Exploring the impact of educative materials on teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge.

Science teachers’ professional development needs to consider the changing focus of science education. This qualitative study included an international team of ENGAGE researchers working in Cyprus, Israel, Norway, and Spain. Together, they examined the impact of educative materials on 31 teachers’ PCK. Primary data sources were the teachers’ lesson preparation forms and lesson reflection forms. To support the PCK data collection, the teachers’ lessons were observed with an observation table. The data were coded by using Atlas. ti qualitative data analysis software. Frequent online and face-to-face team meetings were needed to reach consensus on the procedures and to ensure consistency. Results of this study showed that some teachers changed their PCK, especially the aspect of the PCK related to their instructional strategies, after using the ENGAGE materials in their teaching. Years of general teaching experience seemed to have no correlation with the quality of the teachers’ PCK. In all countries, the less developed part of PCK was about assessment. Implications include designing shorter teacher professional development that can potentially influence teachers’ PCK.