An interdisciplinary approach to teaching ecology: An ecology-ethics learning community

An ecology course offered as part of a learning community provides an interdisciplinary option to students, linking two fields of study to create a fully integrated learning experience. Through funding provided by a grant from the Department of Education, faculty at Lehigh Carbon Community College developed a variety of learning communities, including the one described here. This learning community links two courses: Topics in Ecology and Introduction to Ethics. The objective of this learning community is to provide a learning environment where students gain an understanding of ecology and ethics, and evaluate environmental issues from both an ethical and a scientific perspective. Connections created between the disciplines offer students an integrated perspective constructed through the development of critical thinking skills. Instructors collaborate to create the schedule, reading and writing assignments, and class discussion topics. In the Ecology course, basic ecological topics such as food chains, biogeochemical cycles, community interactions, population ecology, and biodiversity are presented to establish an understanding of ecology as a science. In the Ethics course, western perspectives such as Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics and John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism, and eastern perspectives such as Buddhism and Taoism are examined. Within this framework, students apply ethical theories and reasoning to issues such as pollution, climate change, invasive species, deforestation, and endangered species. The study of each subject is enhanced by its connection to the other, thus fully integrating the two subjects. The synergistic effect results in a classroom experience related to real-world personal and global ecological issues.