Formal and Informal Education for Sustainable Development
Dr. Mark A. McGinleyAssociate ProfessorHonors College and
Department of Biological SciencesTexas Tech University
Fulbright Visiting ScholarInstitute of Biological
SciencesUniversity of [email protected] and
Informal Education for Sustainable Development1Starting
AssumptionsSustainable development is desirable goalSustainable
development requires making appropriate decisions and implementing
appropriate policies2To Make Wise Decisions We NeedKnowledgeable
expertsCapable teachersKnowledgeable policy makersKnowledgeable
citizens
I dont think that we have done a very good job of educating
general public in the US.(not sure about in Malaysia)
3To Achieve Sustainable DevelopmentChange how we educate
students, teachers, scientists, policy makers, and the general
publicAppreciation of the process of scienceBasics of
ecologyEnvironmental issuesPolitical and economic issues related to
sustainability
How Do We Do This????
4My BackgroundTrained as an ecologistBehavioral ecology of birds
and mammalsReproductive ecology of plants, reptiles, and
mammalsPlant community ecologyOld fields in MinnesotaSand shinnery
oak community in West Texas
5My BackgroundBeen on the faculty at Texas Tech University for
20 years
Recent scholarly focus on science and environmental
education
Fulbright Visiting Scholar
6Population Ecology
7Population Ecology
8Human Population Growth
9Community Ecology
10Ecosystem Ecology
11Important ConceptsEquilibriumIf you add and remove at the same
rate then the number does not change over time.World is
Complicated! not easy to predict what is going to happen if we
start to alter ecological systemsMany ecological issues easy to
solve from a biological perspectiveDecisions complicated by
economics and politics
12EducationFormal EducationEducation that takes place in
traditional classroom settingsGenerally occurs when youngInformal
EducationEducation that takes place out of the classroom. Can occur
throughout lifetime.Museums, zoosMass mediaInternet???
13What Am I Doing?Formal EducationEducating Elementary and
Secondary StudentsImproving curriculumMalaysian Bat Education
AdventureImproving teachersMS2 and Multidisciplinary
ScienceEducating University StudentsFormal Courses at Texas Tech
UniversityEcology and Environmental ProblemsEcology Science Behind
the EnvironmentPerspectives in Nature and the EnvironmentTropical
Marine BiologyDegree Programs at Texas Tech UniversityOrganismal
Biology, Ecology, and Evolution- Department of Biological
SciencesNatural History and Humanities- Honors CollegeMalaysian
Ecology textbookInformal EducationOdyssey ExpeditionsEncyclopedia
of Earth
14Curriculum Development For Elementary SchoolsData suggests
that US science education is lagging behind.
Science class is too often a thin gruel of badly organized
textbooks, worksheets, and memorization of science.Corcoran et al.
200915Problems With Current Methods of Teaching ScienceLessons
focus more on facts than big themesFocus on Important ThemesLessons
unrelated to each other over timeLearning ProgressionsLessons
taught in too many different contextsSingle ContextStudents get no
exposure to real science at best try to simulate scienceSituate
Education in Authentic Research EnvironmentStudents act as
cognitive apprentices16Malaysian Bat Education AdventureLearning
progression developed by National Academy of ScienceEvolutionEmbed
learning in common contextBiology of Malaysian rainforest batsDr.
Tigga Kingston (TTU) has studied bats in Krau Wildlife Reserve in
Pahang for > 10 yearsBats are cool!Students act as cognitive
apprentices with researchers in the fieldSend data back via website
on daily basisInteract with students in real time via
video-conferencing
17Malaysian Bat Education AdventureIn 2009 we received a US
$200,000 grant from Texas Tech University to conduct pilot project
for 4th gradeJust applied for > US $2 million grant to National
Science Foundation to expand project from grades 4 8.
18Malaysian Bat Education AdventureThis work requires
interdisciplinary collaborationDepartment of Biological
SciencesCollege of EducationCollege of Mass
CommunicationsProfessors, graduate students, undergraduate
students, school administrators, assessment experts, teachers
http://www.ttu-mbea.org/
19Teacher Training Practicing TeachersMultidisciplinary Science
Masters DegreeDegree for practicing high school teachersBiology,
chemistry, physics, earth sciences, mathematics, educationMS2Degree
for practicing middle school teachersFocus on integrating
mathematics and science in the middle school classroomFunded by US
$3 million grant from Greater Texas
Foundationhttp://www.ttumssquare.org/
20Formal Courses Texas Tech UniversityDepartment of Biological
SciencesEcology and Environmental ProblemsIntroduce basic concepts
in ecology and examine current environmental issues to non-science
students
21University CoursesHonors CollegeEcology: The Science Behind
the EnvironmentPerspectives in Nature and the Environment
22 Field CoursesTropical Marine Biology
23What Have I Learned From Teaching These Courses?Students dont
have much knowledge of science, ecology, or environmental
issuesAlmost all students will become interested if you can touch
on a topic that interests them directlyInternationalNational
(USA)State (Texas)Local (Lubbock)Getting students in the field is
useful24Degree Programs Texas Tech UniversityDepartment of
Biological SciencesB.S. Organismal Biology, Ecology, and Evolution
(OBEE)Honors CollegeNatural History and Humanities
(NHH)Interdisciplinary program that combines science, literature,
philosophy, and the arts to train students to communicate
effectively about the environmentTrain future informal
environmental educators, environmental lawyers, etc.25NHHHighly
InterdisciplinaryEcologist, Geologist, Writers, Artists,
Photographers, Philosophers, Outdoor Adventure Experts
26Ecology TextbookCollaboration with Prof. Susan Lim, Institute
of Biological Sciences, UMMost general ecology textbooks written in
US or Europe and thus focus on western examplesWe plan to produce
an on-line introductory ecology textbook that focuses on Malaysian
examples27Informal EducationOdyssey ExpeditionsSummer Adventure
Programs for teens in Caribbean (British Virgin Islands and
Windward islands)Sailing, scuba, and marine biologyTaught scuba and
formal and informal marine biology programs
28Informal Science EducationEncyclopedia of Earth
(EoE)http://www.eoearth.org/Goal is to be the largest on-line
source of information about the environment in the world.All
articles written by scholars, all articles undergo peer review.
29
Typical EoE Article30EoE ArticlesWritten by recognized experts
in the fieldStudent Science Communication ProjectContent
PartnersGovernmental organizations and NGOs that have agreed to let
the EoE publish their informationWWF, IUCN, UNEP, Conservation
International, many US governmental bodies, soon IPCC
Thus, we dont always have to reinvent the wheel because there is
already a lot of valuable information out there.31EoE History and
StatsLaunched in September 2006 25,000 visits per day700,000 visits
per month Over 8.5 million visitors per year32Malaysia Collection
on EoEDevelop a collection of articles aboutNatural history of
Malaysian organismsEcology of Malaysian organisms and
ecosystemsEnvironmental issues in Malaysia
33Future DirectionsScholarly Study of Informal Science
EducationI think it is interesting that studying informal science
education is considered to be more scholarly than doing informal
science education. Long-term impacts of summer outdoor
programsOdyssey ExpeditionsEoEBlogs as sources of informal science
education34SustainabilitySustainable development requires long-term
perspectiveHumans do not appear to be very good at taking the
long-term
perspectivePsychologicallyPoliticallyEconomicallySustainability
Education needs to involve people with expertise in economics and
politicsCollaborations between politicians, economists, scientists,
and educators are extremely rare!!How do we make them happen???
35Sustainability- Llano EstacadoHigh Plains of West Texas
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