Being an Educator and Game Developer: The Role of Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Non-Commercial Serious Games Production

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 771-788
Author(s):  
Jonas Linderoth ◽  
Björn Sjöblom
Keyword(s):  
Pedagogical Content Knowledge ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Game Design ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Individual Development ◽  
Game Development ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
University Course ◽  
The University

Background and aim. Previous literature has discussed tensions between the field of game design and the field of education. It has been emphasized that it is important to address this tension when developing game based learning (GBL). In order to find potential ways of approaching this problem, we investigate the development of GBL when performed by those who have both pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and experience in game development. Method. Two case studies about serious games production were conducted, a game section at a national defense college and a university course in educational game design. The cases, as well as individual development projects within the settings, were analyzed with a focus on the role of PCK during serious games development. Results. While the developers and instructors at the defence college, who designed games for their in-house needs, had both PCK and knowledge about game development, these competencies varied a lot among the participants at the university course. The results show that educational goals added complexity to the design process. By comparison, some studied game projects at the university course avoided this complexity. These projects legitimized their games as educational by suggesting unproven far transfer. In other cases, where the developers did have PCK, the instructional goals where taken as a starting point that guided the whole development process. This lead to games that were designed to match highly specific educational contexts. The developers, instructors and teachers in both of the settings who used their PCK tended to break a number of established game design heuristics that would have been counter productive in relation to the learning objectives of the games. Conclusions. The paper suggests that there is a need for people with pedagogical content knowledge AND knowledge about game development. Enhancing these dual competencies in game workers could forward the field of GBL.

scholarly journals A TOOL TO SUPPORT LECTURERS’ COURSE DEVELOPMENT AT INTRODUCTORY UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL IN PHYSICS

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-63
Author(s):  
Peter Gustafsson ◽  
Hans G. Eriksson
Keyword(s):  
Pedagogical Content Knowledge ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Physics Education ◽  
Course Development ◽  
Student Groups ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Specific Category ◽  
Content Representation ◽  
University Course ◽  
The University

With more diversified student groups entering the university, the development and planning of courses become more pedagogically challenging. In earlier studies, a validated tool, content representation (CoRe), has been used in teacher education to help pre-service teachers identify and promote pedagogical content knowledge in limited teaching sequences. In the present research the aim is to explore whether CoRe, when applied to an introductory university course in physics, can (i) promote the pedagogical content knowledge of the course as a whole and (ii) serve as an operative tool to identify problematic areas or areas that need further development in the course. The CoRe tool is based on given questions to be answered in relation to the “big ideas” of the course. In the present research, the questions have been answered by a lecturer and by using a content analysis of the answers several categories of development could be identified. For a specific category, the tool also provided information about what kind of development was necessary. The conclusion is that CoRe has a potential to be of service at higher education level, it can be applied to parts of a course as well as to a course as a whole, and it may provide a useful tool to help a lecturer in the development and planning of a course. Key words: content representation; course development; physics education; university level, pedagogical content knowledge.

scholarly journals Exploring the complexities of describing foundation phase teachers’ professional knowledge base

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Bertram ◽  
Iben Christiansen ◽  
Tabitha Mukeredzi
Keyword(s):  
Pedagogical Content Knowledge ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Professional Knowledge ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
Barriers To Learning ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Grade 3 ◽  
Written Test ◽  
The University

The purpose of this paper is to engage with the complexities of describing teachers’ professional knowledge and eventually also their learning through written tests. The bigger research aim is to describe what knowledge foundation phase teachers acquired during their two years of study towards the Advanced Certificate of Teaching (ACT). We designed a written test to investigate the professional knowledge that teachers bring with them when they enrol for the ACT, with the aim of comparing their responses to the same test two years later, when they had completed the programme. The questionnaire included questions on teachers’ content knowledge; their pedagogical content knowledge (in particular, teachers’ knowledge about learner misconceptions, stages of learning, and ways of engaging these in making teaching decisions); and their personal knowledge (such as their beliefs about how children learn and barriers to learning). It spanned the fields of literacy in English and isiZulu, numeracy, and general pedagogy. Eighty-six foundation phase teachers enrolled for the ACT at the University of KwaZulu-Natal completed the questionnaire, and their responses pointed us to further methodological issues. We discuss the assumptions behind the design of the test/questionnaire, the difficulties in formulating relevant questions, and the problems of ‘accessing’ specific elements of teacher knowledge through this type of instrument. Our process shows the difficulties both in constructing questions and in coding the responses, in particular concerning the pedagogical content knowledge component for teachers from Grade R to Grade 3.

