Handbook of Research on Science Education

CHAPTER 38

Teacher Professional Development in Science

Peter W. Hewson

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Professional development for science teachers is of considerable current importance. This is an era in which, around the world, a new vision of learner-centered instruction is being developed. This grows out of a major, extended research enterprise over the past quarter-century. The focus of attention on what learners know and can do when they enter classrooms, and how this influences the instruction that they receive, has led to significant advances in our understanding of student learning and the implications this has for teaching. In parallel with these reforms, there has been a major push to develop new curricula and to identify explicit ...