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Pedagogical Content Knowledge Analysis

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This essay will outline how I would support children in year 5, learning about earth and space, using a Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) Framework (See appendix A). A PCK framework is a tool used to gather information about teachers deep subject knowledge and what content they need to teach the children. Shulman (1987) conveys the point that a PCK framework is a strong tool to use; it represents the knowledge children must know and it can be adapted to the diverse needs or interests of the children. Koehler and Mishra (2009) build on this idea, as they believe teachers can use the PCK to interpret the subject knowledge with their own understanding. It provides ways to present topics to children, identifying misconceptions and children’s’ …show more content…

Alternatively, this can be seen as a negative method as Dreyfus (1990) identified that children may feel their ideas have been discouraged, therefore begin keeping their thoughts to themselves. Day and night is an area of statutory learning in the National Curriculum (DfE, 2014) for children in year 5. The main issue regarding this is that children’s ideas may occur before they reach year 5. Harlen and Qualter (2014) perceptively state that unless children are supported in thinking differently, they will choose to believe their own ideas. Consequently, the new National Curriculum has not ensured that children’s ideas are being addressed and reconstructed in a scientific way when they are first …show more content…

Children would draw a diagram to show how they believe day and night occur. This idea came from the Nuffield Primary Science Guide (1995b: 93) as it allows the teacher to identify each child’s individual understanding. Scott (1987) and Harlen and Qualter (2014) believe that this is essential for the teacher, to be able to plan from the appropriate starting point. The children would then discuss their diagrams in groups and decide on a group theory to share with the class. From this elicitation activity, the teacher could plan activities that reconstruct their existing ideas of day and night. If the teacher were to ignore the children’s existing knowledge, children may memorise the new concept but may not truly believe it, as they haven’t had the chance to reconstruct what they already know (Harlen and Qualter,

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