Professional Development and the Historical Tradition of Informal Science Institutions: Views of Four Providers

This paper presents an analysis of the views on the elements of effective professional development (PD) of providers at four informal science institutions: a zoo, a science centre, a botanical garden, and an ecological field science outreach centre. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with four senior personnel involved in designing, organizing, and supervising the teaching of PD for K-12 science teachers at their institution. Analysis of interviews using a constant comparative method resulted in the identification of eight conceptual categories of responses. Further analyses of data across these conceptual categories, led to the emergence of the three major themes that frame this paper: (a) the design components of good PD; (b) the types of instructional strategies supporting implementation; and (c) the role of comfort in PD. Our findings also reveal, for example, that all providers mentioned the importance of inquiry and strategies that support inquiry. However, there were important differences about the definition of inquiry, with some providers considering it to be a teaching strategy and others a learning strategy. The results are discussed relative to the historical tradition of informal science institutions and the effect that convergent and divergent views of providers might have on the development of a coherent regional professional development curriculum.