USING REAL ENGAGEMENT IN THE ACTIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING MODEL IN TEACHING SCIENCE: AN INTERPRETIVE PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE STUDY OF AN EXPERIENCED SCIENCE TEACHER

Abstract

The study aimed to examine and interpret the experiences of an experienced scienceteacher in Real Engagement in Active Problem Solving Model (REAPS) implementationconducted within the Electricity Unit through a validated pedagogical content knowledge(PCK) framework. To this end, the study examined the efforts of an experienced middleschool science teacher, in helping her seventh graders in a rural public school improveconceptual understandings of electricity. She was an information-rich teacher and agreedvoluntarily participation in the study. The study was based on a basic qualitative studydesign. REAPS interview questions and guiding interview questions with prompts wereemployed as the data collection tools. The data were analysed via in-depth analysis of explicitPCK, enumerative approach, and constant comparisons. The results revealed variouscharacteristics of the usage of REAPS Model, the interactions between the PCK components,and emerged critical incidents in teaching practice. Regarding the usage of REAPS Model,the science teaching experience of the paticipant teacher was expanded with the themes ofengagement, real-life experiences, socialization in diverse cultural contexts, teaching invaried physical conditions through argumentation and retention. As an experienced teacher,the interactions between knowledge of learners and knowledge of instructional strategieswere central in the teaching performance of the participant reacher. Self-efficacy wasspecifically found conducive for triggering these interactions together with knowledge ofcurriculum. However, her science teaching orientation impeded the interactions betweenmost of the PCK components. Finally, critical incidents were found beneficial to theinvestigations looking for the interactions between three or more PCK components, inparticular