TY - JOUR
T1 - How to Assess Mathematics Teachers’ TPACK? A Comparison Between Self-Reports and Knowledge Tests
AU - Kadluba, Alina
AU - Obersteiner, Andreas
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Teachers need technology-related knowledge to effectively use technology in the classroom. Previous studies have often used self-reports to assess such knowledge. However, it is questionable whether self-reports are valid measures for this purpose. This study investigates how mathematics teachers’ self-reports correlate with their scores in a paper–pencil knowledge test regarding TPCK (technological pedagogical content knowledge), CK (content knowledge), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and technological knowledge (TK). Participants were N=173 pre- and in-service mathematics teachers. To assess self-reports, we adapted an existing survey from the literature. We also compiled a knowledge test based on items from existing test instruments. To increase comparability between the two instruments, both the self-report and the paper–pencil knowledge test addressed the specific topic of fractions. The four subscales in both instruments had sufficient reliability. The correlations between the self-reports and the paper–pencil test scores were low or very low for all subscales r=.00-.23, suggesting that the two instruments captured different underlying constructs. While paper–pencil tests seem more suitable for assessing knowledge, self-reports may be influenced more strongly by participants’ personal traits such as self-efficacy. Our findings raise concerns about the validity of self-reports as measures of teachers’ professional knowledge, and the comparability of studies that use distinct assessment instruments. We recommend that researchers should be more cautious when interpreting self-reports as knowledge and rely more strongly on externally assessed tests.
AB - Teachers need technology-related knowledge to effectively use technology in the classroom. Previous studies have often used self-reports to assess such knowledge. However, it is questionable whether self-reports are valid measures for this purpose. This study investigates how mathematics teachers’ self-reports correlate with their scores in a paper–pencil knowledge test regarding TPCK (technological pedagogical content knowledge), CK (content knowledge), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and technological knowledge (TK). Participants were N=173 pre- and in-service mathematics teachers. To assess self-reports, we adapted an existing survey from the literature. We also compiled a knowledge test based on items from existing test instruments. To increase comparability between the two instruments, both the self-report and the paper–pencil knowledge test addressed the specific topic of fractions. The four subscales in both instruments had sufficient reliability. The correlations between the self-reports and the paper–pencil test scores were low or very low for all subscales r=.00-.23, suggesting that the two instruments captured different underlying constructs. While paper–pencil tests seem more suitable for assessing knowledge, self-reports may be influenced more strongly by participants’ personal traits such as self-efficacy. Our findings raise concerns about the validity of self-reports as measures of teachers’ professional knowledge, and the comparability of studies that use distinct assessment instruments. We recommend that researchers should be more cautious when interpreting self-reports as knowledge and rely more strongly on externally assessed tests.
KW - Knowledge Tests
KW - Mathematics
KW - Self-Reports
KW - TPACK
KW - Teachers’ Knowledge
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85200764459&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10763-024-10490-2
DO - 10.1007/s10763-024-10490-2
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85200764459
SN - 1571-0068
JO - International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education
JF - International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education
ER -