When ChatGPT Meets the Periodic Table: Why PCK and TPACK Matter More Than Ever in IAS & IAL Chemistry.

Dr Caleb Moyo.

(Because AI may be clever, but it still cannot tell a mole from a vole.)

1. Introduction: Why Chemistry Teaching Needs More Than Smart Algorithms

Artificial intelligence has arrived in IAS and IAL chemistry classrooms with the confidence of a freshly calibrated spectrophotometer. We now have ChatGPT solving equilibrium problems, virtual titration labs, and AI tutoring systems that claim to personalise learning in real time.

However, here is the inconvenient chemical truth: AI does not teach. Teachers do.

Whether AI becomes a powerful learning accelerator or an academic crutch depends on two pillars of professional expertise:

Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) — the specialised knowledge that enables teachers to transform chemistry content into forms students can actually understand (Shulman, 1986).
Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) — the integration of subject knowledge, pedagogy, and technology into coherent instructional design (Mishra and Koehler 2006).

Lee Shulman’s original definition of PCK reminds us that knowing chemistry is not the same as knowing how to teach chemistry effectively (Shulman, 1986, full text:
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED490409.pdf).

Meanwhile, Mishra and Koehler’s TPACK framework explains why technology—no matter how impressive—fails unless it is anchored in strong pedagogy and subject expertise
https://tpack.org/tpackrefs/archives/10831.

In IAS and IAL chemistry, where conceptual depth, mathematical precision, and exam performance all matter, PCK and TPACK are no longer optional extras—they are survival skills for teachers.

2. What PCK and TPACK Mean in Chemistry.

Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK)

PCK is the teacher’s ability to:

anticipate misconceptions
choose effective representations
sequence concepts logically
and diagnose where students go wrong in their learning.

In chemistry, this includes the following:

students confuse rate with equilibrium
believe moles are masses
think that entropy means disorder and nothing more.

Research in science education has shown that teachers with strong PCK generate higher conceptual learning gains than those who simply know the subject (Park & Oliver, 2008; Kind, 2009). Reviews of chemistry PCK research confirm that student understanding rises when teachers explicitly address misconceptions and use multiple representations
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0742051X25001866.

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK)

TPACK extends PCK into the digital era. It is not about knowing how to use technology but about knowing how to use technology to teach chemistry.

Mishra and Koehler (2006) showed that effective technology integration occurs only when:

pedagogy
content
and technology are developed together.

In chemistry, this means knowing the following:

when ChatGPT should explain
when students should struggle
and when a virtual lab should be paused for conceptual reasoning.

A well-designed simulation with poor pedagogy is merely a colourful distraction.

3. Why IAS and IAL Chemistry Raise the Stakes

IAS and IAL chemistry are not forgiving curricula. They are:

highly specified
mathematically rigorous
and externally examined

AI introduces enormous opportunities but also serious risks.

AI Tool	Potential Benefit	Risk Without PCK/TPACK
ChatGPT	Worked examples	Copy-paste learning
Virtual labs	Safe practical rehearsal	Conceptual illusion
AI tutors	Personalised practice	Surface understanding
Analytics	Targeted intervention	Data without diagnosis

Students who rely on AI without guided pedagogy often show lower transfer and conceptual understanding, even when their procedural scores rise (see overviews in educational technology research:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40299-015-0241-6).

In other words, AI can inflate grades while deflating thinking unless teachers intervene wisely.

4. What Research Shows About PCK, TPACK, and Learning.

PCK Predicts Student Understanding

PCK enables teachers to:

select the right examples
anticipate confusion
design better explanations

Kind (2009) and Park and Oliver (2008) showed that PCK predicts conceptual understanding more strongly than content knowledge alone.

This is important in IAS/IAL chemistry, where misunderstanding one concept (e.g., equilibrium) sabotages half of the syllabus.

TPACK Predicts Quality of Technology Use

Large-scale reviews show that teachers with strong TPACK:

use technology for reasoning, not just drill
align tools with learning goals
improve engagement and understanding

Summaries of TPACK research demonstrate that technology only improves learning when teachers know how to embed it pedagogically
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-6209-497-0_95.

5. A Brief Classroom Case Study

Two IAS teachers used ChatGPT to teach stoichiometry.

Teacher A

Pastes questions
Students copy answers
Marks rise briefly
Understanding collapses.

Teacher B

Uses AI to generate worked examples
Asks students to spot errors
Links answers to IAS mark schemes
Forces explanation, not copying

Same, AI.
PCK and TPACK are different.
The outcomes were significantly different.

6. Virtual Labs: Powerful—If You Know How to Use Them

Virtual chemistry labs are rapidly spreading across international schools. Research shows that they can improve learning, but only when paired with guided inquiry (see synthesis of virtual lab research:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0742051X25001866).

Teachers with strong TPACK know when to:

pause simulations
ask predictive questions
require chemical reasoning

Without this, virtual labs produce illusionary understanding—students feel confident but cannot explain what happened.

7. AI and IAS/IAL Examinations

The IAS and IAL exams do not reward fluent text. They reward:

chemical reasoning
structured explanation
mathematical logic

AI produces elegant answers that often fail to meet mark-scheme requirements.

Only teachers with assessment-linked PCK know how to do the following:

translate AI output into exam-worthy responses
teach students to critique AI
detect algorithmic nonsense (which it produces more often than we admit)

8. Curriculum Design in the AI Era

TPACK-informed curriculum design ensures that:

AI aligns with learning objectives
tools support progression
assessment standards are respected

Research on technology-integrated curriculum design shows that coherence matters more than the tool itself
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-6209-497-0_95.

9. What School Leaders Must Understand.

Buying AI software without investing in PCK and TPACK training is like buying a Ferrari for someone who cannot drive it.

Professional development must include the following:

chemistry-specific AI pedagogy
curriculum alignment
assessment literacy

Otherwise, schools receive impressive dashboards and disappointing learning.

10. Final Thoughts: Humans Still Run the Lab.

AI can balance the equations.
It cannot balance the learning process.

IAS and IAL chemistry require the following:

conceptual precision
epistemic discipline
pedagogical insight

Only teachers with strong PCK and TPACK can transform AI into a genuine learning accelerator.

As Shulman warned nearly four decades ago, knowing chemistry is not the same as knowing how to teach it
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED490409.pdf.

Or, as your students might say:

“ChatGPT knows chemistry. You know how we think about chemistry.”

They still win the exam.

References.

Shulman, L. S. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(2), 4–14.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED490409.pdf

Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPAC) ( Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017–1054.
https://tpack.org/tpackrefs/archives/10831
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/220041541_Technological_Pedagogical_Content_Knowledge_A_Framework_for_Teacher_Knowledge

Chemistry teachers’ PCK review (Teaching & Teacher Education).
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0742051X25001866

TPACK editorial overview (Springer).
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40299-015-0241-6

TPACK theoretical chapter (Springer).
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-6209-497-0_95

Pedagogical Content Knowledge overview (EBSCO).
https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/education/pedagogical-content-knowledge