Navigating pedagogical content knowledge in health professions education: Implications for practice

Introduction/background:
There is a paucity of research investigating the use of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) as a
framework for capturing and developing the professional knowledge required for high-quality teaching in the context of health professions education. Given its proven benefits in teacher education and other STEM-related disciplines, exploring the impact of PCK in health professions education holds significant promise for educators and students. This study aims to understand the affordances and challenges faced by health educators in articulating and enacting their PCK.
Methods:
This qualitative study, grounded in social constructionism, engaged eight educators from diverse
health disciplines at an Australian university. Participants collaborated in developing and refining
PCK-infused lesson plans using the Content Representation (CoRe) tool. Several writing sessions
and an online community of practice facilitated PCK-related discussion, resource sharing, and
networking. Data collection comprised two rounds of individual interviews, written reflections, and
artefacts in the form of CoRe tool. Data were analysed using team-based thematic framework
analysis.
Results:
Our analysis identified three themes highlighting the affordances of the CoRe tool: (1) clarity of
teaching goals and purposes, (2) understanding students' learning needs, and (3) promoting
reflection on teaching practice. Additionally, two themes identified challenges: (1) confusion regarding CoRe tool usage and (2) gap between CoRe planning and actual teaching implementation.
Discussion:
Despite the challenges encountered by the participants, the study findings underscore the
significance of making explicit the planning for, reasoning behind, and enactment of educators’
pedagogical decision-making in teaching specific health-related content. Building upon these findings, we discuss strategies for developing educator-facing resources, such as annotated CoRes and teaching clips with commentary, to support professional development and enhance teaching practices within the broader health professions education community.