A Framework for Learning to Teach Chemistry on a Digital Platform: The Case of Chemical Equilibrium

Abstract

Traditional discipline-based pedagogies for teaching science are increasingly becoming insufficient because of the accelerated digitization of our society. This chapter introduces digital-Topic Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge (d-TSPCK) as a theoretical construct that describes teacher knowledge for teaching science on digital teaching and learning platforms. The term d-TSPCK is conceived to refer to a complex blend of teacher knowledge that draws from discipline-based pedagogies, non-discipline based instructional technologies, and from a learning theory for multimedia contexts. We contend that this blend brings to view the fundamental idea of ‘powerful knowledge’ framed as a seamless amalgam of ‘knowings and knowns’ as the encompassing principle. We begin by presenting the conceptualization of the construct d-TSPCK as built on the powerful pedagogical gains derived from the existing centrality of the transformation of content knowledge, while allowing us to transit into the digital realm of teaching and learning. We close by illustrating the application of d-TSPCK in a teaching video on chemical equilibrium and encourage further research studies employing the construct to develop a deeper understanding of its nature.