Improving Eco-literacy through Service Learning: A Natural History Service Project Case Study
| Autor: | Christopher R. Collins, Lynn M. Donahue |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
Community engagement
business.industry media_common.quotation_subject Best practice 05 social sciences Service-learning 050301 education Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous) Literacy Education Personal development General partnership 0502 economics and business ComputingMilieux_COMPUTERSANDEDUCATION Environmental science Engineering ethics Project plan General Agricultural and Biological Sciences business 0503 education Curriculum 050203 business & management media_common |
| Zdroj: | The American Biology Teacher. 81:222-227 |
| ISSN: | 1938-4211 0002-7685 |
| DOI: | 10.1525/abt.2019.81.4.222 |
| Popis: | Eco-literacy (knowledge of natural history, and direct observation of the natural world and the organisms it contains) is critical to a holistic understanding of biology. Many undergraduate biology students lack this knowledge and experience, often because of a lack of engagement with the environmental science curriculum. The effectiveness of service learning is well established, but few examples of service-learning projects in the context of natural history education have been published. We describe how we used best practices for the development of a field-based service-learning project in a college-level natural history course. The project was built around established learning goals and was conducted through a partnership with a local state park. Students worked in groups to conduct bird biodiversity surveys and prepared a printed bird-watching guide, which was presented to park staff. The project was linked to a series of assignments intended to maximize academic and personal growth, including a project plan, progress report, and reflection paper. Students reported increased engagement in the course curriculum and an increased sense of the relevance of the course content. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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