Early statistics in kindergarten: analysis of an educator's pedagogical content knowledge in lessons promoting informal inferential reasoning

PurposeThis study aims to describe the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of a kindergarten educator who implements a lesson plan about informal inferential reasoning designed in a lesson study group.Design/methodology/approachTo this end, we analyzed teaching interventions in two kindergarten lessons focused on the playful task of tossing two coins, associated with inferential statistical reasoning. The study highlights the importance of arguing and promoting this reasoning to develop statistical thinking. It is crucial to recognize how early students can be subject to learning experiences that promote a language of uncertainty, assess the evidence provided by the data, and make generalizations.FindingsThe results reveal that while the educator demonstrated knowledge and skills relevant to the curriculum and conceptual teaching strategies, the understanding of the content by the students and the integration of the PCK components still present a challenge.Practical implicationsThe lesson study collaborative teaching practices that promote PCK have proven effective for informing the design and implementation of instructional practices supporting the development of early statistical thinking in young children.Originality/valueThe study enriches the knowledge regarding the potential of the lesson study (LS) in the professional learning of kindergarten educators. It also contributes to a comprehensive approach based on authentic playful experiences in grade K that supports the development of early statistical thinking in young children.

Pre-Service Geography Teachers’ Professional Competencies in Education for Sustainable Development

The professional competencies pre-service geography teachers acquire in university influence their contribution to education for sustainable development (ESD) in their future school careers. We assessed pre-service geography teachers’ (n = 100) competencies and attitudes towards the official, German ESD orientation framework to determine the specific need for higher education action. The results are a high competence assessment and even higher importance assigned to the ESD-related professional competencies. In the context of ESD, pre-service teachers are most confident in their content knowledge and social and personal competencies and least confident in their pedagogical knowledge. The cross-sectional analysis shows the perceived competence level rising with the semester number and a strong positive influence of the school practice module.

Evaluation of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) Teachers of SMK Negeri 6 Malang (Case Study of Electrical Power Installation Engineering and Autotronic Engineering)

This study aims to determine the level of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) proficiency. This type of research is descriptive quantitative research. The instruments used to measure TPACK are in the form of questionnaires and interview questionnaires using a Likert scale with 5 scales. The samples of this study were Electrical Power Installation Engineering (EPIE) teachers at SMK N 6 Malang, totaling 7 people and Autotronic Engineering (AE) teachers at SMK N 6 Malang totaling 6 people. The results of the study are EPIE teachers' TK skills are in very good criteria with an average of 68, while AE teachers' kindergarten skills are in good criteria with an average of 53. EPIE teachers' PK skills are in good criteria with average - an average of 67.3, while the PK skills of AE teachers are in good criteria with an average of 75.2. EPIE teachers' CK skills are in very good criteria with an average of 31, while the CK skills of AE teachers are in very good criteria good with an average of 31. EPIE teachers' TCK skills are in very good criteria with an average of 26, while AE teachers' TCK skills are in good criteria with an average of 22. EPIE teachers' PCK skills are at criteria very good with an average of 57, while the PCK skills of AE teachers are in very good criteria with an average of 56. EPIE teachers' TPK skills are in good criteria with an average of 26.6, while the TPK skills of AE teachers are at good criteria with an average of 26.8. EPIE teachers' TPACK skills are in good criteria with an average of 18.4, while AE teachers' TPACK skills are in good criteria with an average of 18.2.

Game-Based Learning in Pharmacy Education

Game-based learning (GBL) involves adding game elements to non-game activities to encourage engagement. Pharmacy curricula are required to incorporate active learning to meet accreditation standards. The literature supports that well-designed GBL holds the attention of students and improves knowledge in some instances. Furthermore, these adaptable experiences can be leveraged for a variety of content areas in pharmacy education. Some activities utilized by educators require large amounts of technological expertise, while others involve minimal use of technology. The incorporation of technology can create highly immersive experiences for learners; however, there are barriers (e.g., financial and technology prowess) to implementation compared to simpler designs. One area of GBL that is not well defined in the literature is how to adequately assess student learning outcomes. Most current studies describe subjective attitudes and confidence or assess content knowledge through objective pre- and post-tests. In the future, more defined and connected methods for assessment—such as active demonstrations within the game—will be needed to better incorporate GBL into pharmacy curricula. Based on the collective evidence in the literature, some GBL activities may serve as useful tools to improve pharmacy student engagement and learning.

Pseudo-compliance or convergence?

This paper reports on a professional learning (PL) project conducted over one year at a senior secondary school in New Zealand. Subject teachers volunteered to work with one another and a facilitator to identify the linguistic demands of their subjects, adapt teaching materials, and try out teaching approaches congruent with research evidence about teaching emergent bilingual (EB) learners. This paper explores cases of subject-specific partnerships and how participants’ responses to the PL appeared to impact their existing pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). The PL sessions were facilitated through audio-recorded Zoom meetings. A thematic analysis was conducted, and the findings were analysed using an adaptation of Davison’s (2006) framework to map how participants engaged with the PL and collaborated with one another on new pedagogies. The study suggests that these teachers accommodated linguistic teaching approaches, but their adaptation to language PCK may have remained at a compliant level.

Developing a Constructive Conceptual Framework of a Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers’ Content Knowledge Instrument on Space and Shape

Space and shape is one of the geometry topics that should be mastered by students and require proper teachers’ Mathematics Content Knowledge (MCK) for teaching to avoid misconception. This study aimed at developing a constructive conceptual framework as an instrument to examine mathematics pre-service teachers’ MCK on space and shape contents and describing their profile on this topic. The present study used mixed methods, in which the obtained data were analyzed both quantitatively using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and qualitatively described in nature. The developed MCK instrument was administered to 21 senior Indonesian mathematics pre-service teachers who were in their third year of study which and by a purposive sampling technique. The results showed that the instrument had very good 10 final items with a consistent reliability coefficient of 0.67 and resulted in four factor components, namely, figural representation, area and circumference of object, relationship between properties of objects, and figural reasoning. Of the four factors, figural representation and reasoning factors had mostly been the challenges for Indonesian mathematics pre-service teachers. On the contrary, they performed better in the area and circumference of objects and the relationships between properties of objects. The findings lead to redesigning the curriculum for mathematics pre-service teachers’ learning to accommodate all their challenges.