Public engagement is an important component of the operation of many physics organizations, such as physics departments. However, unlike in formal education settings, relatively little research has been done on pedagogical approaches in informal physics education; commensurately little research has been done on the methods and means of training the facilitators who engage in that pedagogy. Following up on a previous study that characterized modes of pedagogy in informal physics educators, we present here preliminary results from a detailed study on the ways in which volunteers in a physics outreach program at the University of Colorado understand and operationalize these pedagogical modes, and the ways in which our volunteer training methods promote or inhibit volunteers' efficient uptake and utilization of these teaching tools. We find that volunteers' conceptions of these pedagogical modes tends not to persist robustly from their preparation at the start of program participation, and that other factors, such as practiced pedagogical behaviors gleaned from formal learning environments, may play a large role in UEs' enacted pedagogies in PISEC. From these findings, we begin to form the basis for changes to the ways in which we support and prepare our volunteers, with implications for informal programs at large.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.