Didactic research laboratory and professional development

Teaching professionalization is directly related to the exercise of autonomy and this is linked to the incidence of teachers in the production and construction of knowledge as well as in decision making. In the current scenario of review of initial and continuous teacher training, it is relevant in our country to inquire into the existing background related to the production and construction of knowledge through research in education. In this sense, this article reports on the process of creation and operation of the " Didactic Research Laboratory" (LID, in spanish), as a reference and antecedent in the area of research in teaching science and professional teacher development. In 1987, Biology and Chemistry professors, graduated from the " Instituto de Profesores Artigas" and linked to the Teacher Training constituted a study and reflection group around their practices from the didactic point of view. They perceived the need to generate a place destined to promote didactic research with a direct return in the initial and continuous teacher training. LID had a consecutive work since 1988, when the project was approved by the competent authority until 1995, within the framework of the "Instituto de Profesores Artigas". The research aims to recover the contribution of the teachers participating in the project in the didactic of science area and to reflect on the laboratory as a device for training and professional development.