ABSTRACT
In the last decade of the 20th century, the field of science education emerged from a process-product perspective on teacher thinking and learning (Clark, 1988; Clark & Peterson, 1986; Lanier & Little, 1986) to a view of teaching as a professional practice based on standards that called for teachers to have an empowered role in developing knowledge and educational change. Reform documents such as Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy: Project 2061 (American Association for the Advancement of Science [AAAS], 1993) and the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council [NRC], 1996) present a vision of science teaching and learning that is intimately connected to experience, a vision in which the professional development of science teachers is a continuous and reflective process.
