Gess-Newsome, J. (1999). Pedagogical content knowledge: An introduction and orientation.
In J. Gess-Newsome & N. G. Lederman (Eds.), Pedagogical content knowledge and science
education: The construct and its implications for science education (pp. 21-50). Dordrecht,
Netherlands: Kluwer.
Grossman identifies 4 general arenas of teacher knowledge: general pedagogical knowledge, subject
matter knowledge, PCK, and knowledge of context.
General PCK: from researches.
 Classroom organization and management
 Instructional models and strategies
 Classroom communication and discourse
presented in teacher ed. programs
Personal PCK
 Personal beliefs and perceptions about teaching
 Connection between general PCK and personal PCK is satisfied by teaching experiences
 PCK requires transformation of at least 2 knowledge domains: General pedagogical knowledge
and subject matter knowledge
Integrative model:
Subject
matter
knowledge
Transformative model:
Subject matter knowledge
Pedagogical knowledge
Pedagogical
knowledge
PCK
Knowledge
of content
PCK
Knowledge of content
Integrative model:
 PCK does not exist as a domain of knowledge.
 Teaching depends upon the presentation of content to students in some context using an
appropriate form of instruction.
 The task of the teacher is to selectively draw upon the independent knowledge bases of subject
matter, pedagogy, and context and integrate them as needed to create effective learning
opportunities.
 An expert teacher, then, is one who has well-organized individual knowledge bases as well as add
to and refine the domains as a result of teaching.
 When observing an expert teacher, the movement from one knowledge base to the next will be
seamless, giving the appearance of single knowledge bases for teaching.
 There is support in the literature for the integrative model.
 Despite the attempts to integrate subject matter and pedagogical knowledge in pre-service
preparation programs, teachers often state that they maintain separate knowledge bases for the two.
 The integrative model also closely follows traditional patterns of pre-service teacher preparation
with temporal and spatial separation of subject matter, pedagogical and contextual issues.

A potential danger in this model is that teachers may never see the importance of content over
pedagogy, resulting in transmission modes of teaching with little regard for content structure,
classroom audience, or contextual factors.
Transformative model:
 The transformative model recognized the value of a synthesized knowledge base for teaching.
 PCK that helps students to understand specific concepts is the only knowledge used in classroom
instruction.
 While knowledge bases containing subject matter, pedagogy and context exist, they are latent
resources in and of themselves and are only useful when transformed into PCK.
 Teacher can justify their instructional decisions within the domain of PCK; teasing apart of
teaching knowledge into its related forms is best left to researchers and theoreticians.
 An expert teacher, then, has well formed PCK for all the topics commonly taught.
 All teaching knowledge is contextually bound, potentially making transfer or drawing
generalizations across teaching episodes difficult.
 The danger in this position is that it ignores context as it objectifies teaching knowledge,
potentially implying that correct teaching practices exist for given topics to specific audience
 The classroom becomes primary location of teacher knowledge, calling into question the value of
decontextualized declarative and procedural knowledge and teacher preparation as it currently
exists
Overview of Integrative and Transformative models of teacher cognition
Integrative Model
Transformative Model
Knowledge
domains
 Knowledge of subject matter,
pedagogy, and context are
developed separately and
integrated in the act of teaching.
 Each knowledge base must be well
structured and easily accessible
 Knowledge of subject matter,
pedagogy, and context, whether
developed separately or integratively,
are transformed into PCK, the
knowledge base used for teaching.
 PCK must be well structured and
easily accessible
Teaching expertise
Teachers are fluid in the active
integration of knowledge bases for
each topic taught
Teachers possess PCK for all topics
taught
Implications for
teacher preparation
 Knowledge bases can be taught
separately or integrated.
Integration skills must be fostered.
 Teaching experience and
reflection reinforces the
development, selection,
integration, and use of knowledge
bases.
 Knowledge bases are best taught in
an integrated fashion.
 Teaching experience reinforces the
development, selection, and use of
PCK.
 Identify teacher preparation
programs that are effective.
 How can transfer and integration
of knowledge best be fostered?
 Identify exemplars of PCK and their
conditions for use.
 How can these examples and
selection criteria best be taught?
Implications for
research
Categories contributing to PCK
Pedagogical
knowledge
Knowledge of
learners and
learning
Assessment
Procedures,
Evaluation of outcomes
Educational ends,
Goals,
Purposes, and
values
PCK
Knowledge of
specific
contexts
Knowledge of general
educational contexts
Curriculum
knowledge
Content
knowledge
Facets of Pedagogical Knowledge
Instructional models and
strategies
Classroom
communicatio
n and
discourse
Classroom
management
and
organization
General
pedagogical
knowledge
Reflection
Personal
beliefs/
perceptions
Personal
pedagogical
knowledge
Content
specific
pedagogical
knowledge
Personal
practical
experience
Ball, D. L. (2000). Bridging practices: Intertwining content and pedagogy in teaching and
learning to teach. Journal of Teacher Education, 51, 241-247.



Teachers need to know things like what topics children find interesting or difficult or the
representations most useful for teaching a specific content idea.
PCK – representations of particular topics and how students tend to interpret and use them, e.g. or
ideas or procedures with which students often have difficulty – describes a unique subject-specific
body of PK that highlights the close interweaving of subject matter and pedagogy in teaching.
Bundles of such knowledge are built up by teachers over time as they teach the same topics to
children of certain ages, or by researchers as they investigate the teaching and learning of specific
mathematical ideas.
PCK is a special form of knowledge that bundles mathematical knowledge with knowledge of
learners, learning, and pedagogy. These bundles offer a crucial resource for teaching mathematics,

for they can help the teachers anticipate what students might have trouble learning, and have
ready alternative models or explanations to mediate those difficulties.
No amount of PCK can prepare a teacher for all of practice, for a significant proportion of
teaching is uncertain.