1,185
Views
88
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Science Trainee Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge and its Influence on Physics Teaching

Pages 215-225 | Published online: 25 Aug 2010
 

This study examined Malaysian science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of selected physics concepts. The two components of PCK investigated were (i) knowledge of students' understanding, conceptions and misconceptions of topics, and (ii) knowledge of strategies and representations for teaching particular topics. The participants were 12 trainee teachers from various academic science backgrounds attending a one-year postgraduate teacher-training course. They were interviewed on selected basic concepts in physics that are found in the Malaysian Integrated Science curriculum for lower secondary level. The findings showed that trainee teachers' PCK for promoting conceptual understanding is limited. They lacked the ability to transform their understanding of basic concepts in physics required to teach lower secondary school science pupils. The trainees' level of content knowledge affected their awareness of pupils' likely misconceptions. Consequently, the trainees were unable to employ the appropriate teaching strategies required to explain the scientific ideas. This study provides some pedagogical implications for the training of science teachers.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.