Importance of Expert and Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Effective Teaching

1. Chapter 11Learning and Cognition in the Content Areas

2. Expert and Pedagogical Content Knowledge • Expert knowledge means an excellent knowledge about the content of a particular discipline. • Pedagogical content knowledge is knowledge about how to effectively teach a particular discipline. • While both refer to knowledge central to effective teaching, expert knowledge refers to content area knowledge, while pedagogical content knowledge refers to knowledge about teaching practices.

3. Learning Activity • Defend why both expert knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge are so important to effective teaching.

4. Teaching is incomplete without both types of content knowledge. • With only expert knowledge, teachers may be knowledgeable in their subject areas but unable to reach students. • With only pedagogical knowledge teachers may be truly gifted in diverse methodology but not have an accurate grasp on the subject’s special nuances that might confuse students.

5. Learning and Cognition in the Content Areas Reading Social Constructivist approaches A developmental model of reading Language rule system Cognitive approaches Approaches to reading

6. Developmental Model of Reading • In one view – Chall, 1979- reading skills develop in five stages. • Stage 0 – From birth to first grade many children learn the left to right progression and order of reading , identification of letters of the alphabet, how to write their names • Stage 1 (grades 1–2) - Learn to sound out words • Stage 2 (grades 2–3) - Retrieve individual words and develop mechanical skills to read. At this stage reading is still not used for learning.

7. Developmental Model of Reading (cont) • Stage 3 (grades 4–8) –Children become increasingly able to obtain new information from print. They start to read to learn rather than learn to read. In stage 3 children still have difficulty understanding the various perspectives within the same story. • Stage 4 (high school)– Children develop the ability to understand material written from different perspectives and discuss.

8. Teaching Reading • Reading is the ability to understand written discourse. • Education and language experts continue to debate how children should be taught to read. • The current debate focuses on: • Phonics Approach • Whole-Language Approach

9. Phonics Approach • The Phonics Approach emphasizes that reading instruction should focus on phonics and basic rules for translating written symbols into sounds. • After they learned the correspondence rules that relate spoken phonemes to the alphabet letters that represent them , children should be given complex reading materials such as books and poems.

10. Whole-Language Approach • The Whole-Language Approachemphasizes that reading instruction should parallel children’s natural language learning. • Reading materials should be whole and meaningful. That is, children should be given material in its complete form such as stories and poems. • Reading should be connected with listening and writing skills. • Whole language approach programs share the premise that reading should be integrated with other skills and subjects such as science and social studies, and that it should focus on real world material.

11. Cognitive Approaches • Cognitive Approaches emphasize decoding and comprehending words, constructing meaning, and developing expert reader strategies.

12. Cognitive Approaches • Decoding and Comprehending Words: • The cognitive approach emphasizes the cognitive processes involved in decoding and comprehending words. • Important in this regard are certain metacognitive skills and a general automaticity of information processing.

13. Metacognitive strategies Metacognitive strategies that teachers can help students use to improve their reading. - Overview of text before reading - Seek and relate important ideas - Determine word meaning - Monitor text comprehension - Understand relationships between parts of text. - Recognize the necessity to reread - Adjust pace based on difficulty of material

14. Automaticity of information processing • Automaticity of information processing: When word recognition occurs rapidly, meaning also follows in a rapid fashion. • Many beginning readers or poor readers do not recognize words automatically which affect their reading comprehension. • One of the factors that limits children reading comprehension is the capacity of the working memory. • Another factor is phonemic awareness.Children who read well have better phonemic awareness than poor readers. What makes phonics ( the matching of sounds with printed letters and letter groups) work is the cognitive process of phonic awareness, the ability to manipulate and think about sounds.

15. Cognitive Approaches (cont’d) • Constructing Meaning:In the cognitive approach, text has meaning that a reader must construct, not simply decode. Reader uses background knowledge and knowledge of words to construct, not just to decode. • Developing Expert Strategies:In the cognitive approach, researchers advice teachers to guide students in developing good reading strategies. The transactional strategy instruction approach allows students to learn strategies to monitor reading and to summarize information.

