Content Representations (CoRes) as a Tool for Pedagogical Reasoning

Working with pre-service teachers, Loughran et al. (2004) wanted to develop a tool that would help students of teaching develop this practice of pedagogical reasoning. They hypothesized that a tool that would force teachers to engage in pedagogical reasoning would facilitate both the enactment of teacher PCK, and the development of it. Through various empirical studies, Loughran et al. (2004) developed a tool that they referred to as “Content Representations,” which they named “CoRes” for short. CoRes has since been used by other researchers as a tool for both for measuring PCK, and for developing it, both in pre-service and in-service teachers.

I’m currently conducting some case study research with several secondary teachers, exploring the value of a particular model for developing teacher PCK. I’m using the CoRes tool as part of the model. In an effort to gain more experience with the tool myself, I recently worked through it with a common topic of a high school introductory economics course. It’s worth noting upfront that, though I’ve ended up teaching economics, I studied very little economics in university. Therefore, if I have any readers who are true economists, I hope you’ll forgive any spots in my example that betray my lack of academic economics background.