SCIENCE EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL, vol.34, no.1, pp.58-68, 2023 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
This study examined how filters and amplifiers affect pre-service science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in a human
and environment unit. The redefined consensus model for PCK and decision-making framework for identifying how personal and extrapersonal factors act as filters and amplifiers were selected as theoretical frameworks. Two pre-service science teachers participated in
the study. While pre-interviews were used to determine participants’ PCK before teaching, observations and post-interviews were used
to reveal participants’ PCK after teaching, and how filters and amplifiers influenced PCK. Data were analyzed deductively to examine
teachers’ PCK including interactions among components and the way filters and amplifiers act on PCK. Constant comparison analysis
revealed five general assertions of how filters and amplifiers shaped the decision-making process when these teachers enacted their
PCK. First, the number of amplifiers and filters affecting knowledge of instructional strategies (KOIS) was the highest. Second, the
number of amplifiers and filters affecting knowledge of curriculum in science was the lowest. Third, the effect of filters and amplifiers
on PCK components was idiosyncratic. Fourth, the more (or the less) the map was integrated; the less (or the more) amplifier and filter
influenced the PCK. Fifth, the number of personal factors affecting KOIS was highest. Implications are suggested considering the effects
of filters and amplifiers on teachers’ PCK.