Does the edTPA Assess Preservice Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK)? The Relationship Between the edTPA and PCK

• In Event: 43.037 - Measuring Outcomes of Teacher Candidates and Novice Teachers: Knowledge, Practice, and Dispositions

Abstract

This study examined the edTPA’s ability to assess the specialized type of teacher knowledge necessary for effective teaching, known as pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) (Shulman, 1986). Pre-service teachers’ PCK levels were determined by the PCK Map approach (Park & Chen, 2012) and then compared to their edTPA scores through linear regression analyses. The findings of this study demonstrate that edTPA scores were indicative of the participants' level of PCK. Participant PCK levels explained a significant portion of the variance in edTPA scores for the sample (R2 = .903, F(1, 22) = 205.37, p < .000). This study expands the growing body of scholarship surrounding PCK and becomes one of only a handful of empirical studies regarding the edTPA's diagnostic abilities.

Authors

• Matt Reynolds, North Carolina State University

• Soonhye Park, North Carolina State University

• Sarah Cannon, North Carolina State University