Alternative Use for the Refined Consensus Model of Pedagogical Content Knowledge: Suggestions for Contextualizing Chemistry Education Research

The primary goal of chemistry education research should be to improve the teaching and learning of chemistry; however, in some cases, the implications of research are too abstract to readily apply to the classroom. In this commentary, we provide suggestions to help researchers contextualize their work for practitioners, asserting the utility of situating research using the framework outlined in the refined consensus model of pedagogical content knowledge, which describes the dynamic interactions among different knowledge bases as instructors engage in planning, teaching, and reflecting. Although it provides a productive avenue for research, the premise of this paper is not to advocate for more studies designed using this framework; rather, a suggestion is made to consult this framework during dissemination, that is, when considering the relevance of the results for practitioners.