I too want to be involved in a discussion of training volunteers. Is this a discussion to have on this list or outside of it? No individual emails were given.



My email is below and would love to hear what others are doing and am happy to share our program.



Thanks, Kathy





Kathy Fournier

Director of Science Education

McWane Science Center

200 19th Street North

Birmingham, AL 35209

205-714-8254

[log in to unmask]

www.mcwane.org











 





-----Original Message-----

From: Informal Science Education Network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Megan Gray

Sent: Tuesday, November 24, 2009 5:35 PM

To: [log in to unmask]

Subject: Training Volunteers to be effective exhibit facilitators



Our institution has an all volunteer exhibit floor staff (exhibit explaining and general information).  We recognize the special needs, benefits, and challenges volunteers (vs. paid staff) bring to this role.  Without regular, trained, experienced, floor staff available to train, model, and evaluate volunteers in this role, volunteers have relied on mostly content information resources and other volunteers (many of whom have scientific backgrounds and experience versus educational background, especially in the area of pedagogy).   While we have lots of formal expertise in the community, we feel this sort of didactic/information-focused approach is not as effective with our young learners in our informal environment.  Therefore, we have developed and implemented a new training approach for exhibit volunteers that focuses on:





1)      Building rapport with visitors and tuning into their needs



2)      Creating a safe and inviting environment for exploration and inquiry



3)      Using effective questioning strategies and unique "hooks" to engage and inspire



I am looking to collaborate with fellow Volunteer and/or Program Managers who lead their institution's volunteer explainers. I'd love to share our new training outline with others and discuss best practices and strategies for training  our volunteers to be successful with our visitors.



Megan Gray

Manager of Volunteer Services

Chabot Space & Science Center

ph: (510) 336-7414

fax: (510) 336-7491

www.chabotspace.org<http://www.chabotspace.org/>



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