Investigating Prospective Primary Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge of "Effect of Human on Environment" Subject in the Process of Teaching Practice*

AbstractThe principal aim of this study is to determine what the extent of the prospective pri mary teachers' (PPT] peda- gogical content knowledge (PCK) is on "effect of human on environment" subject i η grade 5 science and technol- ogy curriculum before and after "Teaching Practice" course. Within case study research methodology, the study sample consisted of o senior PPTs selected from 4-9 trainees who attended "Teaching Practice-N" course in s pri ng semester of 2009-2010 schooling year in the programme of primary teacher education in Rize University. To collect data, lesson plans, observations, and semi-structured interviews were used. While the data obtained from lesson plans and observations were analyzed by means of rubrics developed, those from semi-structured interviews were analyzed using content analysis. It was found that the PPTs did not have sufficient idea of sub- components of the PCK, especially curriculum knowledge, and knowledge of students' learning difficulties. Nevertheless, it was determined that the PPTs had adequate idea of pedagogical knowledge in context of the PCK. However, it was drawn out that although they had sufficient theoretical knowledge about instructional methods, techniques, strategies, measurement and assessment, they encountered some problems i η transfer- ring the theoretical knowledge i nto practicum. In the light of the results, it is suggested that the PPTs should be given more opportunities for practicing complementary measurement-assessment techniques. Furthermore, it is recommended that the PPTs with their own lesson plans ought to be given more opportunities to transfer their PCK into related subject matter one.Key WordsPedagogical Content Knowledge, Prospective Primary Teachers, Teaching Practice, and Effect of Human on Environment.In the age of information, todays society needs to well-qualified individuals with good education background (Ozoglu, 2010). Because quality of education depends on quality of teacher, all coun- tries in the world have constantly been searching alternative ways on how to train the teachers (Ozer, 2008). In fact, such an effort may be more reason- able with idea "the teachers, who principally deploy the teaching and learning process, are even educated" (Gelen & Ozer, 2008). In training qualified teacher, pre-service education affords prospective teachers to capture general and special domain qualifications/competencies that the teachers should possess (Milli Egitim Bakanligi [MEB], 2008). In other words, the teachers' qualifi- cations and competencies substantially depend on the pre-service education they attended (Semerci, 2004). In Turkey, given characteristics of the teacher education programs, certain ratios of "subject matter knowledge (SMK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and general culture (GC)" domains were re-arranged in 2006. However, these domain ratios seem to still be one of much-debated issues (Yazici, 2009; Yuksek Ogretim Kurumu [YOK], 2007). Teaching practice gives an opportunity for the pro- spective teachers to apply and experience their gained knowledge/skills in real school environments. How- ever, related literature reports that the prospective teachers have some deficiencies and problems in inte- grating theoretical knowledge into practicum (Aydin, Boz, & Boz, 2010; Bartholomew, Anderson, M Guzel, Cerit Berber, & Oral, 2010; Sadler, 2006; Silay & Gok, 2004). This situation is a discussed issue in National Education Council and Scientific Meet- ings on Teacher Education (Bulut & Dogar, 2006). To put it differently, the prospective teachers have pitfalls linking their theoretical knowledge with practical one or balancing what is known with actions (practic- es) during applied courses (Ekiz, 2006; U§ak, 2009). Furthermore, a few studies point that the prospective teachers who are familiar with demands and traits of 2005 Science and Technology Curriculum generally prefer following the teacher-centered approach (U§ak, 2005; U§ak, Ozden, Ulker, & Sorgo, 2013) and us- ing traditional measurement-assessment techniques (U§ak, 2009). …