Institutions of higher education are positioned to influence students in becoming informed and action-minded citizens for sustainable change. There are studies that inform best pedagogical practice for undergraduates and studies that validate different objectives that college-aged students retain over time. However, there is a lack of inquiry linking curriculum design and learning outcomes. Student learning is influenced by both the learning landscape, or the general curricular and programmatic features that impact overall student experience, and the program design, or the specific curriculum in which a student embarks. The result of these influences, as defined by the researchers, are emergent learning outcomes, which are program specific and have lasting effects on students. Emergent outcomes in environmental education can include cognitive learning, the increase in environmental subject matter knowledge, and affective learning, the increase in environmental awareness, attitudes, values, and behaviors. The researchers conducted interviews to understand 1) the learning outcomes as described by alumni participants of a community-based study abroad program; 2) the program components and pedagogies that facilitated participant learning; and, 3) the impact of the program on the cognitive and affective development of the participants over time.
The Department of Environment Studies at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, United States hosts an Africa Foreign Study Program (AFSP) for undergraduates that immerses students in natural resource conservation and management in South Africa and Namibia. This 3 course and 10-week study abroad experience is focused on community engagement and hands-on learning approaches. Prior to students going abroad, they take a foundation course in which they choose their research topic for the program abroad and conduct literature reviews on the subject. Then, when the students are in South Africa and Namibia, they take two courses that engage them directly with the local communities that face various natural resource conservation conflicts and those that manage natural resources. For example, the students may interview the local community about the effects of invasive species. Further, the students focus on the relationships between society, economics, and environment in the local community as the community tries to manage its resources. Overall, the AFSP uses a social-ecological framework throughout the study abroad term.
The researchers interviewed 31 alumni that participated in AFSP during their time as undergraduates between 2013 and 2017. The interviews lasted about an hour each and were held on the phone, virtually, or in person. The researchers used open-ended questions in the interviews that focused on their learning experience during AFSP, and the objectives of both the program and their alma mater. For the latter, the alumni were asked to verbally rate their subject matter increase for specific learning outcomes between 1 and 4, 1 being no knowledge gain and 4 being significant knowledge gain. The researchers recorded and transcribed each interview, and analyzed the data for themes (10) and sub-themes (38) to illuminate the connection between program structure and student outcomes.
From the analysis, the researchers determined the learning landscape was made of 12 main elements that fell within 4 main components: 1) structures and pedagogy; 2) student activities; 3) outcomes; and, 4) emergent outcomes. Within structures and pedagogy, they found four elements. For example, the results showed a novel living and learning environment, such as South Africa and Namibia, and exposure to diverse narratives helped the participants apply theory from literature reviews to an actual community situation and confront the complexities community members face when managing natural resources. Further, the alumni shared having space for reflection, such as journaling, and their assignments helped them engage in active learning. Not only were these two elements part of the program structure and pedagogy, but also, they were activities actively endorsed during the program. The interviews also revealed four affective and cognitive learning outcomes in the program: personal growth, interpersonal growth, content knowledge gain, and ethical reasoning development. Finally, they found student reflection and engagement with complexity were the two emergent learning outcomes as part of learning at the landscape level. Reflection is a skill that is not so much taught in the program, yet its growth is facilitated through activities. The program intended for students to understand complex systems; engaging in complexity was a surprising and affirming result. The researchers concluded all learning components are reciprocal. They also found the cognitive and affective development in the participants was affected by both the program design and teaching strategies.
There were limitations in this study. The researchers acknowledged they did not account for the psychological conditions that may have affected participation during the program. For example, there may have been constraints for some students that inhibited their ability to fully immerse themselves in the learning landscape or fully engage during certain activities. AFSP is specific to Dartmouth College and the communities in which they serve. Therefore, these results may not be applicable to other experiential college programs. Finally, the researchers did not mention any condition variability between the AFSP trips, such as current conservation issues and community member participants, which may have affected some alumni experiences and perspectives.
Based on the interview data, the researchers suggested learning is complex and has many dimensions. Further, they suggested AFSP was successful in creating long-term impacts on the students that participated as undergraduates. The researchers recommended program designers and faculty incorporate similar structure and pedagogy as well as activities, such as reflection and working with the community instead of on or for the community, to obtain similar learning outcomes in students. A program that considers both its own features and the landscape in which the student learns will support cognitive and affective learning, encouraging a more sustainable future through the values and behaviors of its participants.
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