Assessing Science PCK of Technology Educators

Assessing Science PCK of Technology Educators

Tyler S. Love

• Research cites Shulman’s 7 categories of teacher knowledge

• What is PCK?

2 (De Miranda, 2008)

Defining PCK• Varying Definitions• Definitions across science education and

technology education.• Topic Specific• Multiple types of PCK for varying subject

areas

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Rationale• Teachers’ have much impact on student

achievement in the classroom• Sometimes more than Socioeconomic Status

• Teaching science and technology in unison• Israel – 1995• Netherlands – 2006• United States – 1996, 2000, & 2013

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Rationale• Technology educators need a unique PCK to

teach integrative concepts• What are integrative concepts and teaching?• Science is embedded within technology and

engineering concepts• Teach S+T+E+M and other concepts in

unison• Holistic learning beyond technology

education classroom5

Purpose of the Study• Still much unknown about PCK of technology

education (TE) teachers• TE has been “expected to teach” engineering

and design concepts for many years• TE teachers might be the best population to

study PCK needed to deliver science and engineering concepts

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Previous Studies• Most PCK research is found in science education• It is a growing trend in research in technology

education• Qualitative method approaches• Quantitative method approaches• Mixed-Methods approaches

• Obstacles with assessing PCK• Methods, sample size, generalizability, and

correlation to student achievement

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Overarching Research Question• RQ1 – What teacher preparation factors

contribute to the ability of in-service secondary level technology and engineering (T&E) educators to teach (a) science content and (b) science practices in T&E education classrooms?

In the context of teaching the Foundations of Technology (FoT) unit of the Engineering by Design (EbD) curriculum:

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Research Sub-Questions• SQ1.1- What science-related preparation

experiences, formal and informal, contribute to the ability of in-service secondary level T&E educators to teach science content embedded within the FoT unit?

• SQ1.2- What T&E-related preparation experiences, formal and informal, contribute to the ability of in-service secondary level T&E educators to teach science content embedded within the FoT unit?9

Research Sub-Questions• SQ1.3- What science-related preparation

experiences, formal and informal, contribute to the ability of in-service secondary level T&E educators to teach science practices embedded within the FoT unit?

• SQ1.4- What T&E-related preparation experiences, formal and informal, contribute to the ability of in-service secondary level T&E educators to teach science practices embedded within the FoT unit?10

Proposed Design and Methodology• Explanatory sequential mixed methods design

• Survey on science preparation of technology educators• Large sample of technology educators (≈707)

• Purposeful sampling from survey results• ≈10 technology educators

• Observe teaching an engineering design lesson, including student interactions, lesson plans, and student artifacts

• Post observation interviews with the teachers11

Survey Qualitative Research

Analyze Purposeful Sample

Analyze/Interpret Findings

Implications• Show value of technology education for teaching

science concepts• Inform pre and inservice teacher preparation

programs• Better prepare teachers to teach multiple contents

within technological and engineering design• Assessing knowledge of STEM PCK of technology

educators in large sample sizes• Foundation for future PCK studies

• Applications for assessing engineering PCK of science educators

• What might be the best questions to ask?12

Questions• Thank You• Questions?• Contact Information• Tyler S. Love• Email: tslove@vt.edu

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