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Abstract BackgroundWhat and how teachers learn through teaching without external guidance has long been of interest to researchers. Yet limited research has been conducted to investigate how learning through teaching occurs. The microgenetic approach (Siegler and Crowley, American Psychologist 46:606–620, 1991) has been useful in identifying the process of student learning. Using this approach, we investigated the development of teacher knowledge through teaching as well as which factors hinder or promote such development. ResultsOur findings suggest that teachers developed various components of teacher knowledge through teaching without external professional guidance. Further, we found that the extent to which teachers gained content-free or content-specific knowledge through teaching depended on their robust understanding of the concept being taught (i.e., content knowledge), the cognitive demand of the tasks used in teaching, and the lesson structure chosen (i.e., student centered vs. teacher centered). ConclusionsIn this study, we explored teacher learning through teaching and identified the sources leading to such learning. Our findings underscore the importance of teachers’ robust understanding of the content being taught, the tasks used in teaching, and a lesson structure that promotes teachers’ learning through teaching on their own.
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This content will become publicly available on March 1, 2026
How do Early-career Biology Faculty Develop Pedagogical Content Knowledge? Exploring Variation and Longitudinal Development
Effective teaching requires teachers to leverage their knowledge of how students think about and learn specific topics (i.e., pedagogical content knowledge). This longitudinal qualitative study of early-career biology instructors examines the development of this specialized teaching knowledge.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1845886
- PAR ID:
- 10566843
- Editor(s):
- Gardner, Grant Ean
- Publisher / Repository:
- CBE-Life Sciences Education
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- CBE—Life Sciences Education
- Volume:
- 24
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 1931-7913
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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