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Pedagogical knowledge structures in prospective teachers: relationships to performance in a teaching methodology
L D Housner1, R L Gomez, D C Griffey
1Department of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces.
Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport
|June 1, 1993
Summary
Prospective teachers showed improved pedagogical knowledge structures after a physical education methods class. Post-class knowledge coherence and instructor similarity significantly correlated with performance, unlike pre-class measures.
Area of Science:
- Physical Education
- Teacher Education
- Pedagogical Knowledge
Background:
- Understanding pedagogical knowledge structures is crucial for effective teaching.
- Assessing the development of these structures in pre-service teachers is important for improving teacher training programs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between prospective physical education teachers' pedagogical knowledge structures and their performance in a teaching methods class.
- To investigate how knowledge structures evolve during the course and their impact on learning outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Pathfinder network scaling algorithm to map knowledge structures before and after the course.
- Correlated knowledge structure measures (coherence, instructor similarity) with course performance and academic variables (GPA, ACT).
Main Results:
- Pedagogical knowledge became more coherent and instructor-aligned post-course.
- Post-course knowledge measures significantly correlated with performance; pre-course measures did not.
- University GPA was a strong predictor of performance and knowledge, while ACT scores were not.
Conclusions:
- Effective pedagogical knowledge acquisition in physical education is demonstrated by improved knowledge structure coherence and alignment with instructors.
- Knowledge retention was observed over six months, but semantic-level organization did not significantly differ based on knowledge structure similarity.
- Future research should explore deeper levels of knowledge organization and long-term retention in physical education teacher training.