A framework for teaching socio-environmental problem-solving
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ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
A framework for teaching socio-environmental problem-solving Cynthia A. Wei 1,2
&
Michael L. Deaton 3 & Teresa J. Shume 4
&
Ramiro Berardo 5 & William R. Burnside 1
# AESS 2020
Abstract The urgent environmental challenges we now face, from climate change to biodiversity loss, involve people and the planet, the social, and the environmental. Teaching students to become effective socio-environmental problem-solvers requires clarity about concepts and competencies needed to understand and tackle these challenges. Here, we propose an educational framework that describes what students should learn and how they should apply this knowledge to address socio-environmental problems. This framework emphasizes the process of problem-solving and is based on socio-environmental (S-E) synthesis, an integrative, transdisciplinary approach to understanding and tackling complex socio-environmental problems. In addition to identifying the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and practices necessary for S-E problem-solving at the undergraduate and graduate levels, we clarify how one draws on such competencies to inquire about problems and generate solutions for them. Our primary goal is to provide a useful tool to help guide development of curricula, teaching materials, and pedagogies for S-E synthesis and interdisciplinary environmental education more broadly. Keywords Systems . Complexity . Socio-environmental . Synthesis . Interdisciplinary . Education . Framework . Competencies
Introduction Preparing students to understand and address complex and often global environmental problems is a critical and growing challenge for higher education. These problems, such as transboundary pollution, overfishing, and biodiversity loss, confound teams of seasoned experts and entire societies. Not surprisingly, interdisciplinary environmental and sustainability (IES) programs, whose common goal is to train students to become “sustainability-oriented scientists, leaders, problem solvers, and decision makers” (Vincent and Focht 2010), have struggled to articulate coherent
* Cynthia A. Wei [email protected] 1
National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC), 1 Park Place Suite 300, Annapolis, MD 21401, USA
2
Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, 3700 O St. NW, Washington DC 20057, USA
3
School of Integrated Sciences, James Madison University, MSC 4102, 701 Carrier Drive, Harrisonburg, VA 22807, USA
4
School of Education, North Dakota State University, Dept. 2625, PO Box 6050, Fargo, ND 58108, USA
5
School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, 316B Kottman Hall, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
and effective ways to meet this challenge (Vincent and Focht 2010; Clark et al. 2011). This difficulty lies, in part, in the complex, interdisciplinary, and often contested nature of most environmental and sustainability issues. Such problems are often described as socio-environmental (S-E) in recognition of the intertwined nature of their natural and social dimensions. G
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