The study arising from the very interesting horizon scan workshop that I participated in in May of last year has now been published in Oikos. It has been very interesting to be part of multiple author paper expertly lead by Prof Zenobia Lewis from the University of Liverpool and Dr Julia Cooke from the Open University. Some of the main challenges we identified related to the teaching of quantitative skills (but also the potential benefits of teaching students R, which I am a great advocate for), a general disconnect with nature (hopefully reversed slightly during the recent lockdowns) and a lack of appreciation in the general public for what ecology is and ecologists really do. We also identified a number of technological and pedagogical innovations that might revolutionise ecology teaching including virtual reality replacing overseas field trips and increased used of local campus-based resources and living labs (this direction of travel is undoubtedly even stronger now in the light of COVID-19).
Cooke, J., Yoseph A., Bacon, K. L., Bagniewska, J. M., Batty, L., Bishop, T. R., Burns, M. Charalambous, M. Daversa, D. R., Dougherty, L. R., Dyson, M., Fisher, A. M., Forman, D., Garcia, C., Harney, E., Hesselberg, T., John, E. A., Knell, R., Maseyk, K., Mauchline, A. L., Peacock, J., Pernetta, A. P., Pritchard, J., Sutherland, W. J., Thomas, R. L., Tigar, B., Wheeler, P., White, R. L., Worsfold, N. T., Lewis, Z. Teaching and learning in ecology: a horizon scan of emerging challenges and solutions. Oikos 130, 15-28.https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.07847
Abstract
We currently face significant, anthropogenic, global environmental challenges, and the role of ecologists in mitigating these challenges is arguably more important than ever. Consequently there is an urgent need to recruit and train future generations of ecologists, both those whose main area is ecology, but also those involved in the geological, biological, and environmental sciences.
Here we present the results of a horizon scanning exercise that identified current and future challenges facing the teaching of ecology, through surveys of teachers, students, and employers of ecologists. Key challenges identified were grouped in terms of the perspectives of three groups: students, for example the increasing disconnect between people and nature; teachers, for example the challenges associated with teaching the quantitative skills that are inherent to the study of ecology; and society, for example poor societal perceptions of the field of ecology.
In addition to the challenges identified, we propose a number of solutions developed at a workshop by a team of ecology teaching experts, with supporting evidence of their potential to address many of the problems raised. These proposed solutions include developing living labs, teaching students to be ecological entrepreneurs and influencers, embedding skills‐based learning and coding in the curriculum, an increased role for learned societies in teaching and learning, and using new technology to enhance fieldwork studies including virtual reality, artificial intelligence and real‐time spoken language translation.
Our findings are focused towards UK higher education, but they should be informative for students and teachers of a wide range of educational levels, policy makers and professional ecologists worldwide.
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