PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE(PCK) ANALYSIS

 

PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE(PCK) ANALYSIS

Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) is a form of representation of ideas, explanations, and ways of formulating and conveying the contents in order to be understood by the students. The PCK as a combination of content knowledge and pedagogy that is a special form of professional understanding of teachers. PCK is an idea that is rooted in the belief that the learning process requires more than just providing learning content to students, and students learn more than simply absorbing information.

The concept of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) was introduced by Shulman (1986). The concept of PCK refers to teachers' interpretations and transformations of subject-matter knowledge in the context of facilitating student learning. Shulman introduced PCK as a specific category of knowledge. The key elements in Shulman's conception of PCK are knowledge of representations of subject matter on one hand and the understanding of specific learning difficulties and student conceptions on the other.

            A qualified teacher not only transfers knowledge of the subject matter he/she owns, but without a good pedagogy content knowledge, it is difficult for future teachers to understand a new knowledge and construct it with the previous knowledge they have acquired.

           The relationship between content and pedagogy can be explained as follows. Content knowledge expects teachers to connect and see the relationships between material concepts, while pedagogical knowledge expects teachers to master the ways that can help students learn about the concept (Loughran, 2012). The content knowledge prepares future teachers to learn and teach by inquiry process, while pedagogical knowledge allows teachers to transfer experience to students in the process of inquiry.

          

                

PCK Analysis- STEPS

1.   Content Analysis:

Content analysis is an important step in the planning of a lesson. Mathematics teachers need to understand the nature of content as well as skills to be developed while designing the instructions. While planning any teaching-learning strategy, the first thing which have to be focussed is the nature of content and which skill can be developed through it. The instructional materials can be effectively designed after establishing the link between skills required and the nature of content.

            Planning of instruction helps the teacher achieve the desired objectives. A scientific and systematic instructional planning enables the teacher to be fully in command of instruction. For this the teacher has to utilise his imagination, creativity, insight and subject competency. Content analysis is main component of instructional planning.

      The content is the means to the end of bringing about desirable changes in the pupils. A teacher analyses the content to decide what objectives he can develop in his pupils based on the content. A teacher can limit the contents to be taught according to the educational and learning needs of pupils even though the content is vast in nature. This can be done if the teacher analyses the content to be taught to a particular class. Content analysis is the breaking of the content into its constituent parts. In this process the teacher breaks the topics given in the curriculum into their component parts, arranges them in sequence, refines and limits the topic.

2.   Learning Outcomes:

Learning outcomes are an essential part of any unit outline. A learning outcome is a clear statement of what a learner is expected to be able to do, know about and/or value at the completion of a unit of study, and how well they should be expected to achieve those outcomes. It states both the substance of learning and how its attainment is to be demonstrated.

                       Learning outcomes are statements of what is expected that a student will be able to DO as a result of a learning activity. Learning outcomes help instructors more precisely to tell students what is expected of them. By doing this, educationalists assert that they:

·       help students to learn more effectively. They know where they stand and the curriculum is made more open to them.

·       make it clear what students can hope to gain from following a particular course or lecture.

·       help instructors to design their materials more effectively by acting as a template for them.

·       help instructors select the appropriate teaching strategy, for example lecture, seminar, student self-paced, or laboratory class. It obviously makes sense to match the intended outcome to the teaching strategy.

·       help instructors more precisely to tell their colleagues what a particular activity is designed to achieve.

·       assist in setting examinations based on the materials delivered.

·       ensure that appropriate assessment strategies are employed

Writing learning outcomes:

Begin with an Action Verb: Begin with an action verb that denotes the level of learning expected. Terms such as know, understand, learn, appreciate are generally not specific enough to be measurable. Levels of learning and associated verbs may include the following:

Remembering and understanding: recall, identify, label, illustrate, summarize.

Applying and analyzing: use, differentiate, organize, integrate, apply, solve, analyze.

Evaluating and creating: Monitor, test, judge, produce, revise, compose.

Follow with a Statement

Statement – The statement should describe the knowledge and abilities to be demonstrated. For example:

Students will…

·       Recall/ define Real numbers.

·       Understand any real number is either rational or irrational, but not both.

·       Differentiate the different kinds of real numbers

·       Evaluating properties of real numbers.

Use  Bloom's taxonomy to identify verbs to describe participants’ learning.

Examples of learning outcomes might include:

1. Knowledge/Remembering: define, list, recognize;

2. Comprehension/Understanding: characterize, describe, explain, identify, locate, recognize, sort;

3. Application/Applying: choose, demonstrate, implement, perform;

4. Analysis/Analyzing: analyze, categorize, compare, differentiate;

5. Evaluation/Evaluating: assess, critique, evaluate, rank, rate;

6. Synthesis/Creating: construct, design, formulate, organize, synthesize.

3. Pre-requisites/Previous Knowledge/Entry Behaviour

Of the three terms, the term pre-requisite is more appropriate for it focuses on the required previous knowledge/entry behaviour without which the teacher cannot proceed. It is crucial in the development of a lesson to isolate the pre-requisite from where the class should begin. Pre-requisites can be an experience or an anecdote. In the same way the relevant principles and skills will be the prerequisites for learning a process.

