Bridging Practices

TLDR

The division between subject matter and pedagogy in teacher education leaves teachers isolated, making it difficult to integrate content knowledge with instructional practice, which is essential for effective teaching of all students. The article outlines three problems that must be solved to bridge this gap and prepare teachers who not only know content but can apply it to help all students learn. The authors identify three problems: determining which content knowledge matters for teaching, understanding how that knowledge should be structured, and learning how to apply it in practice.

Abstract

Subject matter and pedagogy have been peculiarly and persistently divided in the conceptualization and curriculum of teacher education and learning to teach. This fragmentation of practice leaves teachers on their own with the challenge of integrating subject matter knowledge and pedagogy in the contexts of their work. Yet, being able to do this is fundamental to engaging in the core tasks of teaching, and it is critical to being able to teach all students well. This article proposes three problems that would have to be solved to bridge this gap and to prepare teachers who not only know content but can make use of it to help all students learn. The first problem concerns identifying the content knowledge that matters for teaching, the second regards understanding how such knowledge needs to be held, and the third centers on what it takes to learn to use such knowledge in practice.