WK 25 - Creating a Place for Critical Pedagogy in Ecology Education

Thursday, August 18, 2022

11:45 AM – 1:15 PM EDT

Location: Virtual Session (Zoom)

Organizer(s)

KR

Kennedy F. Rubert-Nason, chemical ecologist and educator

Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Division of Natural Sciences, University of Maine at Fort Kent
Fort Kent, Maine, United States

Co-organizer(s)

AC

Aramati Casper

Colorado State University
Fort Collins, Colorado, United States
MF

Michael Friedman

American International College of Arts and Sciences in Antigua
St. John, United States
KH

Katherine Hannibal

California State University at Northridge, United States
RN

Robert Newman, Newman, Ph.D.

Professor
University of North Dakota
Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States
BQ

Brandon A. Quintana

MS Student
California State University, Fullerton
Lynwood, California, United States
SR

Scott Rush

Mississippi State University, United States

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Session Description: Since 2017, multiple Ecological Society of America conference sessions have focused on harnessing the power of relationships with communities to catalyze socio-ecological changes necessary to overcome global change threats. This workshop builds on those efforts by bringing together people with interest or expertise in education, traditional ecological knowledge, environmental justice, communication, engagement, diversity and inclusion to co-create a critical pedagogical framework for ecology education. Through this framework, academics and scientists can engage with social movements, community organizations, institutions and other efforts to confront our biospheric crises. Critical pedagogy leverages the power of contrasting narratives and collective action and reflection (i.e., praxis) to create awareness of power relations to affect social change, thereby paving a pathway that empowers all people to overcome threats posed by climate and landscape modification, biodiversity loss, pollution, extreme events and resource depletion. The goals of the workshop are to: 1) Introduce participants to the theory and practice of critical pedagogy, 2) Articulate a rationale for using critical pedagogy to promote environmental justice and stewardship, 3) Develop a list of priority areas to advance using critical pedagogy in formal and informal learning environments, and 4) Identify challenges and opportunities for innovation. Workshop participants will be invited to form a working group that will 5) Co-create and publish a theory of change that promotes integration of critical pedagogy into existing environmental learning frameworks, in order to empower people to overcome challenges posed by biospheric crises through engagement with social movements, community organizations, and larger institutions.