The purpose of identifying the pre-requisite is

·       To start the lesson from where the students are.

·       To helps in arousing the apperception mass thereby motivating the students to learn.

·       To assimilate the new learning materials of the content or the unit should be comprehensively listed.

·       To comprehend a new principle the learner should possess the concepts involved as well as the preliminary principles based upon which the new principle is being developed.

 

4.   Teaching-learning processes

Teaching is the process of attending to people’s needs, experiences and feelings, and intervening so that they learn particular things, and go beyond the given. Teaching is one of the instruments of education and is a special function is to impart understanding and skill.

The main function of teaching is to make learning effective and meaningful. The learning process would get completed as a result of teaching. So, teaching and learning are closely related to each other. Teaching is a process in which one individual teaches or instruct another individual.

Teaching is considered as the act of imparting instructions to the learners inside and outside the classroom situation. Teaching and learning process is the part and parcel of the education system. Whole education system depends on the aims and objectives of the teaching & learning process.

In the teaching-learning process, the teacher, the learner, the curriculum are organised in a systematic way to achieve the educational goals and objectives. Learning is an inferred process and differs from the performance which is the observed behaviour/response/action.

a)   Teaching and learning resources :

                       The ‘teaching and learning resources’ referred to in the guidelines include any spoken, written or visual text or activity used or conducted by schools. Learning Resources refer to any person or any material with instructional content or function that is used for formal or informal teaching-learning purposes. Learning resources may include, but are not limited to, print and non- print materials; audio, visual, electronic, and digital hardware/software resources; and human resources. In a broader perspective learning resources includes human resource as well as physical resources.

Some of the frequently used classroom resources may be enlisted as follows:

ü  Teacher’s thoughts/knowledge

ü  Children’s thoughts/knowledge

ü  Thoughts of community members

ü  Blackboard and other writing boards

ü  Books/textbook/worksheets

ü  Audio resources like radio, tape recorder, mobile phone, etc.

ü  Visual resources like charts, pictures, models, epidiascope, micro-projector, film strips, etc. 

ü  Audio visual resources like television, motion pictures, video films, living objects, etc.

ü  Interactive ICT resources like internet, computer, mobile and tablet, etc.

ü  Improvised and localized resources

b)   Environmental inputs:

        Inputs means the instructional aids that can be used for effective instruction. There should be a wide range, from routine or innovative instructional aids to a visit to significant spots, business centres etc. Any mediator, such as examples, anecdotes, analogies, stories etc or any aid gathered from physical, natural and social environments should form part of the list. The listed inputs may be processed for providing the content-appropriate, objective based, learner centred, environmental based, process oriented and comprehensive learning experiences.

 

5.   Enrichment activities

                 This gives students a chance to do something independently which will give teachers a chance to do formative evaluation or to enable them to carry the activity further and apply learning in a personal way. This step makes learning more permanent. It could be an in-class activity which is completed later, a learning centre, seat work, or home work.

 

6.   Assessment techniques

Learning goals can be assessed in a variety of ways, including through quizzes, tests, independently performed worksheets, cooperative learning activities, hands-on experiments, oral discussion, question- and-answer sessions, writing assignments, presentations, or other concrete means. Most importantly, teachers need to ensure that the Assessment activity is directly and explicitly tied to the stated learning objectives you developed in step one of the lesson plan.

Ø  Follow-Up: Using the Results of the Assessment:

                   Once the students have completed the given assessment activity, teacher must take some time to reflect on the results. If the learning objectives were not adequately achieved, teacher will need to revisit the lesson in a different manner, revising the approach to learning. Either need to teach the lesson again or need to clear up areas that confused several of the students.

 

7.   Assignments:

  Assignments can be provided as part of the instruction should be decided in advance. An assignment based on the continuation of the in the classroom is very helpful for the students understanding. As far as possible, assignment should emerge out of the group planning in the class, it should not be dictated by the teachers. There should be the scope for critical thinking, creativity and open-ended responses in the assignment.

 Assignments should be planned for extended learning, self-learning and in a forward-looking manner rather than only in a backward-looking manner (doing routine type exercises at the end of the lesson)..

            If a property of a Geometrical shape has been transacted in the class and students are given the assignment to make a model based on the properties for extended learning, they will not only understand the properties better, their understanding on construction and working and the model making skills will also get enhanced.