Standard 1. Element Three Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Teacher Candidates

Candidates in the initial teacher education program are assessed on their pedagogical content knowledge during student teaching. Tables 14-16 indicate the demonstrated ability of candidates in the PK-12 classroom. Proficiencies from the conceptual framework evaluate the candidates’ ability to use pedagogical knowledge in the classroom. The overall results indicate that of the eighteen student teachers from the 2004-2005 academic year and the fall 2005 semester, 67% of the candidates scored in the exceptional range of pedagogical knowledge. 

 

Further analysis of the data shows that 100% of the student teachers performed at a high level (proficient and exceptional) in pedagogical content knowledge. Disaggregating the results reveals that student teachers need additional instruction in helping learners develop a higher level of cognitive structures and an understanding of how learners think and reason about subject content. External evaluations of the candidate pedagogical content knowledge (Table 14) indicate that student teachers are able to demonstrate their pedagogical knowledge during student teaching. Of the cooperating teacher surveys received, 73% of the respondents rated candidate knowledge at the exceptional level.