Teachers’ Pedagogical Knowledge and the Teaching Profession (Sonia Guerrero, n.d.

 Teachers are ‘learning specialist’

 Pedagogical knowledge includes all required cognitive knowledge for creating effective teaching
and learning environments; this can be studied
 According to Shulman (1987), teacher knowledge is categorized into 7. Two of these are
o General pedagogical knowledge – principles and strategies of classroom management
and organization that are cross-cultural; has not been the object of much research but it
is essential for developing quality teachers
o Pedagogical content knowledge – knowledge which integrates the content knowledge of
a specific subject and the pedagogical knowledge for teaching that subject; the most
fundamental element of teachers; knowledge and has been studied widely
 Components
 Knowledge of classroom management
 Knowledge of teaching method
 Knowledge of classroom assessment
 Structure
 Adaptivity
 The key conceptual question is whether a cross-culturally valid instrument of
teacher knowledge can be developed. Since the way the brain processes
information should be independent of the cultural context, by adapting a
cognitive-psychological approach to teaching and learning, we can assume that
there is a fundamental pedagogical knowledge base for creating effective
teaching-learning situations that is independent of culture. This hypothesis has,
in fact, been tested in studies which show that a standardized instrument
designed to investigate general pedagogical knowledge is valid cross-culturally.
 HOW does teacher knowledge work in the classroom?
o A set of research studies conceptualizes the teaching profession as a ‘clinical practice
profession’ and compares it to the medical profession. Some are that decision-making is
a basic teaching skill – decisions are made regularly by teachers while processing
cognitively complex information about the student in order to decide alternatives for
increasing their understanding.
o Empirical research investigating how teacher knowledge is used in decision-making
seems to be suggesting that in order to make informed pedagogical decisions, teachers
must be able to analyze and evaluate specific learning episodes, in combination with
contextual and situational factors, and to be able to connect all this information to their
specialist knowledge of teaching-learning process in order to guide subsequent teaching
actions. Thus, making good pedagogical decisions hinges on the quality of pedagogical
knowledge held by the teacher.
What Do Teachers Know and Do? Does It Matter? Evidence from Primary Schools in Africa (Bold, et al.,
n.d)

 Teachers’ knowledge is necessary but not sufficient; lessons bust be well-designed and well
structured for the teaching to be effective; know how to assess and react appropriately
(Johnson, 2011, Coe, Aloisi, Higgins and Major, 2014, Ko and Sammons, 2013, Mujis et al., 2014,
Vieluf et al, 2012)
 Elements in classroom behavior (Mujis, et al., 2014)
o Designing structure lessons and introducing topics and learning outcomes at the start of
the lesson and reviewing them at the end
o Frequently checking for student understanding by asking questions, and allowing time
for students to review and practice what they learned, either individually or in groups
o Varying the cognitive level of questions by mixing lower and higher order questions
o Providing substantive feedback to students by acknowledging correct answers in a
positive fashion and correcting wrong answers, as skills and practices that are
consistently associated with gains in student learning
o

Training School Teachers to teach probability: reflections and challenges (Batanero and Diaz, 2009)

 View teachers as professionals, and ground teacher education in professional practice, making
all elements of practice (preparing lessons, tasks and materials, carrying out lessons, observing
and reflecting on lessons) a central element in the teacher education process. (Ponte and
Chapman, 2006)
 Complementary aspects
o Epistemological reflection on the meaning to be taught (Batanero and Diaz, 2009) as
well as historical, philosophical, cultural and epistemological perspective on this
knowledge and its relationships to other domains.
o Experience in adapting this knowledge to different teaching levels and students’ various
level of understanding. This includes organizing and implementing teaching,
experiencing students; multiple forms of work and understanding experiments,
simulations and graphical representations not just as methodological teaching aids, but
rather as essential means of knowing and understanding.
o Critical capacity to analyze textbooks and curricular documents.
o Prediction of students’ learning difficulties, errors, obstacles and strategies in problem
solving.
o Capacity to develop and analyze assessment tests and instruments and interpret
students’ response to the same.
o Experience with of examples of teaching examples, didactic tools and materials.

