Using the lens of pedagogical content knowledge for teaching the nature of science to portray novice chemistry teachers' transforming NOS in early years of teaching profession

Abstract

Pedagogical content knowledge for teaching the nature of science (PCK for NOS) has attracted interest in recent decades. This study investigated the PCK for NOS of six novice chemistry teachers with various educational backgrounds. An interpretive case study was performed. Multiple data sources including classroom observations, field notes, semi-structured interviews, and teachers' artifacts were collected. The inductive process used to analyze data involved categorical aggregation, followed by a search for patterns and themes. The findings revealed that all participants had limited PCK for NOS in terms of all of its components. They had robust chemistry knowledge and expressed adequate views of a few aspects of NOS. The teachers focused only on the chemistry content and rarely taught or reflected NOS in their real practices. The findings indicate that the teachers did not reflect or teach NOS, which might have resulted from inadequacies in their teacher preparation courses, which did not greatly emphasize teaching NOS. The results of this research indicate that science educators and professional developers should use PCK for NOS not only as a lens to shed light on teachers' teaching of NOS but also as a framework to revisit the teaching of NOS in science teacher preparation courses.