OOS 04 - Inclusive Teaching Practices for More Equitable Field-Based Learning (original) (raw)

Abstract:
Aligned with this year’s meeting theme, “Ecology is Everywhere,” field-based experiences in higher education are as diverse in their settings as they are in the audiences they serve. We invite speakers who broadly consider immersive field-based learning experiences, and think critically about the range of challenges and opportunities they present to students of all backgrounds and identities. Students historically excluded from science have the potential to benefit from field-based courses through improved learning, motivation, science identity, and self-efficacy. A growing body of education research shows that inclusive field-based courses are effective tools to increase equity and inclusion in the sciences, yet there remains a disconnect between best teaching practices, field course design and implementation, and inclusive fieldwork for both ecological professionals and local communities. This session will offer tangible ways to close these gaps. Speakers from a diverse range of institutions, career stages, and identities will offer perspectives on a spectrum of work that ranges from conducting equitable fieldwork to implementing equitable field teaching practices, and bridging the relation between these perspectives in field-based teaching and learning.