ERIC Number: EJ1126191
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 25
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0950-0693
EISSN: N/A
Effects of Biology Teachers' Professional Knowledge and Cognitive Activation on Students' Achievement
Förtsch, Christian; Werner, Sonja; von Kotzebue, Lena; Neuhaus, Birgit J.
International Journal of Science Education, v38 n17 p2642-2666 2016
This study examined the effects of teachers' biology-specific dimensions of professional knowledge--pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and content knowledge (CK)--and cognitively activating biology instruction, as a feature of instructional quality, on students' learning. The sample comprised 39 German secondary school teachers whose lessons on the topic neurobiology were videotaped twice. Teachers' instruction was coded with regard to cognitive activation using a rating manual. Multilevel path analysis results showed a positive significant effect of cognitive activation on students' learning and an indirect effect of teachers' PCK on students' learning mediated through cognitive activation. These findings highlight the importance of PCK in preservice biology teachers' education. Items of the rating manual may be used to provide exemplars of concrete teaching situations during university seminars for preservice teacher education or professional development initiatives for in-service teachers.
Descriptors: Biology, Science Teachers, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Science Instruction, Path Analysis, Hierarchical Linear Modeling, Seminars, Faculty Development, Preservice Teachers, Guides, Cognitive Processes, Foreign Countries, Video Technology, Secondary School Teachers, Neurology, Neurosciences, Teaching Methods
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Germany
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A