Preface

In October 2012, a group of 24 researchers from seven countries met in Colorado Springs, USA, for a five-day PCK Summit, a working conference designed to foster conversation, collaboration, and consensus around the PCK construct.During the conference we were challenged to move beyond our individual research agendas and to work together to better understand the issues and concerns of PCK research and its impact and value to science teaching and learning.As a group, we identified the need for common terminology and definitions,robust assessment tools, and a consensus model of PCK. Throughout our time together, we spent our days discussing PCK during sessions, over meals, and around the evening fire on the patio. From the diversity of inputs, workshops, and productive ongoing discussions, persistent research challenges became increasingly evident as, through close examination of the situation, a sharper focus was achieved; common goals were envisioned, and new collaborations were formed. After the PCK Summit, many of the participants shared Summit outcomes with colleagues, and at national and international research conferences. An important purpose for these conference sessions was to extend the conversations initiated at the Summit with a wider audience of teacher educators, graduate students, and researchers engaged in PCK research.