University Park, Pa. -- Penn State's College of Education will welcome an internationally recognized scholar in science education as the next guest lecturer in the Waterbury Lecture Series. Jan van Driel of the Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching in the Netherlands will speak on teaching and learning, specifically pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), at 6 p.m. on Oct. 18, in 112 Walker Building.
His lecture is titled "Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A Focus on Teaching Subject Matter." The event is open to the public, and light refreshments will be served following the lecture.
"At a time when STEM education is in the spotlight, Jan’s work is particularly salient because it informs how we think about the meaningful professional development of science teachers," said Carla Zembal-Saul, professor of science education.
"Research on teacher professional development both preservice and inservice is critically important as we adopt new models for aligning curriculum-instruction-assessment," said Richard Duschl, Waterbury chaired professor in secondary education. "Dr. van Driel is a highly respected science teacher education researcher, and his visit to Penn State for the Waterbury Lecture will allow us to learn more about the models being used in Europe and in the Netherlands."
Jan van Driel received his doctorate in chemical education from Utrecht University in 1990; his research the past 15 years has focused on teachers' knowledge and beliefs in the context of preservice teacher education and education reform. Among other things, he is currently a board member of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST) and associate editor of the International Journal of Science Education.
"For well over a decade, Jan’s work on the development of science teachers’ beliefs and knowledge for teaching chemistry and modeling has been at the forefront of research in science teacher education," said Zembal-Saul. "He is recognized internationally as a leading scholar in this space."
The Waterbury Lecture is held twice a semester featuring prominent speakers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. The Waterbury Lecture Series is sponsored by a an endowment from Kenneth Waterbury to the Penn State College of Education to create the Kenneth B. Waterbury Chair in Secondary Education, held by Richard A. Duschl since he joined Penn State in 2008. His research focuses on advancing teacher education programs and on the design of learning environments that seek and promote collaborations among STEM education.