Strategies Developed by Chemistry Graduate Students in Pedagogical and Empirical Content Knowledge. The study investigates the professional development of graduate students in two distinctly different areas, pedagogical content knowledge or PCK, and empirical content knowledge, ECK. Empirical content knowledge is defined as the knowledge of strategies, knowledge of research tools, and content knowledge that define successful research practice in a field. The definition of PCK for successful teaching is the knowledge of teaching strategies , the particular student population, areas of common difficulty, and teaching tools. The context for study of both areas is one of situated learning as graduates students work in teaching laboratories and research laboratories. Inquiry also concerns the characteristics of the learning environment for new graduate students, particularly learning conversations about research and/or pedagogy. Since problem solving is the essence of successful research or teaching practice, one assessment of strategies will originate from solution-pathway analyses created by graduate students as they solve problems authored by the research & teaching directors in a virtual learning environment.
