Abstract ID: 511

Preparing Graduate Students to Address Research, Global Change, and Public Policy: An Experience from SW Amazonia

Currently, the Brazilian Amazon is home to 10% of the Brazilian population and 60% of Brazil’s land area but only a small fraction of its scientists with graduate degrees. In the face of climate change, deforestation, and biodiversity loss, the region is in desperate need of highly qualified environmental professionals who will be able to deal with these issues. Given the paucity of professionals, it becomes even more important to ensure that Amazonian graduates gain the critical-thinking, problem-solving, and team-working skills necessary to develop creative solutions for the region’s environmental problems. As part of the masters program in Ecology and Natural Resource Management at the Federal University of Acre (UFAC), we developed an introductory course, Quantitative Reasoning for the Environmental Sciences, to help initiate this process. Held in a field classroom and based on hands-on group activities, the course aimed to improve critical-thinking, problem-solving, quantitative-thinking skills and peer collaboration whilst giving students an introduction to global change issues. Students participated in activities ranging from estimating carbon stocks in a forest plot using calibrated hands, string, and notepads to explaining the operational definition of “forest” to a Martian. The course emphasized a metacognition approach where students were asked to question concepts, such as the application of Euclidian geometry to a spherical Earth, in order to reconstruct new concepts based upon more complete understanding of underlying issues. Students were asked to imagine their thesis defenses and respond to the question “why should we trust your results?” Pre- and post-course exams and oral evaluations indicated that students improved their understanding of key concepts, such as separating cause from correlation, hypothesis testing, accuracy assessment, and literature analysis. In the student evaluation of the course, many cited its importance in helping them reevaluate concepts, improve critical thinking, and widen their horizons; however, they considered that the course was too short to allow full assimilation of the material presented.

Session:  Public Policies and Sustainable Development - Development, conservation, and policy-making in Amazonia: contributions from scientific programs.

Presentation Type:  Oral