Establishing common ground in empirical research on science teachers’ lesson planning competence: a scoping review

Abstract

Although lesson planning is considered a crucial competence of science teachers, research in this area remains limited. Currently, there is a lack of both a comprehensive heuristic model describing the necessary knowledge and skills for effective lesson planning and an overview of the recently emerging research field consolidating current findings and suggesting future research directions. To address this gap, we conducted a scoping review of N = 66 empirical studies (1987-2022) focusing on pre-service and in-service science teachers’ lesson planning competence. Our analysis reveals that most studies emphasise the identification of conceptual knowledge, with less attention given to procedural knowledge or skills in the lesson planning process. Additionally, while the majority of studies examine the creation of mental or written lesson plans, few consider the justification of planning decisions. A bibliographic coupling analysis indicates that researchers in this field have yet to establish a common theoretical foundation. To address this, we present our findings within a modified version of the Refined Consensus Model of Pedagogical Content Knowledge. This adapted model aims to facilitate future research on lesson planning competence for both pre-service and in-service science teachers, providing a cohesive framework for understanding this critical aspect of science education.