Abstract: The teacher’s teaching behavior depends on his or her given knowledge, so understanding the teacher’s knowledge is the key to accurately grasping the connotation of teacher professional development and promoting the development. Different views of knowledge can lead to quite different understanding of teacher’s work as well as varied approaches to teacher professional development. Teaching is a practical profession under specific situations, so a teacher needs to cope with the ever-changing situations and adjusts his practical strategies accordingly. It is tough for a teacher to do so by means of fixed thinking and behavioral patterns rather than the generative knowledge. Unexpected accidental events in teaching situations mean that nobody can make a careful plan and act accordingly perfectly. How to respond to the changing teaching situations necessitates the condensed knowledge which is distinctively comprehensive. According to Hayek’s divided knowledge, a teacher’s knowledge is situational, individual and implicit, and such rich personal knowledge is potentially creative, helping the teacher perform his professional duties under specific teaching situations. Based on the nature of teacher’s knowledge, teacher education reform should respect the unique value of each teacher’s personal knowledge and focus on their original thinking of the phenomena and solutions to the problems through the innovation of ideas and systems. This will help to construct an order which is generated spontaneously and corresponding to different working situations, so that each teacher, encouraged by the system, can develop their wisdom and talent. Meanwhile, spontaneity in the culture and system should be respected as well. The value orientation of school systems and culture construction should promote more barrier-free communication, provide more opportunities for exchanges and dialogues among teachers. Finally, the mode of teacher education should be further innovated.

Key words: Hayek丨divided knowledge丨teacher&rsquo, s knowledge丨teacher education