ABSTRACT
This chapter continues the case story theme with two accounts of how parents assist children with science in their school homework. Paul and Liz approached their science learning in very different ways but with the same goal – to assist in explaining science at home. A different kind of “helping” forms the topic of the next three stories in this chapter, all of which relate to being a professional explainer or docent in a science-based organisation. Tiki volunteered as a guide in a botanic garden, Kristen is an explainer in a science centre, and Warren takes parties of visitors on wilderness eco-tours. These three facilitators all had an imperative to expand their own knowledge of science to enable them to give clear explanations to diverse audiences, and they employed a variety of approaches to achieve their learning goals. The parallels between all these stories are drawn within the context of a “motivating instructor”. In this chapter, the nature of explanation is also briefly considered.
