What is the nature of university professors' discipline-specific pedagogical knowledge? A descriptive multicase study.

摘要

This research project investigates the nature of university professors' discipline-specific pedagogical knowledge (DPK). Traditionally, DPK has been examined with the help of constructs from two distinct lines of research: the knowledge base for teaching and disciplinary specificity in university teaching. Yet, the two lines of research have seldom been combined to explore DPK. Furthermore, linkages between those two lines of research point to the potential contribution of research on personal epistemologies. Therefore, the aim of this research is to describe empirically the phenomenon of DPK using constructs from these three lines of research.;The data analysis led to the identification of components and dimensions of DPK corresponding to constructs from each line of research. Simultaneously, relationships between those components and dimensions were identified. Furthermore, the analysis singled out components, dimensions, and relationships common to the four professors, thus providing information about elements of DPK university professors share, regardless of their discipline of instruction.;Overall, the findings provide an empirical framework of university professors' DPK that captures the phenomenon more accurately than has been the case with previous approaches. Therefore, from a theoretical standpoint, the DPK framework furthers our understanding of the difficulties faced by university professors when attempting to relate their pedagogical knowledge to the specific characteristics of their discipline of instruction. From an educational standpoint, the DPK framework points to specific aspects of the learning experience of university professors that need to be supported by academic development efforts.;The research project takes the form of an instrumental multicase study of four university professors from four different disciplines. Each professor was interviewed five times, thus providing insight into their thinking about teaching, their discipline and their knowledge in general. Transcripts were analysed using a mixed a priori/emerging coding scheme.