CoRes come in. A group of researchers at Monash University (in Melbourne, Australia) spent several years working with expert teachers to gain a picture of their PCK. As a result of ongoing conversations, workshops and observations over this period they developed a format which captures important aspects of these successful science teachers' subject matter knowledge and pedagogy (Loughran, Berry and Mulhall; 2006). This PCK format is made of two elements. The first element is the Content Representation (**CoRe**). This offers an overview of the particular content taught when teaching a particular topic. The second element they have called a Pedagogical and Professional-experience Repertoire (or **PaP-eR**). These are succinct but specific accounts of practice that are intended to offer windows into aspects of the CoRe.

The CoRes offered in this Wiki are intended to help teachers, both experienced and novice, to analyse the knowledge base of various topics, and to develop, share ideas about, and improve not just subject matter knowledge, but pedagogical content knowledge that relates to the teaching of thes topics. 

 Loughran, J., Berry, A. & Mulhall, P. (2006a) //Understanding and Developing Science Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge//, Sense Publishers, Rotterdam. Shulman, L. (1986) Those Who Understand: Knowledge Growth in Teaching, //Educational Researcher//, **15**, 4-14. van Driel, J. H., Verloop, N. & de Vos, W. (1998) Developing Science Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge, //Journal of Research in Science Teaching//, **35**(6), 673-695.
 * References**

 



