Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and content knowledge (CK) are key components of teacher competence that affect student progress. However, little is known about how teacher education affects the development of CK and PCK. To address this question, our research group constructed tests to directly assess mathematics teachers’ CK and PCK. Based on these tests, we compared the PCK and CK of four groups of mathematics teachers at different points in their teaching careers in Germany. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that PCK and CK measurement was satisfactorily invariant across the teacher populations considered. As expected, the largest differences in CK and PCK were found between the beginning and the end of initial teacher education. Differences in the structures of teacher education were reasonably well reflected in participants’ CK and PCK.

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BackgroundTeachers differ substantially in their instructional performance in the classroom. Thus, researchers and policymakers are interested in how these differences can be explained and how the instruction provided by low‐performing teachers can be improved. Previous research has focused either on generic (cognitive ability and personality) or profession‐specific (professional knowledge, beliefs, and motivation for teaching) teacher characteristics as predictors of instructional quality but their relative importance has not yet been tested.AimsHardly any studies have combined central generic and profession‐specific variables in ascertaining their relative importance for instructional quality. In the present study, we seek to close this research gap.SamplesWe investigated 209 German mathematics teachers and their 4,672 students attending grades 7–10 (13‐ to 16‐year‐old students).MethodsTeacher characteristics (cognitive ability, personality, professional knowledge, beliefs about, and enthusiasm for teaching) were assessed using standardized tests and self‐report measures. Instructional quality (learning support, classroom disruptions, and cognitive activation) was rated by the students.ResultsUsing structural equation modelling, we found extraversion, enthusiasm for teaching, and pedagogical/psychological knowledge to be significant predictors of learning support (R2 = .31) and conscientiousness and enthusiasm for teaching to be significant predictors of classroom discipline (R2 = .21). We did not find significant predictors for cognitive activation.ConclusionsOur results indicate the relative significance of generic and profession‐specific teacher variables for instructional quality. Overall, a substantial amount of variance in instructional quality is explained by teacher characteristics.

Curriculum materials explicitly designed to foster teacher learning represent a prominent route to professional development (PD) for teachers. However, it is unclear whether PD can be delivered successfully in the form of teacher self-study of curriculum materials, or whether it has to be scaffolded additionally by an expert. This study investigated effects of expert scaffolding in science-related PD for elementary school teachers with regard to proximal teacher outcomes (i.e., teacher beliefs and motivations), instructional quality, and student achievement. Moreover, mediation of PD effects through proximal teacher outcomes and teachers’ instruction was examined. Seventy-three teachers and 1,039 students participated in the study. Expert scaffolding was implemented in a 3-tiered way: A first group (18 teachers) received PD with extensive scaffolding, a second group (18 teachers) was provided with reduced expert scaffolding, and a third group (18 teachers) received no expert scaffolding and was provided with the curriculum materials only (self-study group). A baseline group (19 teachers) did not participate in science-related PD and completed questionnaires on teacher outcomes only. Scaffolded PD was significantly superior to PD through self-study in terms of teacher beliefs and motivation, instructional quality, and student achievement. Contrary to our hypothesis, PD effects on student learning were mediated only to a small extent by teacher beliefs. However, teachers’ instruction emerged as a substantial mediator of PD effects on student achievement. The results highlight the advantages of additional expert scaffolding in PD based on curriculum materials for the preparation of elementary school teachers for teaching science.