title: Social learning within a community of practice: Investigating interactions about evaluation among zoo education professionals.
abstract: The accessibility and ubiquity of zoos and aquariums-which reach over 700 million people worldwide annually-make them critical sites for science and environmental learning. Through educational offerings, these sites can generate excitement and curiosity about nature and motivate stewardship behavior, but only if their programs are high quality and meet the needs of their audiences. Evaluation is, therefore, critical: knowing what works, for whom, and under what conditions must be central to these organizations. Yet, many zoo and aquarium educators find evaluation to be daunting, and they are challenged to implement evaluations and/or use the findings iteratively in program development and improvement. This article examines how zoo education professionals engage with one another in a learning community related to evaluation. We use a communities of practice lens and social network analysis to understand the structure of this networked learning community, considering changes over time. Our findings suggest that individuals' roles in a networked learning community are influenced by factors such as communicative convenience and one's perceptions of others' evaluation expertise, which also contribute to forming and sustaining professional relationships. This study illuminates how project-based professional networks can become communities of practice.
authors.affiliation: Stanford Graduate School of Education, 485 Lasuen Mall, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA; Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, 473 Via Ortega, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA; Seattle Aquarium, 1483 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA. Electronic address: k.khalil@seattleaquarium.org.
authors.forename: Kathayoon
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Khalil
authors.affiliation: Stanford Graduate School of Education, 485 Lasuen Mall, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA; Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, 473 Via Ortega, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA; Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources, Stanford School of Earth Sciences, 473 Via Ortega, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA. Electronic address: nmardoin@stanford.edu.
authors.forename: Nicole M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Ardoin
authors.affiliation: Duke Nicholas School of the Environment, at 9 Circuit Drive, Durham, NC 27708, USA. Electronic address: deb.wojcik@duke.edu.
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wojcik
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D000836:Animals, Zoo; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D000071195:Educational Personnel / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D000068316:Parks, Recreational; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods*; D000067570:Social Learning; D012944:Social Support
keywords: Community of practice; Evaluation; Network analysis; Social learning; Zoo/aquarium education