Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Teaching Junior High School Science

This study was a follow-up research of an extension activity that enhanced the content mastery and pedagogy of Junior high school science teachers. The study aimed to 1) identify the common difficult topics encountered by teachers in their teaching of Science; 2) enhance their content mastery in difficult topics; 3) use computer applications or other innovative strategies that blended well with the content, and 4) improve the quality of teaching and learning processes in the classroom as demonstrated by fulfilling, lively classroom interactions with at least 50% of the students obtaining a standard passing mark of 75. The participants identified Physics as the most difficult science subject to teach. The teachers found these topics difficult: Optics, electricity, magnetism, and two-dimensional motion.  The content mastery level of the teachers was below 75 MPS before the enhancement. It had elevated to 75 MPS after the enhancement activities. The t-test, for the difference of the raw score means, was significant at .000. Teachers obtained a satisfactory rating on computer applications and other strategies that blended well with the content. The blending brought an enthusiastic interaction in class, with at least 50% of the students getting a standard passing score of 75 MPS in the examination.           

Keywords:  Pedagogy, Content Mastery in Science, Science Education, Science Extension Project