Science teachers’ professional growth benefits from formal and informal interactions with science centers

Chloë Elizabeth Miller Nelson; Victoria Millar; Jan van Driel

doi:10.29333/ejmste/19116

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Chloë Elizabeth Miller Nelson ¹ ^* , Victoria Millar ¹ , Jan van Driel ¹

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¹ Faculty of Education, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, AUSTRALIA^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Research on out-of-school science centers, such as museums, has mostly focused on benefits for students, while benefits for teachers have received less attention. This study examined the professional growth science teachers experienced through their formal and informal interactions with science centers. Fifty-three primary (grades F-6) and secondary (years 7-12) science teachers from Australia participated in a survey. Teachers reported experiencing professional growth benefits when participating in formal professional learning programs, as well as through informal learning opportunities, such as incidentally learning while accompanying students on field trips. Despite the varied ways teachers interacted with science centers, findings show that teachers reported benefits to a range of aspects of their professional growth including science knowledge gains, improved pedagogical practices and increased motivation to teach science. Therefore, teachers’ formal and informal interactions with science centers should be considered an important resource for facilitating a range of professional growth benefits for science teachers.

Keywords

professional development
in-service science teacher education
informal learning environments
science centers
field trips
professional growth

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 22, Issue 9, September 2026, Article No: em2897

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/19116

Publication date: 10 Aug 2026

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Article Downloads: 3

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How to cite this article

APA

Nelson, C. E. M., Millar, V., & van Driel, J. (2026). Science teachers’ professional growth benefits from formal and informal interactions with science centers. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 22(9), em2897. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/19116

Vancouver

Nelson CEM, Millar V, van Driel J. Science teachers’ professional growth benefits from formal and informal interactions with science centers. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2026;22(9):em2897. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/19116

AMA

Nelson CEM, Millar V, van Driel J. Science teachers’ professional growth benefits from formal and informal interactions with science centers. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2026;22(9), em2897. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/19116

Chicago

Nelson, Chloë Elizabeth Miller, Victoria Millar, and Jan van Driel. "Science teachers’ professional growth benefits from formal and informal interactions with science centers". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2026 22 no. 9 (2026): em2897. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/19116

Harvard

Nelson, C. E. M., Millar, V., and van Driel, J. (2026). Science teachers’ professional growth benefits from formal and informal interactions with science centers. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 22(9), em2897. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/19116

MLA

Nelson, Chloë Elizabeth Miller et al. "Science teachers’ professional growth benefits from formal and informal interactions with science centers". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 22, no. 9, 2026, em2897. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/19116