Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is a foundation for teacher standards such as the Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2011) and a critical element of teacher preparation and professional development for multiple fields, including science teaching (Purzer, Moore, Baker, & Berland, 2014). But several years ago Settlage (2013) presented a powerful critique of PCK, rejecting the way it positions knowledge in the abstract, “solely ... what teachers store in their heads” (p. 10) and calling for more evidence connecting PCK conceptualisations to actual teaching activity. In truth, theoretical descriptions of PCK abound (Darling -Hammond & Bransford, 2005; Hashweh, 2005; Lee & Luft, 2008) and most utilise the lens of the researcher (Lee & Luft, 2008). While this helps us conceptualise teaching and imagine what could be, what is needed are more illustrations of what is.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/emily-hayden/13/
This manuscripts is published as Hayden , H. E. & Eades Baird, M. (2016). Not a stale metaphor: The continued relevance of pedagogical content knowledge for science research and education. Under review: Pedagogies: An International Journal. Posted with permission.