O Conhecimento Pedagógico de Conteúdo Interdisciplinar de Futuros Professores de Matemática e Ciências Naturais

Abstract

Pre-service teachers, within the context of their initial training, should be capable of articulating the content of different subjects and applying this relationship when planning teaching and learning activities. However, promoting interdisciplinary approaches is complex, as it can occur at varying levels of curricular integration. This study aims to characterise the interdisciplinary pedagogical content knowledge in Mathematics and Natural Sciences of 27 pre-service teachers enrolled in professional master’s programmes at two Portuguese higher education institutions. The data were collected through a questionnaire with open-ended questions. The results show common aspects of the students' IPCK in both institutions, particularly the use of Natural Sciences themes as a context for developing interdisciplinary activities, the predominance of content related to the Mathematics theme Data, and the application of the same pedagogical methods advocated for disciplinary activities. Regarding divergent aspects, there is evidence of some fragility in curricular knowledge among certain students from one institution. Additionally, in this institution, the integration of both disciplinary areas is prevalent in most students' proposed activities, whereas in the other institution, Natural Sciences dominate in the majority of responses. These results highlight the importance of promoting interdisciplinary experiences in the training of future teachers, so that they can adopt effective interdisciplinary strategies in the context of basic education.