Page 83 - Getting the Picture Modeling and Simulation in Secondary Computer Science Education

Investigating CS Teachers’ Initial PCK on Modeling and Simulation
4.1 Introduction
Modeling plays a significant role in the development and learning of science
(Justi & Gilbert, 2002) and CS provides the means for students to actively engage
in learning science by providing tools and techniques to engage in modeling.
The new 2019 Dutch secondary education CS curriculum recognizes this and
includes an elective theme comprised of modeling and simulation, together
called Computational Science. It is described by the high-level learning objectives:
“Modeling: The candidate is able to model aspects of a different scientific discipline
in computational terms” and “Simulation: The candidate is able to construct
models and simulations, and use these for the research of phenomena in that other
science field.” Modeling itself will be a part of the compulsory core curriculum,
described as “Modeling: The candidate is able to use context to analyze a relevant 4 problem, limit this to a manageable problem, translate this into a model, generate
and interpret model results, and test and assess the model. The candidate is able
to use consistent reasoning.” (Barendsen & Tolboom, 2016). The curriculum does
not provide further details about these objectives, instruction or assessment. In
line with the Dutch tradition, this is left to educators and authors of teaching
materials. The elaboration of this learning objective, the development of teaching
materials, assessment tools and teacher training courses are already taking place
and the studies described in this thesis are an integral part of that effort.
Following Magnusson et al. (1999), we distinguish four components of content- specific pedagogy: (M1) goals and objectives, (M2) students’ understanding and difficulties, (M3) instructional strategies, and (M4) assessment.
In our first study, we obtained an operational description of the intended learning outcomes of the learning objective Computational Science — thus focusing on Magnusson’s component M1 about the goals and objectives, observed students working on modeling tasks — focusing on Magnusson’s component M2 about students’ understanding, and established what data sources were suitable for assessment — Magnusson’s component M4 about methods of assessment (see chapter 3).
4.1.1 Aim of this Study
In this study, we turn our attention to teachers and focus on teachers’ PCK on modeling. We address the following research questions:
1. How can the teachers’ PCK be portrayed in terms of the four components of PCK?
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