Guide to Professional Development of
Out-of-School Science Activity Leaders

From the National Partnership for After School Science (NPASS)

NPASS

Discussing Implementation Issues

An important part of professional development for out-of-school activity leaders is helping them to anticipate and prepare for common issues that may arise as they present science activities with children and youth. As you model various sample science activities for activity leaders, you can use this opportunity to address these concerns directly in the context of the activities they will be using. By asking participants to reflect on the how and why of particular strategies and techniques used in the activities, you can emphasize a variety of best practices. In this way, participants can recognize the relevance of these practices and apply them to being more successful in conducting science activities with children. The following questions can facilitate the discussion:

When discussing implementation issues, it is a useful strategy to first ask participants for their ideas about how to address specific challenges. Some participants may be able to provide useful advice firmly grounded in their experience. More importantly, all participants should be given the chance to develop their own ideas for solving situations that they may typically encounter in the out-of-school setting. Having participants generate solutions together will also help promote the idea that they can function as a community of learners by providing support and helping to build knowledge and skills.

You may use the handout as a summary of issues that arise during these types of discussions. To encourage activity leaders to participate in the discussion, hand this out after they have shared their ideas with the group.

See also the pre-designed sessions available in the Workshop Tools section that can be used to directly address these issues: Questioning Strategies and Roles for Activity Leaders.