1. Measuring teacher expertise in the sciences Robin Millar

2. The knowledge base for teaching What do teachers need to know to be able to teach effectively? Can we identify different kinds, or areas, of knowledge that teachers require?

3. Knowledge for teaching Content knowledge General pedagogical knowledge Curriculum knowledge Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) Knowledge of learners and their characteristics Knowledge of educational contexts Knowledge of educational ends, purposes and values From: Shulman, L.S. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57 (1), 1-22. See also: Shulman, L.S. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15 (2), 4-14.

4. Knowledge for teaching Content knowledge General pedagogical knowledge Curriculum knowledge Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) Knowledge of learners and their characteristics Knowledge of educational contexts Knowledge of educational ends, purposes and values From: Shulman, L.S. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57 (1), 1-22. See also: Shulman, L.S. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15 (2), 4-14.

5. Content knowledge Generally accepted as a necessary condition for effective teaching Though also widely recognised not to be a sufficient condition So important to be able to ‘measure’ and evaluate

6. So how might we get a measure of a teacher’s content knowledge at a particular moment in time? and can we do this in a way that is also formative, and encourages and supports further learning?

7. Some practical issues Reliability of data obtained from any assessment depends on the amount of testing time So what is feasible, and reasonable? A science subject is a large domain Do we assess knowledge broadly, but not in great depth in each sub-domain? Or more deeply, but only in some sub-domains? What kinds of questions do we ask?

8. What kind of question?

9. From: Mazur, E. (1977). Peer instruction (pp. 5-7). Prentice Hall. Average score on Q1: 4.9/10 Average score on Q2: 6.9/10

10. Moving football

11. KS3 responses: Moving football

12. KS4 responses: Moving football

13. Would everyone teaching physics topics at KS3 and 4 get this right? Should everyone teaching physics topics at KS3 and 4 get this right? And how many more questions like this are there?

14. Throwing a ball in the air Correct: ADG Common error: BFG Can you explain why ADG is right and BFG is wrong?

15. SASP Physics A pre-test containing many diagnostic questions like those above Perhaps enough questions to indicate broad areas of strength and weakness But not enough on any given sub-topic to give a full and reliable picture of an individual’s understanding Used without pre-testing

16. Some things we don’t know How precise a diagnosis such questions can provide Will depend on testing time, and subjects’ concentration span How physics graduates entering teaching would answer them Whether teachers with some years’ experience would answer them better

17. The way forward Develop a larger bank of diagnostic questions for each science subject we are interested in Test and validate these as carefully as possible Establish how well some key groups can answer them to establish a baseline Explore the use of adaptive tests to increase efficiency

18. And remember … We may also need to develop ways of assessing teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge, as well as their subject knowledge