Abstract:

The purpose of this preliminary study was to investigate pre-service science teachers’ understanding of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) that can support them in the teaching and learning of science at Bahrain Teachers College in Bahrain. The following preliminary study questions were attempted: To what extent did pre-service science teachers display understanding and learning of science in terms of PCK? To what extent did pre-service science teachers integrate their content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge to plan, design, and conduct science lessons? The use of strategies such as visual modeling, computer simulations, and animations, hands-on and minds-on activities to make the learning meaningful in science were examined. The data for this preliminary study were obtained from samples of preservice science teachers’ journaling, lesson plans, two initial surveys, and semistructured interviews in order to probe pre-service science teachers’ understanding of PCK in science education. It appears that the construction of PCK is complex and pre-service science teachers need to have some basic understanding of PCK in order to teach science effectively.

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