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There is a collective agreement about the necessity of content knowledge (CK) as a prerequisite for pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). However, most PCK models lack explanatory power because of the missing link between CK and PCK. Thus, the study firstly attempts to develop a theoretical model that consists of knowledge of students' learning difficulty (KSLD) as a plausible pathway between CK and PCK with the conceptual change research entry. Secondly, it tests the causative relationship between CK and KSLD of PCK. The CK for this study constitutes acid rain, as well as the concepts of photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Seventy-three preservice science teachers (PSTs) participated in this study. The study used open-ended surveys and vignette-based individual interviews to measure PSTs' CK and KSLD, respectively. The results indicate that (1) PSTs' CK and KSLD are low. (2) There is a significant correlation (p < 0.01) between PSTs' CK and KSLD. (3) Compared with a low or moderate level, the high level of PSTs' CK is a significant predictor (p < 0.01) of their KSLD. Qualitative evidence supports preliminary quantitative results of the study. The study provides a PCK model that indicates KSLD as a plausible pathway to connect CK and PCK, using a conceptual change inquiry as a point of entry. The study implies the proposed PCK model based on conceptual change learning is useful for future teachers in responding to student learning difficulties. Besides, the PCK model is a fertile ground for robust research.

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of inclusive versus traditional science classrooms on eighth-grade students' attitudes towards science through mixed research design. A total of 121 students from four eighth-grade science classes participated in this study. The experimental group of students (N=61) learned a unit of structure of matter in inclusive science classrooms in which theory of multiple intelligences (MI) was used as a mediator, aligned with the principles of Universal Design for Learning, to differentiate instructional strategies, assessment approaches and types of assignments, incorporating all students' strengths or intellectual profiles, while the control group of students (N=60) learned the same unit in traditional science classrooms. Changes in students' attitudes towards science over the time period (pre-test, post-test, and follow-up) were assessed using a Likert-scale questionnaire and individual interviews. The results of statistical analysis indicated that compared to traditional classroom, inclusive classroom using MI-inspired lessons significantly improved and maintained the students' attitudes towards science. The quantitative results were further supported by evidence from qualitative data gathered through post and follow-up interviews. This study has implications for the nature of inclusive practices in science classrooms concerning the value of students' attitudes towards science.

This study examined the impact of a Prediction-Observation-Explanation (POE) intervention on 15 seventh-grade students’ relational conceptual changes and scientific inquiry abilities as they investigated the plant absorbance/transport phenomena in a photosynthesis learning sequence. The variation theory of learning that promotes intellectual empathy underpinned the study’s pedagogy. A granular phenomenography analysis of students’ pre-post inter-intra-explanations through writing and drawing resulted in seven theoretical descriptive categories. A relational conceptual change perspective involved in the interventional investigations resulted in 1) adding and deleting categories of ideas from pre-to-post teaching, 2) change in the number of students within the categories of ideas, 3) the replacement of everyday language with scientific knowledge, and 4) the complexity of students’ responses from pre-to post-teaching. In assessing students’ scientific inquiry ability levels with a POE analytic rubric of writing and drawing worksheets, 18% and 82% were developing and proficient, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]