Lecture 9: Educating the Public Flashcards
Why is there a disconnect with nature?
- busy schedules
- technological advances and lures
- Fear
- Increased urbanization
Nature-deficit disorder
- not an official diagnosis
- diminished uses of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses
- describes the human costs of alienation from nature
Ecophobia
- feeling of powerless to prevent catacylsmic environmental change
- occurs when children with knowledge that is too abstract for their age or those that they are powerless to correct
- another way children disconnecting from nature
Benefits of Nature
- enhances children’s cognitive flexibility, problem-solving ability, creativity, self-esteem, and self-discipline
- decreases attention-deficit disorder and depression symptoms
Benefits to Earth from Children’s outdoor experiences
more likely to take action to benefit the environment as adults
Conservation education mission
Toronto zoo will engage communities by providing the tools and knowledge to connect to nature and protect our natural world
What are the two prevailing theories on how people learn
Behaviourism and constructivism
Behaviourism
teacher-centred, learning occurs through external influences and memorization (learners will repeat the behaviour)
main types of behaviourism
- classical conditioning
- operant conditioning
Classical conditioning
learning behaviours that are automatic based on the presence of a stimulus
Operant conditioning
Learning behaviours that are voluntary and strengthened based on repetition and reinforcement
Constructivism
- student-centred
- learning occurs through guided experience and exploration
- through the process of accommodation and assimilation
- everyone has prior knowledge whether it be right or wrong
- you are constructing your own framework about a certain knowledge/topic
In constructivism, what happens when a student is faced with new knowledge
- Conflict buried: ignore the conflict because the knowledge is too abstract
- Conflict faced: build a better knowledge than the framework that is already in your mind
- Conflict deferred: it may take a while for that new knowledge to be gained/understood
What should the experiences be like for constructivism in action?
- authentic
- relate to the real world
- allow the learner to find a solution to the problem
Constructivism in action: authentic science
- Frogwatch and turtle tally
- students identify frogs based on sound and morphology
- skill based rather than fact based
Characteristics of learning in free-choice settings
guest-centric (guest can choose what they want to engage in)
episodic
fluid/continuous
affective (move you emotionally)
visual/physical/concrete (hook them)
distracted
influenced by reason for visiting
Contextual model of learning (different factors that affect learning)
Personal context - what kind of values and beliefs do you already have
Socio-cultural context - usually visiting with people (going on a date, visiting friends)
physical context - what kind of interactive experiences
all this makes up the zoo experience
Personal Context
- prior knowledge
- values
- beliefs
- attitudes
- emotional state
-reason for visiting
important to know for educators to tailor the program or education
Identity-Related Visit Motivations
Explorer
Facilitator
Professional/Hobbyist
Experience Seeker
Recharger
Toronto zoo has mostly facilitators
Explorer
- personal curiosity
- it interested me and i thought i would like it
facilitator
- desire to facilitate other people’s needs
- others in my group would like it or benefit from the visit
Experience seeker
- desire to see and experience place
- it was an attraction or thing to do in this community; its reputation
Professional/Hobbyist
-specific knowledge-related goals
- it related to my work or something I actively pursue as a hobby
Recharger
- seeking contemplative or restorative experience
- to feel refreshed or focused or appreciative
Interpretation
- different types of techniques to reach a variety of audience
- emphasis on making connections between the visitors and the zoo’s messages
- constructivist in nature
- ex. have a life size tiger sign to see how big it is
Streams for reaching the audience
- formal education
- non-formal education
- informal education
Formal Education
- instruction at a school or learning style
- organized/lecture style
- more school related and follows the curriculum
Non-formal education
- organized educational activity outside of the formal system
- learning through a program
- more public and theme related
- no recognized qualification / certificate
Informal Education
- not organized/planned
- learning that results from daily experiences
- zoo visit, watching an animal
Outcome and indicators
Used to determine how much of an impact was made to the public
Types of outcomes
Awareness
attitude
knowledge
skills
behaviour
Awareness and its indicator
people recognize what they can do to help wildlife and wild spaces
indicator - guest identify 2 personal actions they can take to help wildlife
Attitude
people feel connected to nature
indicator - “my ideal vacation spot would be a remote, wilderness area”
Knowledge
people describe the connections between people, animals, and the environment
indicator - program participants are able to re-create a food chain
Skills
People share the Zoo’s conservation message with family and friends
Indicators - posting on social media
Behaviour
people explore natural spaces
Indicator - spending more time outside
Steps to stewardship
Curiousity (want to know more)
awareness (on my mind)
understanding (i think i care)
caring about (want to help)
caring for (i will help)
