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Evaluating Course Impact on Student Environmental Values in Undergraduate Ecology with a Novel Survey Instrument

The authors of this TIEE Research Paper investigated the effect their teaching had on the environmental attitudes and values of undergraduate students. Specifically, they wanted to know if student-active teaching approaches had an effect on attitude changes and whether or not those attitude changes were accompanied by a change in understanding of the underlying ecological principles. They used two survey instruments to assess student attitudes at the beginning and at the completion of a course. They coupled an established survey instrument (New Ecological Paradigm: NEP) with one they developed specifically for the study (Environmental Conflict Overview: ECO) to determine if attitude changes were consistent and to assess specific dimensions of attitude changes. The ECO survey asks students to respond to stakeholder perspectives in specific environmental issues. This study was done at two quite different institutions, which allowed the authors to examine responses of a wide range of students. Results showed consistent changes in attitude with both survey instruments at both schools. The ECO instrument also provided valuable insight into specific aspects of student attitudes that changed most. Results showed a significant reduction in students’ anthropocentrism and a reduced emphasis on economic valuation in resolving stakeholder conflicts. Students also demonstrated increased understanding of underlying ecological principles. Quantitative results on the impact of specific student-active teaching methods were equivocal, though free-responses did reveal preference for course topics captured in such activities. The authors suggest that that the combined surveys provide an effective method for assessing changes in student attitudes and therefore can be used as a powerful teaching tool.
Associated files
Format
Resource Group TIEE
Resource Group Link https://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=SearchResults&F46=TIEE
Primary or BEN resource type
Discipline Specific Core Concepts
Life science discipline (subject)
Keywords research practitioner; TIEE; environmental attitude; environmental value; new ecological paradigm; environmental conflict overview
Audience
Intended End User Role
Language
Educational Language
Pedagogical Use Category
Pedagogical Use Description The article is a useful resource for faculty who are teaching ecology, environmental science, or environmental ethics, since the authors describe the attitude changes in their students. Of particular note is the survey that integrates ecological concepts with environmental attitudes that the authors developed for the study. The article is also a useful resource for faculty who are interested in using student-active teaching methods and assessing them, since the authors describe their methods and provide some of the resources they used in the classroom on the TIEE website. This article was published in Volume 5 of TIEE.
Aggregation Level
Structure
Url http://tiee.esa.org/vol/v5/research/humston/article.html
Full Name of Primary Author Robert Humston
Primary Author Controlled Name
Primary Author Affiliation Virginia Military Institute, Dept. of Biology

Phoenix College, Dept. of Biology
Primary Author email humstonr@vmi.edu

elena.ortiz-barney@pcmail.maricopa.edu
Added By Id
  • educationintern
Rights Copyright 2007 by Robert Humston, Elena Ortiz-Barney, and the Ecological Society of America.
License
Publisher
Review type
Drought and Water Ecosystem Services Collection Off
Conservation Targets Under Global Change Collection Off
Big Data Collection Off
Editors Choice No
Resource Status
Date Of Record Submission 2007-10-23
I Agree to EcoEdDL's Copyright Policy & Terms of Use No
Date Of Record Release 2010-02-16 01:30:29
Last Modified By Id
  • educationintern
Date Last Modified 2018-07-25 11:11:49
Release Flag Published

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