A study on the pedagogical content knowledge of Medical English teachers in medical universities in China: The problems and strategies

Abstract

In the global healthcare environment, medical exchanges between China and various countries and regions are increasing, and the demand for medical English professionals is also increasing (Li, 2022). The quality of cultivating medical English professionals cannot be separated from the construction and development of medical English teaching staff. Previous research has found that one of the ways to promote the professional growth of medical English teachers is to improve their pedagogical content knowledge. It is the fusion of subject matter knowledge and pedagogical knowledge, the core of teacher professional knowledge foundation, and the basic prerequisite for promoting teachers' professional growth. Pedagogical content knowledge is a link between theoretical knowledge and classroom practical knowledge. Studying the pedagogical content knowledge of medical English teachers is beneficial in identifying the problems that exist in the professional development process of medical English teachers. Through investigation, this study aimed to understand the pedagogical content knowledge of medical English teachers from the four dimensions: i) knowledge of content and language integration, ii) knowledge of teaching contexts and objectives, iii) knowledge of teachers and students, iv) knowledge of teaching strategies, in order to find out the potential problems, analyze the causes and make out the corresponding strategies. The results showed that the development of pedagogical content knowledge of medical English teachers in medical universities in China is not satisfactory and there still exist many problems in many aspects such as the deviation of knowledge of content and language integration, unfamiliarity of knowledge of teachers and students, lack of knowledge of teaching contexts and objectives, and insufficiency of knowledge of teaching strategies. Based on the development vision of medical English teachers' pedagogical content knowledge, this study analyzed the underlying causes and proposed some strategies. This study intended to provide further exploratory value for the study of pedagogical content knowledge of medical English teachers, which will contribute to promoting the professional development of medical English teachers. Theoretically, it will enrich the relevant theories of pedagogical content knowledge from a micro level. Practically, it will help medical English teachers to flexibly master and apply pedagogical content knowledge and quickly adapt to the role of teachers to achieve efficient classrooms, thus truly achieve their professional development.