16. Social Constructivist Approaches • Social Constructivist Approaches emphasize the role of culture in helping children learn to read including: • How much emphasis the culture places on reading. • The extent to which parents have exposed their children to books before entering school. • The teachers communication skills. • The opportunities that teachers give to students to discuss what they read. • The reading curriculum

17. Social Constructivist Approaches (cont’d) Social Constructivist stress that meaning is “socially negotiated”. In other words, meaning involves not only reader’s contribution but also the social context and the purpose for reading. Assumptions: 1. The social context plays an important role in reading. 2. Knowledgeable readers in the culture assist less knowledgeable readers.

18. Social Constructivist Approaches (cont’d) • Some of the ways to consider in applying the social constructivists approach to reading include : Reciprocal teaching , Book Clubs, and School/Family/Community Connections. • In reciprocal teaching teachers explain the strategies and model how to use them to make sense of the text. Then they gradually assume a less active role and ask students to demonstrate the strategies. • In book clubs students assume responsibility ,the teacher serves as a guide and facilitator, students engage in discussions that link material to their individual lives and clarify points of confusion, and the class socially negotiates meaning.

19. 3. School/Family/Community Connections • The connections among the school, family, and community are integral to the social constructivist approach to reading. Unfortunately, some students do not get positive early experiences with language because their parents may be struggling with their own literacy. • A school might engage in to combat this through literacy development programs focused to parents such as “Project Family Literacy” • While parents develop their own reading abilities, they can then be in a better position to have a positive influence on their child’s reading ability.

20. Reciprocal grouptakes turns with the teacher. Explicit instruction grouplistens and completes paper-pencil activities. Modeling groupobserves teacher’s use of strategies. Control groupwas given no reading strategy information. Comparing Approaches to Reading Instruction

21. Learning and Cognition in the Content Areas

22. Developmental Changes in Writing • Age 2–3: Writing emerges out of scribbles. • Age 4: Children can usually reproduce their name. • Age 5 : Reproduce letters and copy short words.

23. Developmental Changes in Writing • Early Elementary School: Distinguish letter characteristics, continued reversal of letters (b- d; p-q). Criticism of printing skills should be minimized. • Middle and High School: Students develop sophisticated methods of organizing ideas.

24. Cognitive Approaches to Teaching Writing • Planning:An important aspect of writing is planning which includesoutlining and organizing content information. Teachers should show students how to outline and organize a paper and give feedback. • Problem Solving:Writers establish goals that include the purpose, the audience, and the role of the writer. Therefore writing is a broader sort of problem solving. • Revising:Revising is a major component of successful writing. Revising involves writing multiple drafts, getting feedback, detecting and correcting errors.

25. Metacognition Knowledge of planning and organization and being receptive to feedback in order to become a good writer Cognitive Approaches to Teaching Writing (cont’d)

26. Assumptions: 1. The social context plays an important role in writing. 2. Knowledgeable writers in the culture assist less knowledgeable writers. Approaches: Create a social context that encourages writing Meaningful student-teacher conferences that promote writing about personal experiences Shared rich peer collaboration and family/peer connections produce new insights Social Constructivist Approaches to Teaching Writing

27. Mathematics Mathematics Technology and Math Instruction Developmental Changes Some Constructivist Principles Controversy in Math Education

28. Developmental Changes in Mathematics • Pre-K–Grade 2 :Most prekindergartners count past 20 and many count beyond 100.They can add and subtract single digits. • Grades 3–5: Three themes are important for grade levels 3-5,mainly multiplicative reasoning, equivalence, and computational fluency. In multiplicative reasoning children need to develop their understanding of fractions as part of a whole and as division. In equivalence, students need to learn different mathematical representations which provide an avenue for exploring algebraic ideas. In computational fluency, students need to learn efficient and accurate methods of computing that are based on well-understood properties and number relationships.

