A Case Study On The Development Of Pre-service English Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge During The Teaching Practicum

In 1980s,Shulman first put forward the concept of pedagogical content knowledge（PCK）.PCK is a kind of teacher’s knowledge about how they transform what they know about the content knowledge to students in a way that they can easily understand.This concept has aroused widespread concern of scholars at home and abroad,but scholars have different views on the composition of PCK.This study adopts the framework of English teachers’ PCK proposed by Zhu Xiaoyan,which includes six components: conceptions of teaching purposes,curricular knowledge,subject matter knowledge,knowledge of learners,knowledge of pedagogy,knowledge of self.Teachers’ mastery of PCK directly influence the level of the team of teachers.Improving the level of PCK of pre-service English teachers is an important method to optimize the team of teachers.In recent years,most of the research on PCK focuses on the teachers in universities,primary and secondary schools,rural teachers,and the comparison between novice teachers and expert teachers,while there is little research on the development of PCK of pre-service English teachers in the teaching practicum.Therefore,this study studies the four pre-service English teachers for two months during the teaching practicum,and explores the factors that promote the change of pre-service English teachers’ PCK,so as to give some enlightenment and then strengthen the effect of teaching practicum and improve the quality of pre-service English teachers.The main research questions of this study are as follows:（1）What is the situation of pre-service English teachers’ PCK in different stages of teaching practicum?（2）How do pre-service English teachers’ PCK change during the teaching practicum?（3）What aspects of teaching practicum have promoted the change of pre-service English teachers’ PCK?Through the study,it is found that the four pre-service English teachers have different degrees of development of each component of PCK.In terms of teaching purposes,their understanding of teaching objectives is deepened but the understanding of teaching difficulties is not strengthened.In terms of curricular knowledge,the understanding of teaching materials and curriculum standards is strengthened.In terms of subject matter knowledge,the teaching contents of junior and senior high schools and teachers’ classroom language have been improved.In terms of knowledge of students,they have a better understanding of students’ learning attitude and interest,personality characteristics and existing knowledge level.In terms of pedagogical knowledge,the understanding and application of teaching methods and strategies have been improved.The improvement of knowledge of self is mainly reflected in attitudes and professional efficacy.In addition,the factors that influence the change of pre-service English teachers’ PCK mainly include four aspects:classroom teaching experience and the guidance of tutors,the level of internship schools,classroom observation and self-reflection,and communication with excellent teachers and partners.Based on the above research results,this study puts forward the following suggestions: 1)To strengthen the initiative of pre-service English teachers and seize the opportunity in teaching practicum 2)To provide more teaching opportunities for pre-service English teachers 3)To increase the construction of micro-training and simulated trial teaching activities in the university.