(Abstract)
The research is aimed at searching for the essence and factors, as well as developing and validating the assessment tools of kindergarten teachers' pedagogical content knowledge(PCK) in mathematics teaching. The assessment tools of kinder...
(Abstract)
The research is aimed at searching for the essence and factors, as well as developing and validating the assessment tools of kindergarten teachers' pedagogical content knowledge(PCK) in mathematics teaching. The assessment tools of kindergarten teachers' pedagogical content knowledge(PCK) will allow the kindergarten teacher to accurately evaluate what area of, and what pedagogical content knowledge(PCK) they need to acquire to develop their appropriate mathematics teaching capacity. The subject for this study is as thus.
1) How are items of developed assessment tools constructed?
2) Are the assessment tools valid?
3) What is the influence pedagogical content knowledge(PCK) and predictor variables have in mathematics teaching of kindergarten teachers?
The following are the results obtained from this study and discussions.
Firstly, the assessment tools of kindergarten teachers' pedagogical content knowledge(PCK) in mathematics teaching has been categorized by five factors ; teacher's knowledge of curriculum, teacher's knowledge of students, teacher's knowledge of instructions, teacher's knowledge of contents, and teacher's knowledge of professional self-development in which 46 items in these factors have been developed.
Secondly, the assessment tool of kindergarten teachers' pedagogical content knowledge(PCK) in mathematics teaching went through the general and standardized verification process, and its validity as a tool has been verified.
Finally, the results showed that the significant predictors of kindergarten teachers' pedagogical content knowledge(PCK) in mathematics teaching were their personal mathematics teaching efficacy , their number of years of teaching, their attitudes toward mathematics, and their number mathematical teach done per week.
It is hence expected that the assessment tools developed by the research can be used as a cornerstone of initiating further findings of important variables in kindergarten mathematics teaching and also more research in developments and applications for appropriate mathematics teaching in early childhood education.