Interpretive Training &

Leadership Plan
Summer Stevenson, 2017
Overview
● Flexible four week plan - can be adjusted
depending on staff experience
● Overarching Goals:
○ Establish collective understanding of
program objectives
○ Create an environment of learners that work
together to meet program objectives
First Day
● Location Tour
● Staff Introductions
● Outline of Day-to-Day Operations
● Policies & Procedures
○ Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA)
○ Ecological Integrity & Resource Stewardship
○ Emergency Procedures
Week 1: Training Session
● Review of Job Responsibilities
● Introduction to Interpretation
○ Tilden’s (1977) Six Principles of Interpretation
○ National Association for Interpretation (2006) definition
● Introduction to Thematic Interpretation
○ Sam Ham’s (2013) TORE Approach
Week 1: Self-Guided Activities
Student staff will:
● Complete a self-assessment after assisting on a
program which will then be discussed with the program
lead
● Observe a program they are not assisting with,
specifically focusing on the audience and their
reactions
● Develop an “Ask the Naturalist” program using the
TORE approach
Week 2: Training Session
● Finding Your Voice
● Interpretation ≠ Acting
○ Importance of listening and responding
○ “The information that we share is the beginning of a
dialogue, not an endpoint” (DePrizio, 2016:5)
● Tangibles
○ Reinforcing Tilden’s First Principle
○ Linking universal concepts
Week 2: Self-Guided Activities
Student staff will:
● Prepare a 7-10 minute “prop talk” with an object of their
choosing
● Present “prop talk” to the team the following week for
feedback
Week 3: Training Session
● Writing Interpretive Programs
○ Formal & Semi-formal Interpretive Programs
○ Guided Hikes
○ Activity Based Programming
○ Informal Visitor Contacts
● Assessing Exemplars
○ Programming Rubric
○ Writing Outline & Graphic Organizer
Week 3: Self-Guided Activities
Student staff will:
● Write a section for a program they are assisting
● Schedule times before and after the program to discuss
their writing with the program lead who will provide 1:1
support & feedback
● Effectively merge individual style with style of program lead
Week 4: Training Session
● Basics of Interpretive Design
○ Pleasurable, Organized, Relevant, Thematic (Ham,
1992)
○ Clear, Concise, and Correct
○ Remember: Tangibles & Universal Concepts
● The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly: Displays,
Interpretive Signs, & Advertising
Week 4: Self-Guided Activities
Student staff will:
● Edit an the text on an older existing display (Visitor
Centre or elsewhere) to meet interpretive display
standards
● Plan & propose a new display considering the design
principles discussed
Ongoing Projects
● Citizen Science Team Project
○ All staff will participate in a collective species
monitoring competition dedicated to collecting data for
one organization (ex., the Ontario Reptile & Amphibian
Alas)
● Citizen Science Passion Project
○ Staff will choose a project of interest to contribute data
to throughout the summer season (ex., Bumblebee
Watch, Invasive Species with EDDMapS, eBird, etc.)
Weekly Programming Schedule
Sun Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat

Morning Hike/ Semi- Hike/ Semi- Hike/ Semi- Children’s

Children’s formal Children’s formal Children’s formal Program
Program program Prog program Program program

Afternoon Informal
Program/
Rove*

Evening Formal Formal Formal

Program Program Program

*Staff & Attendance Dependent

Programming schedule is not set in stone - peak attendance times will be decided based on location stats
Program Assessment Rubric
● See Appendix A: Long Form Program Audit
(Martin, 2012: 79-88)
○ Select relevant standards depending on
type of program and focus of staff member