Teaching is a challenging profession that requires a solid grasp of a range of subject areas. As an educational researcher interested in helping teachers improve their instruction, I spend a lot of time exploring the knowledge and skills that they need to be effective in the classroom. Here I'll delve into the meaning of pedagogical content knowledge, its crucial role in effective instruction, and share how novice and experienced teachers can increase their mastery of teaching strategies that work.
Pedagogical content knowledge definition
Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) was introduced 40 years ago by educational psychologist Lee Shulman as the interaction between teachers’ understanding of how to teach (pedagogy) and what to teach (content). Prior to the focus on pedagogical content knowledge, teacher preparation programs had focused on pedagogy and content separately, and teachers were evaluated either on their content knowledge or on their pedagogical knowledge.
The Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework is a useful way to think about the types of knowledge that teachers need to implement a technology-based educational program in the classroom. The framework enables teachers to effectively integrate technology with pedagogical content knowledge, creating engaging and relevant learning experiences for students.
As for how to define pedagogical content knowledge, think of it as the aspects of a subject that are most suitable to instruction, “the ways of representing and formulating the subject that make it comprehensible to others.” Pedagogical content knowledge includes an understanding of what makes learning specific subjects easy or difficult and how students of different ages and backgrounds are likely to approach the most important topics and lessons.
Content knowledge vs. pedagogical knowledge
Content knowledge is an understanding of the specific subject that teachers are expected to relate to their students, or the “what” of teaching. Teachers can have content knowledge of reading (phonics, fluency, comprehension), math (geometry, algebra, calculus), science (physics, chemistry, biology), or social studies (American history, geography, civics). Content knowledge is more than just knowing the facts or concepts related to a subject. Teachers with content knowledge must also understand the structures of the subject, including the ways concepts and principles are organized and the rules governing that organization. They must not only understand what facts and concepts are important in their subject matter, but why they are important.
Pedagogical knowledge is an understanding of the most effective ways to teach students, including classroom management, instructional methods, student understanding, and learning theories—or the “how” of teaching. It is the knowledge of teacher practices and behaviors that lead to increased student achievement. Pedagogical knowledge includes how teachers can effectively organize their classroom, plan lessons, allocate time for whole-group, small-group, and individual activities, structure assignments, provide feedback, ask appropriate questions, and assess student understanding.
Why is pedagogical content knowledge important?
Pedagogical content knowledge is the intersection of content and pedagogical knowledge—the skills and strategies that are most effective for teaching a specific subject, both the “what” and “how” of teaching and how they interact.
Teachers with strong pedagogical content knowledge can differentiate and personalize the instructional materials to make them appropriate for the experience, interests, and culture of their students. They know the best ways to boost understanding of the content, and they also know common misconceptions of a particular subject, so that they can address misunderstandings when they arise.
Pedagogical content knowledge examples
Pedagogical content knowledge can be seen in action in the classrooms of teachers that effectively implement research-based reading instruction. Pedagogical content knowledge examples related to reading instruction include an understanding of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension and pedagogical knowledge of effective strategies for teaching and assessing the skills readers need. In what order should you introduce phonemes to students, and how should you group students for this instruction? What are the most effective teaching strategies to introduce CVC words, and do they vary by students’ backgrounds? How do you assess the reading comprehension of students across texts, and what interventions can you assign if they struggle on these assessments?
All these questions can be answered by teachers with sufficient pedagogical content knowledge. They understand what students need to become effective readers, and they know how they can help them develop those skills. Pedagogical content knowledge is essential to implementing effective reading instruction, and teachers that work to improve their pedagogical content knowledge are working to become more effective teachers.
How to develop pedagogical content knowledge
Both novice and experienced teachers can work to improve their pedagogical content knowledge by using educative curriculum materials and participating in curriculum-based professional learning. High-quality instructional materials (HQIM)—including those used in HMH programs like Into Reading—are educative, meaning that they are designed to support teacher learning as well as student learning. These materials help teachers develop their content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge. They can increase teachers' knowledge with specific examples of instructional shifts and also help develop general knowledge that can be applied to new situations. Educative materials help teachers acquire new knowledge and make connections across bodies of knowledge.
Curriculum-based professional learning grounded in HQIM simultaneously deepens teacher knowledge of content and how to teach it to students. In developing a professional learning plan, schools should prioritize the types of knowledge that are most essential for teachers. Professional learning and coaching programs can help teachers leverage their strengths to scaffold the acquisition of knowledge in new areas. For example, an educator with a relatively low knowledge of pedagogy but rich knowledge of content can build an understanding of effective pedagogical practices that can be used in the classroom.
Transferring these newly learned skills to the classroom will be strengthened by partnerships with experienced and empathetic coaches. Educators need comprehensive professional learning programs that connect content, pedagogical knowledge, and technological know-how for effective instruction.
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