Exploring dynamic pedagogical content knowledge across fundamental concepts of electrostatics

Ernest Nkosingiphile Mazibe; Estelle Gaigher; Corene Coetzee

doi:10.29333/ejmste/13023

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Ernest Nkosingiphile Mazibe ¹ ^* , Estelle Gaigher ² , Corene Coetzee ²

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¹ Department of Science and Technology Education, College of Education, University of South Africa, Pretoria, SOUTH AFRICA² Department of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, SOUTH AFRICA^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

This paper reports a case study that explored teachers’ dynamic pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) across three big ideas of electrostatics namely the electrostatic force, electric field, and electric field strength. Two pre-service and two in-service teachers participated in the study. The refined consensus model of PCK was adopted as the theoretical framework for the study. We studied PCK as enacted during classroom teaching using observations and interviews. Data was analyzed alongside a four-point scale grand PCK rubric used to score the competence of the teachers for every big idea. The results showed that PCK of the teachers varied across the big ideas, which is attributed to the nature of concepts, as well as teachers’ content knowledge in each. The findings imply that pre-service teacher education programs should involve focus on teaching specific concepts to support the development of holistic PCK for a topic.

Keywords

pedagogical content knowledge
fundamental concepts
electrostatics

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, 2023, Volume 19, Issue 3, Article No: em2241

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13023

Publication date: 03 Mar 2023

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Article Downloads: 555

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How to cite this article

APA

Mazibe, E. N., Gaigher, E., & Coetzee, C. (2023). Exploring dynamic pedagogical content knowledge across fundamental concepts of electrostatics. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 19(3), em2241. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13023

Vancouver

Mazibe EN, Gaigher E, Coetzee C. Exploring dynamic pedagogical content knowledge across fundamental concepts of electrostatics. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2023;19(3):em2241. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13023

AMA

Mazibe EN, Gaigher E, Coetzee C. Exploring dynamic pedagogical content knowledge across fundamental concepts of electrostatics. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2023;19(3), em2241. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13023

Chicago

Mazibe, Ernest Nkosingiphile, Estelle Gaigher, and Corene Coetzee. "Exploring dynamic pedagogical content knowledge across fundamental concepts of electrostatics". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2023 19 no. 3 (2023): em2241. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13023

Harvard

Mazibe, E. N., Gaigher, E., and Coetzee, C. (2023). Exploring dynamic pedagogical content knowledge across fundamental concepts of electrostatics. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 19(3), em2241. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13023

MLA

Mazibe, Ernest Nkosingiphile et al. "Exploring dynamic pedagogical content knowledge across fundamental concepts of electrostatics". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 19, no. 3, 2023, em2241. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13023