In this article, I explore how relationships can change the teaching practices of museum educators and strategies of entire organizations by empirically studying conversations museum educators have every day in meetings, in the hallways, and all the places where they talk about their work. I present the possibilities of reciprocal telling…

Corporate EdTech Certification Programs (CECPs) have the potential to disrupt the traditional ways professional development has been offered to teachers. With large companies creating CECPs to demonstrate the ways their products can be used for educational purposes, this study utilized a content analysis methodology to analyze which knowledge…

Museum education departments hold great potential to train content specialists to be scholar-educators. This article offers as a case study a doctoral support fellowship at the Museum of the City of New York that fosters the ability of historians-in-training to communicate with a wide range of audiences and deepens the connections between…

It is through the collective work of museum educators that an organization grows its social capital in its local community and beyond its physical footprint. Given the significant contributions of museum educators to an institution's outcomes, we argue for a shift in mindset on investing in their growth and development. We share our reasoning for…

In order to better understand the importance of adult learning theory to museum educators' work, and that of their profession at large, museum professionals must address the need for more adult learning research and practice in museums--particularly work informed by existing theory and work seeking to generate new theory. Adult learning theory…

In this forum we discuss three aspects designed to clarify and extend Kelly and Kassing's paper. These are the roles of improvable objects, contradiction and object/tool reciprocity. In each case we cite relevant literature and pose questions to the field. Our goal is to seed ideas for future discussions concerning the role of activity theory…

Cultural Historical Activity Theory served as the analytical framework for the study of a professional development event for a zoo's education department, specifically designed to build understandings of "Affective Transformation," an element pertinent to the organization's strategic plan. Three key products--an Affective…

It seems uncontroversial to claim that museums are unique places of interest with the potential to inspire learners, yet what this means and how it is managed are complex questions. Museum educators' work is currently shaped by accountability requirements typically expressed as visitor targets. Centralised teaching and learning initiatives are…

Professional development in the art museum setting represents an opportunity for corporate and for-profit enterprises to enhance employees' skills in observation, creative thinking, teamwork, and sensitivity in diversity. Using original works of art as a point of departure for in-depth discussion of what appears as narrative content, participants…

Museum programs for working adults in their workplace groups are an interesting and important recent development. These programs have the potential to contribute significantly to the future health of museums. This article shows that these programs link to and build on three important trends in museums--customized experiences, deep engagement, and…

The Art of Perception is a professional development program that uses the analysis of works of art to help participants re-examine their responsibilities in various agencies of law enforcement, refresh their sense of inquiry, and reinvigorate the language they use to communicate on the job. "The Art of Perception: Museums Breaking Ground in Law…

Since 1998, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has developed educational programs targeting adult audiences. Engaging public service professionals--those charged with serving and protecting our nation's democratic principles--has become a core outreach strategy to achieve the Museum's mission. This article describes the Museum's process…

A set of customized adult education programs for working professionals at the Art Institute of Chicago provides both the kinds of experiences people in the 21st century are looking for and illustrates a distinctive way of thinking about fee-based programming and how it supports the overall museum mission. This article brings together convergent…

Historical organizations cannot continue to compete in the modern marketplace using traditional models for education program development. Social networking sites and new applications are shaping the way our audiences approach their work, even more so as Generation Y/Millennials begin to flood into the workforce, changing the demographic makeup,…

The process of designing and implementing management development programs consists of four steps: (1) needs assessment; (2) content formation; (3) program design; and (4) pilot study. These elements are discussed in relation to a case study of a two-year management development project with a large corporation. (FG)