Characterisation of the pedagogical knowledge of evolution content using the mapping approach

Abstract

The attributes of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) related to biological evolution in Biology teachers with varying years of professional experience were investigated. Unlike previous research that used questionnaires and interviews, we adopted a mapping approach, a more contemporary exploratory methodology. We conceptualised PCK as a narrative knowledge, which inquiring through a hypothetical classroom situation, reveals a teleological epistemological obstacle about evolution. We explored the perceptions, predictions, and justifications of 32 teachers, using their narratives as analysis units for mapping in accordance with their teaching experience. The results highlight that the most linked components of PCK are knowledge of the curriculum, knowledge of students, and teaching strategies. It was observed that novice teachers exhibit PCK with a greater number of linked components. Conversely, expert teachers recognise assessment knowledge in the structure of PCK, while novices emphasise the purposes and nature of the sciences. These findings suggest that the exploration of the relationships between components should not be viewed uniformly, but in terms of the type of the generating knowledge.