The Role of Triple Loop Learning in Fostering Future Conservation Leaders: Assessing High-Impact Practices

Authors

  • Eddie Hill Old Dominion University
  • Chris A. B. Zajchowski
  • Hans-Peter Plag
  • Tatyana Lobova

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18666/JOREL-2023-11394

Keywords:

High-impact practice, conservation, leadership

Abstract

Higher education institutions identify and support practices that enhance student engagement and increase student success. In this article, we explored student learning facilitated through High Impact Practices (HIPs) (i.e., in-class undergraduate research, service learning, internships) integrated in the Sustainability & Conservation Leadership Minor at Old Dominion University. In this new transdisciplinary minor, which was developed in partnership with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, cohorts of students share three mandatory courses, including a capstone internship. Post-internship reflections were coded using triple loop learning theory, which identifies individuals’ values, beliefs, and ideologies. Results indicate students identified the internship as essential for career discernment and agency literacy, as well as inter- and intra-personal awareness to address sustainability challenges. The results underline that the impact of HIPs can be amplified if multiple HIPs are integrated in a comprehensive program addressing real-world problems through experiential learning within and outside of the classroom.

Author Biography

Eddie Hill, Old Dominion University

Park, Recreation and Tourism Studies

References

Association of American Colleges & Universities. (2018). Chart of High-Impact Practices. Retrieved from https://www.aacu.org/sites/default/files/files/LEAP/HIP_tables.pdf on October 27, 2018.

Biggs, D., Abel, N., Knight, A. T., Leitch, A., Langston, A., & Ban, N. C. (2011). The implementation crisis in conservation planning: Could mental models help? Conservation Letters, 4, 169-183.

Blithe, S. J. (2016). Teaching intercultural communication through service-learning. Communication Teacher, 30(3), 165-171.

Bohlander, K. (2010). Enhancing critical thinking through service-learning as a consultative process. Development in Business Simulations and Experiential Learning, 37(1), 293-300.

Carley, K., & Palmquist, M. (1992) Extracting, representing and analyzing mental models. Social Forces, 70, 601– 636.

Currie-Mueller, J. & Littlefield, R. S. (2017). Embracing service-learning opportunities: Student perceptions of service-learning as an aid to effectively learn course material. Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 18(1), 25-42.

Elliott, C. & Balasubramanyam, V. (2016). Assessing students: Real-world analyses underpinned by economic theory. Cogent Economics & Finance, 4(1), 11511171. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2016.1151171.

Flanagan C. & Levine, P. (2010). Civic engagement and the transition to adulthood. Future Child, 20(1), 159-179.

Flecky, K. (2011). Foundations of service-learning. In K. Flecky & L. Gitlow (Eds.), Service-learning in occupational therapy education: Philosophy and practice, (pp. xxv, 309 p.). Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Goff, J. Bower, J., & Hill, E. (2014). Impacts of service-learning on undergraduate teaching assistants in an after-school program: A qualitative approach to discovery. Illuminare, 12(1), 28-45.

Goff, J., Hill, E., Eckhoff, A., Dice, T. (2020). Examining the high-impact practice of service-learning: Written reflections of undergraduate recreation majors. Schole DOI: 10.1080/1937156X.2020.1720444

Guilfoile, L. & Delander, B. (2014). Guidebook: Six proven practices for effective civic learning. Education Commission of the States, 1-34. Retrieved from http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/01/10/48/11048.pdf.

Knight, A. T., Cowling, R. M., Campbell, B. M. ( 2006) An operational model for implementing conservation action. Conservation Biology, 20, 408– 419.

Knight, A. T., Cowling, R. M., Rouget, M., Balmford, A., Lombard, A. T., Campbell, B. M. ( 2008).Knowing but not doing: selecting priority conservation areas and the research?implementation gap. Conservation Biology, 22, 610– 617.

Kuh, G. D. (2008). High-Impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Littlefield, R. S., Rick, J. M. & Currie-Mueller, J. L. (2016). Connecting intercultural communication service learning with general education: Issues, outcomes, and assessments. Journal of General Education, 65(1), 66-84. https://doi.org/10.5325/jgeneeduc.65.1.0066.

Lowe, T.D., & Lorenzoni, I. ( 2007) Danger is all around: eliciting expert perceptions for managing climate change through a mental models approach. Global Environmental Change, 17, 131– 146.

McHugh, M. L. (2012). Interrater reliability: The kappa statistic. Biochemia Medica. 22(3), 276-282.

Saldaña, J. (2013). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Science Education Resource Center (2018). Why use Service-learning? Starting Point-Teaching Level Geoscience: Carelton College. Retrieved from https://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/service/why.html.

Stolley, K., Collins, T., Clark, P., Hotaling, D., & Takacs, R. C. (2017). Taking the learning from service-learning into the postcollege world. Journal of Applied Social Science, 11(2), 109-126. https://doi.org/10.1177/1936724417722579.

Torney-Purta, J., Cabrera, J. C. Roohr K. C., Liu, O. L., & Rios, J. A. (2015). Assessing civic competency and engagement in higher education: Research background, frameworks, and directions for next-generation assessment (Research Report No. RR-15-34). Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/es2.12081.

Wrenn, J. & Wrenn B. (2009). Enhancing learning by integrating theory and practice. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 21(2), 258-265

Downloads

Published

2023-01-15

Issue

Section

Special Issue: Fostering a Culture of Sustainability through Outdoor Recreation