From Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy to Pedagogical Content Knowledge: Learning to Facilitate Social Studies Discussions

• In Event: Lessons Learned From Humanities Teachers' Instruction

Abstract

For thirty-five years, teacher education research and practice has pursued pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), yet PCK remains an amorphous construct. This paper examines the case of facilitating social studies discourse to better understand how PCK develops in relationship to knowledge of content, teaching, and the broader construct of teachers’ role identity. This comparative case study examines teaching videos and interviews from three exceptional preservice teachers, each of whom held an advanced degree in either history or teaching prior to starting their program. Preliminary findings suggest that their high-levels of content or pedagogical knowledge were not yet integrated into their teacher role identity, resulting in inconsistent enactment, uneven demonstrations of PCK, and raising questions about the nature and development of PCK.

Author

• Lightning Jay, Binghamton University - SUNY