The Developmental Trajectory Of Teachers’ PCK In Grammar Teaching

Research on PCK(Pedagogical Content Knowledge)at home and abroad has gone through a process from static to dynamic,from general pedagogical content knowledge to focused topics in subjects.However,research on PCK of specific topics in English subject is not abundant.From the perspective of dynamic development of PCK,this study uses a case study,takes two pre-service English teachers in subject teaching(English)at Y University in teaching practicum as the objects and explores the following two questions:(1)What aspects of PCK in grammar teaching did the pre-service English teachers develop during the practicum?(2)What factors facilitated or hindered the development of their PCK in grammar teaching? Data was collected through interviews,classroom observations,and text analysis.Before lesson preparation,Vita was able to correctly use present participle as adverbial,but lacked systematical knowledge of the grammar construction.Elsa relative lacked awareness and ability in using present participle as object complement and adverbial.Vita possessed basic pedagogical knowledge,and Elsa lacked the knowledge of grammar representation,selection of teaching resources,and exercise design.In terms of curricular knowledge,they generally had partial grammar teaching philosophy that was in line with English Curriculum Standards(revised in 2020).in China.However,Elsa’s contextual awareness of grammar teaching was not strong,and they both lacked active learning of the specific teaching content and requirements in grammar teaching.Their assessment knowledge was sound,but students’ knowledge was lacking.Through lesson preparation and teaching practice,all dimensions of PCK in grammar teaching were developed but unevenly.Vita had a deeper understanding of the systematical knowledge of the grammar construction,but she neglected appropriateness in adopting a discourse.Elsa was able to produce correct sentences in the context.However,the development was not deep enough to help her accurately identify the correctness of unexpected sentences.Their pedagogical knowledge was developed overall.They were able to implement inductive approach in their teaching practice,use various representations to help students understand the grammar construction,expand teaching resources,and design exercises with reasonable difficulty.In curricular knowledge,both teachers basically implemented the teaching objectives based on language use.However,they still lacked deeper understanding of specific grammar teaching requirement in English Curriculum Standards(revised in2020).In addition,the development of assessment knowledge was inadequate.Although encouraging assessment language was used in their classrooms,their assessment forms was single and the assessment focus wasn’t content-oriented.They had a general understanding of what students have known,but they can’t anticipate students’ common misconceptions.Generally,the development of pre-service English teachers’ PCK in grammar teaching was influenced both by personal and environmental factors.Grammar learning before the practicum did not equip themselves with systematic grammar knowledge,which was improved through self learning based on teaching needs and strong subjective initiative in practicum.The off-campus mentors largely contributed to the development of the pedagogical knowledge.They possess the teaching philosophy that in line with English Curriculum Standards(revised in 2020)and gave pre-service teachers careful guidance.Personal reflection and peer learning also be positive for the development of PCK in grammar teaching.However,the absence of assessment from the mentors,the lack of more practice opportunities and their own inadequate in-depth learning hindered the further development of PCK in grammar teaching.Besides,the courses and workshops in postgraduate learning facilitated their understanding of the curricular knowledge,but there is room for improvement in deeper understanding and implementation.Implications of the study for pre-service teacher development include: firstly,promote systematization of knowledge.Pre-service teachers can establish a systematic content knowledge through courses study and self-learning.Secondly,strengthen teaching design and implementation ability,which can be achieved through courses or workshops.Thirdly,the joint guidance from in-campus and off-campus mentors and peer learning are effective for pre-service teachers to gain a deeper understanding of students.Finally,colleges and schools need closer cooperation to provide more teaching practice for pre-service English teachers.