Redirigiendo al acceso original de articulo en 23 segundos...
Inicio  /  Sustainability  /  Vol: 10 Núm: 7 Par: July (2018)  /  Artículo
ARTÍCULO
TITULO

Designing a Real-World Course for Environmental Studies Students: Entering a Social-Ecological System

Douglas T. Bolger    
Karen Hutchins Bieluch    
Flora E. Krivak-Tetley    
Gillian Maggs-Kölling and Joseph Tjitekulu    

Resumen

There is increasing interest in using “real-world pedagogy” to train students in ways that make them better able to contribute toward a more sustainable society. While there is a robust body of literature on the competencies that students need as sustainability professionals, there is a lack of specific guidance in the literature on how to teach for competency development or on how to structure a program or course to support competency development. Our research addresses this gap in the literature through a description and autoethnographic reflection on the design and early implementation of a “real-world” course. The course is from the Environmental Studies Program at Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH, USA), but it takes place in the environs of the Gobabeb Research and Training Centre in the Namib Desert of Namibia and in nearby Topnaar settlements. Our research objective was to articulate strategies to address the primary pedagogical challenges that we faced during the design and first five iterations of the course. These include: How do we frame this course and communicate it to students in a way that is understandable and works within the particular context and constraints of the course? Can we provide students with a coherent framework that helps them to understand the approach and also provides a platform for thoughtful consideration, acquisition, and retention of appropriate competencies? How do we develop collaborations with our community partners that are ethical and effective? How do we frame these real-world experiences in a way that allows for students to integrate their experience with the theory and broader empiricism they learn on campus? To address these pedagogic challenges, we framed the course as a research-based course, more specifically community-based research (CBR), conducted in a social-ecological system (SES). We developed lower-level strategies for implementing this framing, including preparing students for collaborative research, encouraging student ownership of their learning, linking theory to research, and thoughtfully navigating time constraints. Furthermore, program-level and student-level engagement with community have been critical for avoiding becoming “helicopter researchers.” Drawing on our personal reflections and those of our community partners, we conclude with a discussion of emergent outcomes and the next steps for continual improvement and adaptation.

 Artículos similares

       
 
Kornelia Grzelka, Agnieszka Bieda, Jaroslaw Bydlosz and Anna Kondak    
Despite the already advanced work on the construction of jurisdictional 3D cadastre models in many parts of the world and the technical feasibility of building very detailed 3D models of cities, relatively few specialists have focused on the aspects of v... ver más

 
Quy Van Khuc, Mai Tran, Thuy Nguyen, Nguyen An Thinh, Thao Dang, Dang Trung Tuyen, Phu Pham and Luu Quoc Dat    
Concern about energy depletion has risen because of industrialization and consumerism, pushing a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. To this end, every group within society, especially the youth, should be made responsible for confr... ver más
Revista: Urban Science

 
Gomathy Ramaswami, Teo Susnjak and Anuradha Mathrani    
Poor academic performance of students is a concern in the educational sector, especially if it leads to students being unable to meet minimum course requirements. However, with timely prediction of students? performance, educators can detect at-risk stud... ver más

 
Francisco Delgado    
The COVID-19 pandemic has modified and diversified the ways that students receive education. During confinements, complex courses integrating previous knowledge must be carefully designed and implemented to effectively replace the elements present in fac... ver más
Revista: Future Internet

 
Nadezhda N. Pokrovskaia, Veronika L. Leontyeva, Marianna Yu. Ababkova, Lucio Cappelli and Fabrizio D?Ascenzo    
Social isolation during the pandemic contributed to the transition of educational processes to e-learning. A short-term e-marketing education program for a variety of students was introduced in May 2020 and is taught entirely online. A survey was conduct... ver más
Revista: Future Internet