The Components of Pedagogical Content Knowledge Considered by Secondary Science Pre-service Teachers in Planning and Implementing Teaching Demonstrations

Developing pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) has been emphasized as one of the requirements for science teacher's professionalism, and it should be done from systematic teacher training courses. In this study, we investigated the components considered in planning instruction and the difficulties encountered in implementing it in PCK held by secondary pre-service teachers. Twenty-seven juniors at a college of education in Seoul were asked to perform teaching demonstrations using scientific instruction models. They were also requested to write reflective journals and interview. Analyses of the results revealed that teaching strategies and learners' cognitive affective aspects were considered by most secondary pre-service teachers, whereas curriculum and assessment were regarded by few of them. For examples, choosing instruction models and organizing instructions were concerned in teaching strategies. They also considered learners' cognitive affective aspects for selecting experiments as main activities. Only few considered learners' prior-knowledge. Most difficulties encountered in planning instruction and implementing it appeared in teaching strategies. Educational implications of these findings are discussed.