Using PCK Enhances Teachers’ Critical Thinking and Social Participation
Using PCK Enhances Teachers’ Critical Thinking and Social Participation 5
Using PCK Enhances Teachers’ Critical Thinking and Social Participation 2
Using PCK Enhances Teachers’ Critical Thinking and Social Participation 3
Using PCK Enhances Teachers’ Critical Thinking and Social Participation 4
Using PCK Enhances Teachers’ Critical Thinking and Social Participation 6
The Director General of the Office of the Chancellor, Public Relations, and Provincial Coordination Affairs of Farhangian University emphasized the need for a shift in teaching approaches and the application of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) as a key factor in fostering critical thinking and social participation among teachers.
According to the Public Relations Office of Farhangian University of Gilan, the Sixth National Conference on Social Sciences Education was held on Thursday, 25 December 2025 (4 Dey 1404), hosted by Farhangian University of Gilan in the city of Rasht.
At the conference, Mehdi Namdari, a faculty member of Farhangian University and Director General of the Office of the Chancellor, Public Relations, and Provincial Coordination Affairs, outlined the characteristics of a professional teacher. He stated that an effective professional teacher must integrate three types of knowledge: subject-matter (content) knowledge, pedagogical (teaching–learning) knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK).
Namdari noted that teachers who effectively combine these three forms of knowledge demonstrate stronger capacities for critical thinking and greater levels of social participation.
Emphasizing the necessity of a paradigm shift in the teaching profession, he remarked that teachers should move beyond being mere content experts or memory-centered instructors and instead become architects of learning.
Referring to various classifications of knowledge proposed by scholars in the field of education and learning, Namdari addressed the role of artificial intelligence as an educational tool. He explained that regardless of its technical advancement, artificial intelligence cannot replace empathy in the classroom. “To cultivate empathy,” he stated, “PCK must be employed so that critical thinking, deep understanding and learning, active citizenship, and emotional connection can be effectively developed.”
It is worth noting that a total of 221 papers were submitted to the conference. Following a scientific peer-review process, 150 papers were accepted, of which 78 were presented orally and 72 were presented in poster format.