Have you ever wondered about how education research is done? Have you ever thought about exploring more research questions in your education and outreach work? Well the Outreach and Education Research webinar is for you!
During the International Polar Week Dr. Sandra Zicus and APECS member Lars Poort will be sharing about their education research studies based in Greenland, Malaysia, Brazil and southern Chile.
Join us to learn more about how education research is done, how student and teacher concepts of nature is assessed, and what it can tell us about outreach that will help us shape more effective outreach and education programs.
When: Tuesday September 18th, 2012 at 1700 GMT
Where: APECS Online meeting system
How to join: email Jennifer Provencher at jennifpro at gmail.com to register
The role of English in fostering international understanding and collaboration to address issues of global concern (Sandra Zicus)
International collaboration is more important than ever before in an age of increasing globalisation, rapidly expanding population, and escalating stresses on our environmental and social resources. English has become the de facto international language for both science and government policy. How does this affect the perceptions of people in non-English speaking countries towards these issues, and their ability to participate in discussions and generation of solutions?
The ultimate goal of the research is to illuminate ways in which international environmental outreach programs can become more effective in promoting understanding of both environmental issues and the importance of local cultures and languages, as well as encouraging collaboration and cooperation in the generation of solutions to the issues.
Science education in the public schools of Greenland (Lars Poort)
Greenland is facing unprecedented international attention on its natural resources. Education in science and on what nature and environment is, is therefore of growing importance. One might ask: What is the goal of science education?
The project 'Science education in the public schools of Greenland' has a focus on how science is taught, and students' and teachers' concepts of nature and science. The project is a qualitative study, focusing on three diverse educational settings.
Bios
Sandra Zicus
In ‘past lives’, I have worked as a science and environmental educator and communicator with teachers, students, rural landowners, non-governmental organisations, and resource management agencies in Australia, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines and the United States. I earned my PhD in Geography from the University of Hawai’i in the Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology Program, and have always been intrigued by the way different parts of our world connect and interact.
I moved to Australia in 2002 and worked as a lecturer at the University of Queensland for three years before relocating to Tasmania. In Tasmania, I was involved in Antarctic research and education for six years through positions with the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE CRC) and the International Antarctic Institute (IAI). I also served as co-chair of the International Polar Year (IPY) Education, Outreach, and Communications subcommittee from 2006-2010. Because I want to find ways to improve communication and collaboration on global environmental issues, I decided to become a student again and pursue a PhD in the Faculty of Education at the University of Tasmania.
Lars Poort
As long as I can remember back, I have had a strong fascination for the Arctic/Antarctic. After having finished a teaching degree in geography and English in Denmark, I moved to the north of Greenland, and for six years I was a teacher at the school in Uummannaq, some 350 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle and at the school in Qaanaaq, a further 770 kilometres north. In between teaching hours I finished my MA in Education from the University of Greenland (Nuuk).
In 2008 I moved to Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, to take up a position as Science consultant at the Institute of Learning Processes. In the IPY-period I was a member of the IPY Education Working Group.
Science education in Greenland is facing challenges similar to other parts of the world – little pupil interest, unqualified teachers, and a school and time structure that often is experienced as being a hindrance for real experiments and outdoor science.
Beside a strict science education point of view, it is also imperative to have a focus on the fact that Greenland is on the brink of entering a new and different paradigm, that of the extractive industries. Much of current [science] education discourse is focused on feeding into this growing industry.
Because I want to find ways to heighten science education outcome, and answer questions on what science education is about, how nature and environment fit into science education – I decided to pursue a PhD at the Institute of Learning Processes, at the University of Greenland [Ilisimatusarfik].
