The Development of Beginning Physics Teachers’ Content Knowledge Over the First Three Years of Teaching

• In Event: Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: Teacher Commitment, Retention, and Staffing in the United States and Abroad

Abstract

Teachers new to the profession are those often asked to teach outside of their content area, during a time when knowledge needed for teaching is developed. Previous studies have shown adequate content knowledge is a necessary, but not sufficient, requirement for affective teaching. This mixed methods study examined the physics content knowledge of 23 secondary physics teachers in the first three years of teaching. Through analysis of interviews, observations, and concept maps for three groups of teachers (infield, related field, and out-of-field), it was concluded that teaching physics for three years did not increase physics content knowledge for any group, but did allow in-field and out-of-field teachers to speak about understanding physics in more meaningful ways across the three years.

Authors

• Jennifer J. Neakrase, New Mexico State University

• Julie A. Luft, University of Georgia