Teacher decision-making about the treatment of content in the design of instructional materials

Abstract

This paper reviews an exercise conducted during a short course at the Faculty of Education, The University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine for 24 primary school teachers. Participants were required to select a course unit, identify the subordinate objectives subsumed within that unit, and design and produce instructional materials on one or a combination of these objectives, using transparencies and photographic slides. The approaches used by participants in their treatment of the content of the instructional materials are examined, largely within the framework of the concept, pedagogical content knowledge. The paper identifies three main implications of this activity for the professional development of the teacher and for the structure organization of the teaching service.