Fischer is an educator, author, and researcher in the field of neuroscience and education.
Until his retirement in 2015, he was the Charles Bigelow Professor of Education and Director of the Mind, Brain, and Education Program at Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Fischer studies cognitive and emotional development and learning.
His work, called dynamic skill theory, is considered to be one of the Neo-Piagetian theories of cognitive development.
It offers an explanation for both consistency and variability in developmental patterns.His current focus has been on the field of Mind, Brain, and Education (or educational neuroscience).
He is the founding president of the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society and founding editor of the journal Mind, Brain, and Education.