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ERIC Number: EJ1460445
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Feb
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: EISSN-1938-1328
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Improving Pre-Service Teachers' Content Knowledge Related to Teaching Secondary School Science: A Case Concerning Functional Groups and Isomers
Bongani Prince Ndlovu; Elizabeth Mavhunga
Journal of Chemical Education, v102 n2 p535-545 2025
While the distinction between academic disciplines and school subjects has received some attention, the question of which subject matter content knowledge (CK) teachers need as a foundation for initial teacher development has been raised. In science education, Teacher-related Science Content Knowledge (TerSCK) has been conceptualized to model the version of CK appropriate for teacher development and the basis for Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) development. This study aimed to explore the efficacy of a TerSCK-based intervention in enhancing the quality of preservice teachers' (PSTs') TerSCK inorganic chemistry as a case study. Following an explicit intervention, mixed methods were employed to collect data from 35 PSTs before and after the intervention. Data collected were participants' reflections and completed test scores using a validated TerSCK measuring instrument, with a corresponding grading rubric on a Likert scale of 1-4.This generated ordinal scores which were converted into person ability and item difficulty probability measures placed on the same latent scale using the Rasch statistical model. The reliability indices calculated for the person's responses and test items were found acceptable both before and after the intervention. The comparison of the mean scores of the person performance probability measures was calculated using the Wilcoxon-Signed Rank test which demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in the quality of the PSTs' TerSCK (z = -5.166, p < 0.001, r = 0.87). Additionally, qualitative data from the intervention further corroborated the enhancement in the quality of PSTs' TerSCK after the intervention particularly, in knowledge of interconnections and tensions. The study concludes by highlighting the implications for teaching in science teacher education and outlining new research directions on teacher professional knowledge for teaching science.
Division of Chemical Education, Inc. and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A