Development of Teacher Education Students’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) - Craft and Technology Education Through Reflection and Learning-by-Doing

Oct 15, 2026

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The study investigates how learning-by-doing and reflection shape teacher education students’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) within Finnish craft and technology education. After hands-on working sessions, 115 students completed an open-ended reflective questionnaire during 2019–2020. The questionnaire was grounded in Roberts’ four philosophical stances, enabling representative capture of reflections. Theme analysis showed that interactive knowledge acquisition and practical consequence-based examination were most prominent, demonstrating the effectiveness of reflective tools for PCK development.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Hands-on learning and knowledge development

Finnish craft and technology teacher education courses

Study purpose and research approach

Reflective questionnaire and philosophical stances

Participants and analysis method

Development of teacher education students’pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) through reflection and a learning-by-doing approach in craft and technology education Sonja Niiranen, Tampere University, Finland Pasi Ikonen, University of Jyväskylä, Finland Timo Rissanen, University of Jyväskylä, Finland Aki Rasinen, University of Jyväskylä, Finland Abstract The approaches of learning by doing and making have always been inherent components of Finnish craft and technology education. Craft is a practical subject that involves many hands-on activities during which students actively practice experimentation, investigation, invention, problem-solving and designing skills. The same ideology is utilised in craft and technology teacher education courses at the University of Jyväskylä . The overall purpose of this study was to increase our understanding of the development of teacher education students’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in craft and technology education through reflection and the learningby-doing approach. To achieve this goal, students were asked to fill out a reflective questionnaire after one of their hands-on working sessions. The open-ended questionnaire was formulated on the basis of Roberts’ (2012) four philosophical stances so that each of them were equally able to provide representative information in relation to students’ reflections on it. During the academic year 2019–2020, a total of 115 students responded to the questionnaire while taking the ‘Pedagogy of Multi-material Craft and Technology Basic Course’. Data were analysed by identifying themes based on the frequency of their occurrence. Philosophical stances of ‘knowledge acquisition is inherently interactive’ and ‘examining things based on practical consequences’ proposed by Roberts (2012) were the most evident ones in teacher education students’ reflections. This study demonstrates how the learning-by-doing approach and use of a reflective tool can facilitate the development of students’ PCK in craft and technology education. Key words Technology education, craft, learning-by-doing, reflection, PCK, teacher education Introduction Over 30 years ago, Brown, Collins and Duguid (1989, p. 32) raised concern on how knowledge is treated as “an integral, self-sufficient substance, theoretically independent of the situations in which it is learned and used”. Saito (2018) refers to the same problem by introducing the concept of “beautiful knowledge”, which means “the experience of knowing, undergoing the moment of self-transformation. More as a matter of reception rather than acquisition, it involves the experience of human transformation undergoing the phases of crisis”(p. 143. ) In relation to technology education contexts, researchers have pointed out how practical learning during technology education lessons helps students conceptualise knowledge and develop various intellectual processes (Gibson, 2019; Ritz & Fan, 2015) . Furthermore, a variety of cognitive skills and higher-order thinking skills can be developed and nurtured through their application in practical contexts (Strimel, 2019; Williams, 2009, p. 248) . Thus, the domain of technology education provides an important proving ground for theories of cognition, because concepts in technology are often taught through laboratory-based and other hands-on methodologies (see Hayes & Kraemer, 2017) . Barlex and Steeg (2018, p. 343) describe learning as a process whereby understanding is built upon already existing knowledge. They argue that this process is most powerful when the construction environment is rich and ample opportunities are provided to view the success of one’s construction efforts. Hands-on nature and practical approaches to learning are emphasised in Finnish craft and technology education, and it is evident that the learning-by-doing approach is an inherent component of craft education (Niiranen, 2019) . During craft lessons in schools, students are guided so that they can

FAQs

What learning approach does the study focus on in craft and technology teacher education?

The study focuses on learning-by-doing (hands-on making) combined with reflection as a way to develop teacher education students’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK).

How was students’ reflection data collected?

Students filled out an open-ended reflective questionnaire after hands-on working sessions, formulated based on Roberts’ four philosophical stances.

What themes were most evident in students’ reflections?

The most evident stances were that knowledge acquisition is inherently interactive and that examining things based on practical consequences matters.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by nayy☆