Effect of Science Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge on Student Achievement: Evidence From Both Text- and Video-Based Pedagogical Content Knowledge Tests

Abstract

This article provides robust empirical evidence for the association between science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and student achievement. Unlike previous studies, we employed two approaches (text-based vs. video-based tests) to assess if, and to what extent, teachers’ PCK assessed by these two approaches are related to student achievement. An analysis utilizing two-level hierarchical linear modeling revealed that PCK assessed by both types of tests reveals a significant and positive association with student achievement. Teachers’ PCK assessed by the video-based test better predicted student achievement than teachers’ PCK assessed by the text-based test. Based on this result, we discuss implications for research on teacher knowledge and policy implications for teacher education.