Conocimiento profesional del profesor de ciencias de primaria y conocimiento escolar

Abstract

This book compiles the results of the work of four research groups, three Colombian (Francisco José de Caldas District University, National Pedagogical University, University of Antioquia) and one Spanish (University of Seville, Spain), from a common theoretical and methodological foundation in relation to the Professional Knowledge of Primary Science Teachers (PKT). This book particularly uses the international conceptual framework known as Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PKC) and teacher improvement processes, using a didactic tool known as the "Progression Hypothesis". This book offers an opportunity to observe the positions of groups from four different universities collaborating in its development. Although it is not necessarily a monographic, state-of-the-art project, as is commonly found on the market, it contributes significantly with specific research cases and the design of strategies and instruments that can serve as examples for researchers and teachers interested in science teacher training from a PKT perspective.The various works established in six chapters, written as research articles, can be read independently or together, as they show elements of complementarity in both contextualization scenarios and methods and scope in their conclusions. Although each chapter presents its own summary, it is possible to highlight the following central ideas from each of them: Chapter 1. This paper investigates whether the knowledge used by teachers in their teaching activity is equivalent to scientific knowledge or is a transformation of this into school knowledge. It is evident that the result is more due to a process of hybridization and transition towards school knowledge in the participating teachers, without reaching a completely desirable state theoretically. Chapter 2. As a result of a doctoral thesis, which investigates the professional integration in the school context of recent graduates of the science teacher training program, it is shown how initial and ongoing training require integrating this stage of integration if they want to be effective in teaching. What is observed is that in this process traditional, technological and complex, showing hybridizations particularly of the last two - technological and complex - which allow us to infer that the training processes of these teachers before graduating from the initial training course, already have important advances compared to traditional models. Chapter 4. The results of the design, validation and application of a quantitative instrument are shown, in the form of a survey with a Likert scale, which allows a comparative evaluation of teaching conceptions from the traditional (mt) and alternative (mie) models, about school content, students' ideas, teaching methodology and evaluation. This instrument is used to evaluate the conceptions of a group of teachers in initial training after taking a constructivist course, concluding that there is a predominance of the school research model over the traditional model, showing evidence that the observed differences are statistically significant. Chapter 5. After describing a broad theoretical framework proposed by the DIE group at the University of Seville, which proposes that dominant professional knowledge can be constituted by academic knowledge, knowledge based on experience, routines and action scripts, and implicit theories; and that the desirable professional knowledge would present as sources metadisciplinary knowledge, basic disciplinary knowledge, and experiential knowledge, the theoretical and investigative need arises to establish a relationship between didactic models and levels of formulation of the PIAs (Areas of Professional Research) of practical-professional problems of teaching action, which allow for the study of the evolutionary and complexifying processes of professional teaching practice. It is shown how this framework works in initial teacher training, evaluating the differences between what is justified, what is designed, and what is reflected upon in the action; concluding that the evolution of teachers' curricular conceptions throughout the training process has gone from positions closer to intermediate levels, with few nuances in the reference levels, to levels closer to the starting levels. Chapter 6. As a result of doctoral research on Didactic Content Knowledge (dck), a hypothesis of progression is proposed regarding teaching activities of the electric field concept, through a theoretical development of four levels of formulation: uncritical level, logical reflective level, innovative level, and comprehensive reflective level; establishing that the aim is not to generate didactic laws or inflexible routes with them, but rather, from different pedagogical references, better ways are shown to enable the transformation of physical content into content comprehensible by students. In general, it can be said that this book compiles several research reports in the field of Professional Knowledge of Primary Natural Science Teachers (cpp), from the perspective of pck (Pedagogical Content Knowledge), as well as in relation to school knowledge, methodology Here's the English translation of the provided text: qualitative, case study, and content analysis, across three levels of teacher training: initial training (still pursuing a teaching degree), recent graduates, and continuing professional development (with several years of teaching experience). This highlights the need to articulate these three stages, which represents significant potential for designing strategies in teacher education. Therefore, the developed theme is relevant and highly current, both for the research community in the field of professional teacher knowledge and for faculties that train primary natural science teachers. The book maintains an adequate balance between theory and empirical research experiences, making it a good reference for students and teachers in natural science teacher training programs, for both primary and secondary education. The experiences presented suggest that initial training processes have facilitated progression to more complex and desirable stages, often characterized by hybrid levels, although after graduating (from teacher training faculties) and over time, states of progression-regression may appear, particularly when traditional didactic models prevail in school settings. The book allows for the establishment of different, mostly complementary, perspectives from the invited authors' particular viewpoints. Their theoretical positions—some still under construction, others consolidated but always open to confrontation with the results—leave an open debate on the relationships between CPP and PCK (where one could include the other, or vice versa), understanding PCK as a summation of knowledge or as hybridizations. It also exposes the potential of progression hypotheses in teacher training and the need for their interpretation as progression-regression hypotheses or simply as transition hypotheses, as the compilation clearly shows a great diversity of interpretations, yet also a richness, for continuing to strengthen the research line on CPP and PCK, and their relationship with school knowledge.