Fostering Teachers’ Learning through Materials Featuring Research on Early Cancer Diagnosis as a Context

Tim H.H. van Dulmen*, Talitha C. Visser, Birgit Pepin, Susan McKenney

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

Development of teacher pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is a crucial aspect of teacher learning that can be supported by high-quality materials. In this study, 16 chemistry teachers in The Netherlands used teaching and learning materials situated in the context of research on tumor detection. Teachers’ encounters with these learning materials and the development of teacher PCK were investigated using teacher logbooks, card-sorting activities, content representation (CoRe) tasks, and semistructured teacher interviews. Analysis of the results showed that most teachers used strategies that were new to them and made few adaptations to the teaching sequence and activities proposed in the teacher guide. Moreover, growth in teacher PCK for chemical bonding was observed, primarily related to instructional strategies and representations, and to a lesser extent related to three other PCK components (knowledge of curriculum, student understanding, and assessment). The data suggest that the materials facilitate teacher learning by enabling positive classroom experiences and by supporting teachers to expand their instructional repertoire for the topic of chemical bonding, in particular hydrogen bonding.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4651-4660
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of chemical education
Volume101
Issue number11
Early online date23 Oct 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 12 Nov 2024

Keywords

  • authentic contexts
  • high school chemistry
  • inquiry-based learning
  • molecular recognition

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