Abstract

BERTRAM, Adam. 'CoRes and PaP-eRs as a strategy for helping beginning primary teachers develop their pedagogical content knowledge. Educ. quím [online]. 2014, vol.25, n.3, pp.292-303. ISSN 0187-893X.

While it is widely accepted that beginning teachers have little PCK, this paper attempts to explore whether two instruments, CoRes (Content Representations) and PaP-eRs (Pedagogical and Professional-experience Repertoires), might offer a means for articulating and portraying aspects of a beginning primary science teacher's developing PCK and how this might assist in developing his PCK. This has implications for all teachers of science including those of chemistry. Over a two year longitudinal study, a beginning primary science teacher developed his own CoRe and PaP-eR, accompanied by an analysis of his thinking behind his practice. On analyses, the study concluded that CoRes and PaP-eRs can portray explicit instances of PCK for a beginning science teacher but more importantly they help to highlight, build and scaffold knowledge of teaching and learning about science in new ways that extends beyond normal beginning teacher thinking. Therefore CoRes and PaP-eRs might be of potential interest to beginning science teachers in all disciplines (including chemistry).

Keywords : Pedagogical Content Knowledge; teacher development; content representations (CoRes); pedagogical and professional-experience repertoires (PaP-eRs); beginning teacher development.