Science learning goes beyond the limits of the formal education settings with the acknowledgment of informal learning settings, such as science museums, science centers, and botanical gardens. Research provided strong evidence that science learning in informal settings is supportive to increase interest, engagement, and conceptual understanding (Falk & Dierking, 2010). Among these comprehensive settings, science museums are critical cornerstones by providing contextually rich opportunities for lifelong science learning (Bamberger & Tal, 2007).     

Science museums are unique in their structure, enabling them to offer diverse learning opportunities. Unlike formal settings, science museums’ flexibility allows science museum educators (SMEs) to adopt learner-centered approaches by considering the curiosity of children and exploration (Hein, 1998). These characteristics of science museums make them powerful places to develop conceptual understanding and positive attitudes toward science (National Research Council, 2009). 

As science museums are central to science learning in informal settings, SMEs have an important role in designing and implementing educational activities, in visitor interactions, and supporting science learning (Falk, 2016). SMEs hold a critical stance with their pedagogical positions blending teaching, learning, facilitating, and communicating (Tran, 2007). SMEs, due to the inherent structure of science museums, are more prone to teach heterogeneous groups including diverse, unprecedented backgrounds and abilities. 

Even though the literature examines children’s learning, attitudes, and various outcomes in science museums and other informal learning settings, SMEs have received comparatively less attention. As educators are critical in shaping the nature of teaching and learning in these settings (Tal & Morag, 2007), this gap becomes more notable.

In line with these, recent studies started to focus on content knowledge of informal educators in “Informal Science Education Pedagogical Content Knowledge” (ISE-PCK) with five distinct dimensions (Busch et al., 2023). However, in these complex and interactive learning settings, it is not sufficient to identify their content knowledge. To address extensive and motivational dimensions of teaching, Hammerness et al. (2005) introduced the term pedagogical vision. This term extends PCK by including values, hope for students’ futures, and emotions. For SMEs, who engage in multifaceted contexts and have broader aims in their teaching, such as raising awareness in science, understanding their pedagogical visions is crucial to get insight into their broader drivers of teaching. 

Previous studies indicated that SMEs tend to prioritize raising awareness and curiosity by providing authentic experiences to the children, which are difficult to achieve in formal classrooms (Eshach, 2007). As science museums play a critical role in the public views and engagement in science and are considered effective tools for promoting science education (Jakobsson & Davidsson, 2012), studies considered some aspects of SMEs’ experiences. In a study conducted by Shaby et al. (2016), SMEs’ goals regarding science museums were examined. The results showed that museum educators identified science museum goals as changing public views regarding science, promoting science learning, and minimizing inequality in society. While there is focus on the goals and interactions of SMEs, these are not fully efficient and adequate to capture SMEs’ broader pedagogical visions. 

Consequently, this study aims to focus on pedagogical visions of SMEs. In this way, this study contributes to a comprehension of SMEs’ science teaching in depth. Thus, it will offer insight into science teaching in informal settings, especially science museums. Understanding these visions is essential not only for advancing research on informal science education but also for improving the design of museum programs and activities, strengthening the educational role of science museums. In this vein, this study is guided by the following research question:

• What are the pedagogical visions of science museum educators on teaching in a science museum?

To investigate the pedagogical visions of science museum educators, one of the qualitative research methodologies, the case study research method, was used. Case study methodology was selected for in-depth examination of the phenomenon, pedagogical visions, in their own contexts (Yin, 2018). This study was conducted in a science museum, which offers hands-on workshops and engagement for K-8 students primarily. Participants Participants were selected via purposeful sampling based on their experiences. Two science museum educators participated in the study voluntarily, who have been working on a science museum for years. To ensure confidentiality, participants' real names were hidden and given pseudonyms, Sally and Grace. Sally and Grace worked at selected science museums for many years and have expertise in museum education. Sally is a landscape architect and also has a master's and a PhD degree in this field. She worked for more than 18 years in the science museum and specialized in recycling workshops. She organizes the recycling, nature trips, and plant identification workshops/activities for raising awareness about the environment. Grace is a historian and has a master’s degree in museum education. She organizes workshops that are related to the ancient life of humanity, paleontology activities related to dinosaurs, and fossils. Data Collection and Analysis Data was collected through semi-structured interviews by the museum educator. The interview developed by the authors included 14 questions: one background-related question and 13 teaching experiences and visions of science museum educators. During the preparation phase, related literature was reviewed. During the interviews, the authors audio-recorded and noted the interviews. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The audios and field notes were coded by the three different researchers openly at different times using special software, that is, MAXQDA. Following the independent coding process, the researchers met to compare, discuss, and refine the codes collaboratively. Then, the final forms of the codes were structured, and themes were organized and identified. The code structure and theme are presented in the result sections.

Interviews about science museum educators’ teaching revealed four main categories about their pedagogical visions: (1) purpose-driven teaching, (2) strategic approaches, (3) offering valuable experiences of science museums, and (4) inspiration to younger generations. Excerpts will be provided in detail during the presentation. Purpose-Driven Teaching: Purpose-driven teaching showed two main purposes of SMEs: raising awareness and providing authentic experiences. Regarding raising awareness, SMEs indicated that they aim, in their teaching, to raise awareness of environmental, social, and cultural issues. Secondly, the purpose of teaching was to provide authentic experiences that cannot be obtained other than in science museums. Strategic Approaches: SMEs had two main strategic approaches concerning (1) methodology and (2) classroom management. Methodological considerations showed that SMEs considered motivating children, using game-based teaching, and fostering children's understanding by (a) simplifying concepts and (b) establishing interdisciplinary connections. Classroom management strategies indicated that balancing formal education’s restrictions and encouraging a balanced and productive learning environment were strong strategies in science museums. Offering Valuable Experiences of Science Museum: Advantages of teaching in a science museum are collected under the context and practice. According to SMEs, rich contextual advantages were present in the science museum due to the opportunities of the setting and institutional effects. From a practical perspective, science museums were seen as flexible settings with adaptive, high-quality, and engaging activities, offering activity-based hands-on learning experiences to children. Inspiration to Younger Generations: SMEs underlined their contribution as cognitive and aspirational. They saw that their teaching contributed to students' interdisciplinary understanding, conceptual learning, and change, and the development of questioning skills. Additionally, museum experiences encouraged further learning and helped guide children’s aspirations, including their career-related decisions. Additionally, museum experiences encouraged further learning and helped guide children’s aspirations, including their future educational and career-related decisions.

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