Pernilla Nilsson is a professor in Science Education at Halmstad University in Sweden. During the last decade, she has focused her research on teachers´ and student teachers´ development of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) both in primary and secondary science education. She has worked with different tools and activities such as Content Representations (CoRe), Learning Study, video and digital portfolios to stimulate reflection and to help teachers and student teachers engage in their own professional learning. She has also been working on scientific literacy, formative assessment and self-study. She has a genuine interest in teacher professional learning and aspects within teachers´ practice that make a difference for students´ engagement and learning in science.

More about Pernilla Nilsson

Keynote lecture:
When teaching matters - Developing science teacher knowledge through collaboration and reflection

The inherent complexity of teacher knowledge, and hence teacher learning, has been well documented in science education research literature. In order to teach science in ways that promote students’ understanding, Shulman claimed that teachers need pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), a special kind of knowledge that teachers have about how to teach particular content to particular pupils. But how can teachers develop their understanding of PCK in order to make a difference in students’ learning? One way for teachers to develop their professional knowledge with a focus on specific science content and the ways students learn such content is through being involved in researching their own practice in different collegial settings. This talk aims to discuss the perspectives about science teacher knowledge by referring to a project in which three teachers were engaged in collaboration and critical reflection on their teaching of science in a learning study. The talk will provide evidence on how teacher collaboration, and particularly interactions between teachers, may underpin the development of PCK. As such, the talk will raise how teachers’ professional knowledge of teaching is enhanced and, further, how students’ learning might be developed as a consequence.