Factors Contributing to Effective Mathematics Teaching in Secondary Schools in Brunei Darussalam

(Ismail, Shahrill and Mundia, 2014)
  Effective schools are only effective to the extent that they have effective teachers (Australian
Association of Mathematics Teachers, 2006)
 Teacher effectiveness is the degree to which a teacher achieves desired effects upon students
(Stanford, 2001)
 Effective teachers tend toward the student-discovery of teacher-directed ways (Larson, 2002)
 Four main factors that influence the effectiveness of students’ learning outcomes in
Mathematics (Ingvarsion et al., 2004)
o The school enabling conditions
o The teacher enabling conditions
o The capacity of the teachers
o The teacher practice
 Effective Mathematics teachers have broad range of specific teaching strategies available to
them (Posamentier and Stepelman, 1999).

Teachers’ Teaching Performance

Teachers must possess a high-level understanding in their field of specialization. This is primarily
to help their students in learning the subject by imparting their knowledge. However, teaching is not
only about the content-knowledge of the teachers (Johnson, 2011, Coe, Aloisi, Higgins and Major, 2014,
Ko and Sammons, 2013, Mujis et al., 2014, Vieluf et al, 2012 as cited by Bold, et al., 2009). Teaching
requires more than what is written in books and journals read and digested by the teachers. It requires
them to craft a well-designed and well-structured lessons for effective teaching and are expected to
assess and react appropriately. Hence, teachers’ content knowledge must be complemented by effective
and efficient pedagogical skills.

According to Guerrero (n.d.), various researches claim that teaching profession is a “clinical
practice profession” and teachers are “learning specialist.” Just like in medical field, teaching involves
complex decision-making regularly as it process multifaceted information. This is to mechanize the most
suited teaching and learning activities for students to successfully sort and absorb different concepts.

From this, it can be noted that teachers are expected to analyze and assess specific learning
experiences and relate this information to their content-knowledge while considering different
contextual and situational factors. This serves as their guide in designing informed pedagogical decisions
to further help the students. Hence, pedagogical knowledge is pivotal as it anchors the creation of sound
educational decisions, particularly in designing the actual teaching-and-learning process.
 There are seven (7) categories of teacher knowledge (Shulman, 1987) and two (2) of these are
general pedagogical knowledge and content pedagogical knowledge. General pedagogical knowledge
pertains to the principles and strategies in managing and organizing cross-cultural classrooms. In other
words, these are pedagogical knowledge used in designing teaching and learning activities intended for
general education.

On the other hand, pedagogical content knowledge integrates specialized content knowledge
and the pedagogical knowledge in designing the lesson structure. Basically, this is used in crafting
different teaching-and-learning activities while considering the uniqueness and complexity of specific
lessons. This pedagogical knowledge, which is considered as the most fundamental element of teachers
(Guerroro, n.d.) has five (5) components: (1) knowledge of classroom management, (2) knowledge of
teaching method, (3) knowledge of classroom assessment, (4) structure, and (5) adaptivity.

In “The Competencies of the Modern Teacher” of Nessipbayeva (n.d.), there are four (4) levels
of professional growth to achieve professional competency:

1st Level: pedagogical level which characterized by detailed knowledge of the subject;

2nd level: pedagogical skill where teaching skill is already perfected

3rd level: pedagogical creativity which is marked by the implementation of novel methods and
techniques into the teaching and learning process

4th level: pedagogical innovation where the introduction of more progressive methods, the use
of active teaching forms, and new training technologies are regular spheres of innovation.

Nessipbayeva (n.d.) also listed competencies a teacher must possess in facilitating learning for
their students in the 21st Century.

1. Teachers show that know the ways in which learning takes place and the appropriate level
of intellectual, physical, social, and emotional development of their students.
2. Teachers plan instruction appropriate to their students.
3. Teachers show their acumen and versatility.
4. Teachers display their awareness of technology’s potential to enhance learning.
5. Teachers help students frow as thinking individual.
6. Teachers help students to work in teams and develop leadership qualities.
7. Teachers reach their students best.
 8. Teachers best assess what students have learned.

However, effective teaching does not stop once assessment is facilitated. As teaching is viewed
as a cyclic process, it is followed by teachers reflecting on the result of the assessment conducted. This is
done by deeply analyzing the scores and outputs as it provides salient data. Backed up by teachers’
professional growth and readings on research-verified approaches, these data help inn mechanize the
best-suited and differentiated teaching-and-learning activities for the students.