Content Knowledge for Teaching What Makes It Special?

• Published in: Journal of teacher education Vol. 59; no. 5; pp. 389 - 407
• Main Authors: Loewenberg Ball, Deborah, Thames, Mark Hoover, Phelps, Geoffrey
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.11.2008; Corwin Press, Inc; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Investigations; Knowledge; Mathematics; Mathematics Education; Mathematics Instruction; Mathematics teachers; Methods; Pedagogical Content Knowledge; Study and teaching; Teacher centers; Teacher centres; Teacher education; Teachers; Teaching methods; Theory Practice Relationship; Training; United States; pedagogical content knowledge; mathematics; teacher knowledge
• ISSN: 0022-4871; 1552-7816
• DOI: 10.1177/0022487108324554

This article reports the authors' efforts to develop a practice-based theory of content knowledge for teaching built on Shulman's (1986) notion of pedagogical content knowledge. As the concept of pedagogical content knowledge caught on, it was in need of theoretical development, analytic clarification, and empirical testing. The purpose of the study was to investigate the nature of professionally oriented subject matter knowledge in mathematics by studying actual mathematics teaching and identifying mathematical knowledge for teaching based on analyses of the mathematical problems that arise in teaching. In conjunction, measures of mathematical knowledge for teaching were developed. These lines of research indicate at least two empirically discernable subdomains within pedagogical content knowledge (knowledge of content and students and knowledge of content and teaching) and an important subdomain of “pure” content knowledge unique to the work of teaching, specialized content knowledge , which is distinct from the common content knowledge needed by teachers and nonteachers alike. The article concludes with a discussion of the next steps needed to develop a useful theory of content knowledge for teaching.