Abstract
Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and teacher beliefs are well-researched areas within the field of teacher cognition. Existing research has shown that they are highly influential in pedagogical implementation and the effectiveness of classroom instruction. Yet, few studies have attempted to bridge these closely related areas of research and extrapolate the intricate relationship between them, especially within the ESL context. It is argued that gaining a deeper understanding into the synergy between PCK and teacher beliefs is needed to fully make sense of teachers’ decision-making processes that lead to successful ESL instruction. This multiple case study set out to investigate the PCK of Hong Kong ESL teachers and its interplay with their beliefs during lesson planning. Self-designed lesson plans and instructional materials were first collected. Participants were then invited to participate in a stimulated recall interview to share their experiences. The data was inductively coded, and attention was paid to aligning and cross-mapping teachers’ PCK with their beliefs. Data show that participants exhibited extensive PCK, with content and pedagogical knowledge being the most activated knowledge domains. Dynamic interactions were also shown to exist between teachers’ beliefs and their PCK. In particular, unilateral and integrative interactions between PCK, teacher beliefs, and lesson planning were generalised as the dominating types of interactions. The lack of awareness towards these interactions also revealed the urgent need to further develop teachers’ awareness towards their own belief and knowledge systems in order to better understand their own decision-making as classroom practitioners.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE, TEACHER BELIEFS, TEACHER COGNITION, ESL
