Pre-service Physics Teachers and Conceptual Difficulties on Temperature and Heat

Abstract

SUMMARY In this article the ‘lesson preparation method’ was used to investigate pre-service teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge, in particular their knowledge of pupils’ conceptual difficulties on temperature and heat. A relation is found between the conceptual difficulties pre-service teachers expect their pupils to have and the conceptual difficulties they themselves have or have had. The discussion considers what pedagogical content knowledge teacher educators should include in the initial or inservice teacher education curriculum.