Zoo-based Teacher Professional Development: Facilitating Learning through a Conservation Lens

Abstract

ABSTRACT Museum-based settings such as zoos provide a unique opportunity to engage educators in professional development opportunities. For instance, zoo settings can provide professional development opportunities focused on facilitating learning through a lens of conservation action to promote sustained action by teachers and their students. In this paper, we present an overview of a new zoo-based teacher professional development program designed to develop educators’ connections with wildlife and experiences with conservation actions. The program specifically aligns to the CARE framework for conservation education that addresses limitations of prior models for moving individuals from caring about wildlife to taking action to protect wildlife. We present results from two implementations of this professional development program with 21 teachers. The implications of these findings are discussed with reference to the value of action-based frameworks for guiding zoo-based teacher professional development and empowering educators to facilitate learning through a conservation lens to promote conservation action.