29. Developmental Changes in Mathematics • Grades 6–8 :Students need to learn algebra and geometry, quantitative life solutions. • Grades 9–12: Students should learn algebra, geometry, statistics, probability, and discrete mathematics. • They should become adept at visualizing, describing, and analyzing situations in mathematical terms.

30. Controversy in Math Education • Educators debate whether math should be taught using a cognitive, conceptual, and constructivist approach or a practice computational approach.

31. Cognitive Processes • Several cognitive processes help children learn math, such as problem-solving skills, understanding how math concepts are linked, metacognitive skills, and exploring alternative solutions. • Math instruction that support these cognitive processes is recommended.

32. Constructivist Principles for Teaching Mathematics • Make math realistic and interesting: Build your teaching math around realistic and interesting problems. • Consider the students’ prior knowledge: Evaluate students’ prior knowledge, then provide information for students in order to be able to solve the problem but withhold enough information to make students stretch their minds to solve problems. • Make math curriculum socially interactive: Develop math projects that need collaborative work. Generate math projects that engender discussion, argument, and compromise.

33. Science Science Constructivist teaching strategies Science education

34. Science Education • Scientific thinking involves collecting and organizing information, analyzing data, considering spatial relations, self-regulating, and applying learning strategies appropriate to the context. • Children have many misconceptions that are incompatible with science and reality. • Effective teachers help students distinguish between misconceptions and accurate information using effective strategies such as the interactive demonstration strategy. In this strategy teacher introduces the demonstration , asks student discuss the demonstration with their neighbors and predict its outcome, and then performs the demonstration.

35. Constructivist Strategies for Teaching Science • In the constructivist approach , teachers serve as guides and consultants as children construct scientifically valid interpretations of the world and provide them with feedback to help them correct their scientific misconceptions. • Critics of this approach argue too much attention is given to inquiry skills and not enough is given to discipline-specific information. • Advocates of the constructivist approach to biology argue that it creates more scientific literate citizens who know how to think in scientific ways rather than just memorize scientific facts.

36. Constructivist Strategies for Teaching Science (Con’t) • However, it is important that students not be left completely on their own to construct scientific knowledge independent of scientific content. • Students inquiry should be guided. Teachers at a minimum should initially scaffold students’ science learning, extensively monitor their progress, and ensure that they are learning science content.

37. Social Studies Social Studies Constructivist approaches What is social studies

38. Social Studies • The field of social studies seeks to promote civic competence. • In schools, social studies draws from disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, religion, history, philosophy, political science, geography and economics.

39. Social Studies Themes • Social Studies • Culture • Individuals, Groups, and Institutions • People, Places, and Environments • Time, Continuity, and Change • Global Connections • Science, Technology ,and Society

40. Social Studies Themes • Individual Development/ Identity • Power, Authority, Governance • Production, Distribution,Consumption • Civic Ideals and Practices

41. Constructivist Approaches • Many social studies classes continue to be taught in a traditional lecture format, but there is increasing interest in teaching these classes from a constructivist perspective. • The constructivist approach emphasize the importance of greater reflection, understanding, meaning, critical thinking about values, and sustained examination of a few important topics rather than the superficial coverage of many topics.

42. Constructivists Strategies in Social Studies • Educators say that learning about social studies would benefit from constructivists strategies such as using varied sources of information, student-generated questions to guide inquiry, and peer collaboration. • Students should make their own interpretations of evidence and submit it for review. • Constructivist approaches to social studies stress the importance of thinking critically about values, recognizing opposing views, respect for well supported positions, sensitivity to cultural similarities and differences and commitment to social responsibility.

43. Learning Activity • In small groups outline a daily lesson plan for a social science lesson that incorporates a real-world problem such as diversity.