Preparing Informal Science Educators: Perspectives from Science Communication and Education

✍ Scribed by Patricia G. Patrick (eds.)

• Publisher: Springer International Publishing
• Year: 2017
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 612
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This book provides a diverse look at various aspects of preparing informal science educators. Much has been published about the importance of preparing formal classroom educators, but little has been written about the importance, need, and best practices for training professionals who teach in aquariums, camps, parks, museums, etc. The reader will find that as a collective the chapters of the book are well-related and paint a clear picture that there are varying ways to approach informal educator preparation, but all are important. The volume is divided into five topics: Defining Informal Science Education, Professional Development, Designing Programs, Zone of Reflexivity: The Space Between Formal and Informal Educators, and Public Communication. The authors have written chapters for practitioners, researchers and those who are interested in assessment and evaluation, formal and informal educator preparation, gender equity, place-based education, professional development, program design, reflective practice, and science communication. Readers will draw meaning and usefulness from the array of professional perspectives and be stimulated to begin a quest to scaffold programs and professional development around the frameworks described in this book.

✦ Table of Contents

Front Matter....Pages i-xxxiv
Introduction....Pages 1-9
Front Matter....Pages 11-11
Formerly ISE: Preparation for Continual Science Learning....Pages 13-38
Front Matter....Pages 39-39
Informal Science Educators and the Nine Dimensions of Reflective Practice....Pages 41-65
Facilitating Deep Conceptual Learning: The Role of Reflection and Learning Communities....Pages 67-85
From Acquisition to Inquiry: Supporting Informal Educators Through Iterative Implementation of Practice....Pages 87-104
Museum Science Teaching: Museum Educators’ Personal Epistemologies and Created Learning Experiences....Pages 105-126
Informal Science Educator Identity Construction....Pages 127-150
Front Matter....Pages 151-151
There Is no “Off Button” to Explaining: Theorizing Identity Development in Youth Who Work as Floor Facilitators....Pages 153-168
Integrating Mobile Computers into Informal Science Education....Pages 169-183
Designing Informal Astronomy Education Toward Participatory Learning Environments....Pages 185-206
Developing Effective Pedagogical Approaches in Science Outreach Programs for Young Children....Pages 207-223
Gender Differences Reflected in Conversations at Exhibits....Pages 225-241
The Challenges of ‘Measuring Long-Term Impacts of a Science Center on Its Community’: A Methodological Review....Pages 243-259
Utilizing Indicator-Based Methods: ‘Measuring the Impact of a Science Center on Its Community’....Pages 261-266
Front Matter....Pages 267-267
Visualising Social Network Structures in the Training of Professional Learning Communities of Educators in Informal and Formal Settings....Pages 269-288
Professional Development: Targeted On-the-Job Trainings....Pages 289-310
Multiple Approaches to Using Informal Science Education Contexts to Prepare Informal and Formal Science Educators....Pages 311-335
Extending Classrooms into Parks Through Informal Science Learning and Place-Based Education....Pages 337-354
Preparing Informal Science Educators in a Formal Science Teacher Education Program: An Oxymoron?....Pages 355-386
A Comparative Look at Informal Science Education and Environmental Education in Bengkulu Province, Indonesia and North Carolina, USA....Pages 387-417
Front Matter....Pages 267-267
Explorers of Nature in Natural History Museums—An Approach to Integrating Children with Refugee or Migration Status....Pages 419-433
Front Matter....Pages 435-435
Preparing Scientists to Be Science Communicators....Pages 437-471
‘User-Generated’ Educators: The New Frontier or a Far-Fetched Dream?....Pages 473-494
Teaching the Theory of Evolution in Informal Settings to Those Who Are Uncomfortable with It....Pages 495-507
Addressing Nature of Scientific Knowledge in the Preparation of Informal Educators....Pages 509-525
The Attributes of Informal Science Education: A Science Communication Perspective....Pages 527-544
Sense of Conservation: When Is a Black Rat Snake (Elaphe obsolete) Really Just a Snake?....Pages 545-559
Opening up the Dialogic Space. Using Questions to Facilitate Deeper Informal Learning....Pages 561-574
Front Matter....Pages 575-575
The Need and Timeliness of Preparing Informal Science Educators....Pages 577-593
Back Matter....Pages 595-600

✦ Subjects

Science Education;Teaching and Teacher Education;Learning & Instruction