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.

An Example of Climate Education through Project-Based Learning

I distinguish between project-based learning (PBL) and project-based assessment. I have regularly used project-based assessment in my classes, often trying to make them as authentically real-world as possible. For me, project-based assessments come at the end of a unit of learning. The students have already acquired the knowledge and understanding and developed the skills expected of them in the unit (going forward I’ll refer to the knowledge, understandings and skills of a unit as KUDs; the D stands for “Dos” and refers to skills). The project is then a form of authentic assessment where they have to apply their learning to address a real-world issue or problem. They complete a project and create a product that demonstrates their learning. Because the project is a form of summative assessment, students are expected to complete the project relatively independently.

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