Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Co-Teaching for Special Educators

Abstract

More than three decades ago, Shulman introduced the concept of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) to describe the ways of representing and formulating the subject matter to make it comprehensible to others. It involves understanding of how particular subject matter topics and issues are organized and represented in order to teach in an effective way. It also involves understanding the needs and struggles of the students. Shulman (1987) identified PCK as one of seven categories of teachers’ knowledge which is essential for providing meaningful learning experiences to all students including children with disabilities. This calls for special educators in inclusive settings to possess the knowledge and skills to implement PCK in teaching all students. There is no global PCK model; researchers have explained it differently in terms of components in the field. This paper attempts to explain the concept of PCK, its importance for special educators teaching in co-teaching and two models of PCK namely Shulman’s Model and Ball’s Model.