Designing Meaningful Instruction

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birch P. Browning
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Design ◽  
Pedagogical Content Knowledge ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Relevant Feedback ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Learning Plan ◽  
Instructional Context

The chapter outlines and discusses many steps in instructional design as well as assessing its effectiveness. The role of knowledge of subject matter, pedagogy, how students learn, and instructional context is stressed. The six challenging questions relating to pedagogical content knowledge are presented and discussed. Designing instruction is a temporally backward process, in that the first step is to determine the desired outcomes. The reader is taken through the three major stages of planning instruction: defining outcomes, planning assessment, and designing the learning plan. The importance of timely and relevant feedback is stressed. Teacher self-assessment is key as well. The author states that the height of professionalism is the consistent willingness to evolve for the students’ benefit.The chapter concludes with a detailed sample lesson project.

scholarly journals The development of pedagogical content knowledge of a mathematics teaching intern: the role of collaboration, curriculum, and classroom context

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Bridgette Bond Almond Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Pedagogical Content Knowledge ◽  
Instructional Strategies ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Mathematics Teaching ◽  
Mathematics Classroom ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Classroom Context ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Pedagogical Content

In this study I examined the role of collaboration, curriculum, and the classroom context in the development of pedagogical content knowledge of a mathematics teaching intern. Additionally, I investigated the nature of the collaborative process between the teaching intern and his mentor teacher as they collaborated on action (during structured planning time) and in action (while students were present). The teaching internship resided in a seventh-grade mathematics classroom during the teaching of a probability unit from a standards-based curriculum, Connected Mathematics Project. Using existing research, a conceptual framework was developed and multiple data sources (audio taped collaborations, observations of the intern's teaching practices, semi-structured interviews, and a mathematics pedagogy assessment) were analyzed in order to understand the teaching intern's development of knowledge of instructional strategies, knowledge of student understandings, curricular knowledge, and conceptions of purpose for teaching probability.Results identified numerous dilemmas related to planning and implementing instruction. Although the teaching intern developed pedagogical content knowledge, he often experienced difficulty accessing it while teaching. Through collaboration, curriculum, and the classroom context, the teaching intern learned to incorporate his pedagogical content knowledge in instruction. Analysis revealed that as he gained new knowledge he was able to shift his focus from content to the use of instructional strategies for teaching and learning. The curriculum was the primary focus of collaboration and initiated the intern's examination of the learning-to-teach process. Collaboration on action and collaboration in action proved to be essential elements in the development of pedagogical content knowledge.

scholarly journals THE EFFECT OF TEACHER INSTRUCTIONS ON PRESERVICE TEACHER’S DEVELOPMENT OF PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE

2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-61
Author(s):  
Brunno Carvalho Gastaldo ◽  
Paula Homem-de-Mello ◽  
Sérgio Henrique Leal
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Pedagogical Content Knowledge ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Knowledge Integration ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Teacher Interventions ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The University ◽  
Teacher's Knowledge ◽  
The Impact

Trying to understand the knowledge base for teaching, the Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) was proposed as the main teacher’s knowledge. It amalgamates the specific knowledge and it is the difference between a teacher and a specialist. It can be both personal, deriving from practice, and canonical, which is cultural accumulation of what makes a good teacher. To acquire the last, preservice teachers (PSTE) take university classes, where theoretically their apprenticeship could be facilitated by the university teacher. Thus, it is important to understand how the university teacher best exerts his influence on PSTEs. In this paper, we show the impact of the university teacher’s interventions in the development of PCK based on analysis of a course taught to chemistry PSTE. The research was conducted in a qualitative approach, in a case study strategy. The classes from a chemistry teacher’s course from a federal university in São Paulo, Brazil were recorded for four months, to follow the development of the PCK. Qualitative forms of assessing the PCK, as CoRe, were used, and the tasks given by the teacher were collected to support the analysis. Our results show that the students’ knowledge integration responds to teacher interventions, particularly when those were customised to each individual. When the intervention was made by means of written exercises the influence on PSTE was lower than orally and when made by peers even lower or null. Being so, teacher’s interventions could be considered an INUS condition for the development of PCK in those students. Key words: knowledge integration, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, pre-service teacher, teacher formation.

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