Focusing Professional Development for Science Teachers on Student Learning

Objectives and significance of the study This study investigates the effects of professional de-velopment for science teachers on student learning. It is usually expected that professional development pro-grams positively impact student learning, however this dimension is not commonly incorporated in the pro-grams evaluation. It is simply assumed that students will be indirectly impacted through their participating teachers in the work with their students. Two main research questions are addressed: 1) Are professional development programs effective in enhancing student learning in science? 2) What are the characteristics of the most and least effective programs? Underlying theoretical framework A theoretical framework for the impact of professiona