A major component of science instruction reform has been the promotion of authentic scientific experiences embedded in the concepts and questions taught for any discipline. The ideas discussed for ecology in the 4DEE framework are no different. Such experiences, especially when guided, enable learners to use newly acquired science concepts and skills in a practical and hence more meaningful context, while also providing a realistic picture of how science is done. Additionally, research has shown that students are also motivated and empowered by the opportunity to think about ways to collect, analyze, and interpret information. What is often omitted from the science classroom experience is any kind of rigorous treatment of claims from the social sciences. Often in environmental and ecological science instruction, students come to realize the importance of human dimensions of environmental issues; another construct highlighted in the 4DEE framework. However, the development of socio-scientific habits of mind and an understanding of the practices of social sciences are not often targets of instruction. Certainly, there are differences between the practices of ecological and social scientists, but there is also considerable overlap. Without critical consideration of social science claims, I argue that students cannot be intelligent consumers of information in the mass media or the social media and they cannot think about solutions and resolutions to current environmental problems. Finally, the ideas discussed above should be fully integrated into cross cutting themes such as systems thinking.
Results/Conclusions
In this talk, I will discuss a case study based on a course focused on decision-making in socio-ecological systems. In this course, I encourage students through the practice of modeling to not only learn about the complexity of socio-ecological issues directly but also to consider the nature of scientific evidence and the means by which scientific claims are supported in both the biophysical and the social science arenas. Topics involved in this course include conservation and environmental management, environmental policy, discussing social agendas, ecological economics and valuation environmental psychology and perceptions, and ecosystem function. Students participate in activities that are related to decision-making as individuals and as a member of a group and work to create systems level models that seek to capture complexity across social and natural systems. In general, students enjoyed the diversity of topics in this course. Appreciation for modeling however was mixed, yet models demonstrated learning gains in ways that more traditional course assessments did not.