PCK ANALYSIS

PEDAGOGIC CONTENT KNOWLEDGE

           Teaching is a complex cognitive skill occurring in an ill-structured dynamic environment. There are clearly many knowledge systems that are fundamental of teaching, including knowledge of student thinking and learning (pedagogical knowledge) and knowledge of subject matter (Content knowledge). 

      First the knowledge bases of teacher education have focused on the content knowledge. Then teacher education has shifted its focus to pedagogy emphasizing the general pedagogical classroom practices independent of subject matter and often at the expense of content knowledge.

Later different approaches toward teacher education have emphasized one or other domain of knowledge, focusing on knowledge of Content (C) and knowledge of pedagogy (P). Lee S Shulman (1986) introduced the idea of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). PCK exists at the intersection of content and pedagogy. It represents the blending of content and pedagogy into an understanding of how particular aspects of subjects are organized, adapted and represented for instruction.

       Next focus is on the role of technology knowledge, which has become an important aspect of overall teacher knowledge. Then the framework emphasizes the connections, interactions, affordances and constraints between and among content (C), pedagogy (P) and technology (T) and is known as Techno-Pedagogic Content Knowledge framework (TPCK). in this model, knowledge about content, pedagogy and technology is central for developing good teaching. However, rather than treating these as separate bodies of knowledge, this model additionally emphasizes the complex interplay of these three bodies of knowledge.

Hence, TPCK is the conceptual framework for educational technology built on Shulman’s (1986) formulation of ‘Pedagogical Content Knowledge’ and extending it to the phenomenon of teachers integrating technology into their pedagogy. (fig.)