Theoretical Perspectives on Knowledge and Learning and a Student Teacher’s Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Dividing and Sequencing Subject Matter

Abstract

This study describes and interprets (a) a student teacher’s decisions about task content and content progression across an elementary and high school sport unit and (b) those aspects of his pedagogical content knowledge that he used to explain and justify his decisions. The student teacher’s pedagogical content knowledge of dividing and sequencing subject matter can be summarized briefly: first, tell about the biomechanically efficient body position, and second, play games. Both the student teacher’s decisions and pedagogical content knowledge and guidelines for content progression that are in the curriculum literature are interpreted by using broad theoretical perspectives of knowledge and learning that pervade educational thought. Taken-for-granted perspectives that knowledge and learning are molecular are questioned, and the potential of more holistic, nonlinear perspectives is considered.