PEDAGOGY
This style of learning brings students into a di erent classroom, one that must be as accessible as the facilities on campus. The challenge, meanwhile, is a mental one – students can find it unfamiliar and uncomfortable, particularly for those with neurodiversity issues. For instance, I recently encountered a neurodiverse student who was very uncomfortable with deviating from teaching norms. All learners must be accommodated so, after some discussion, I modified some aspects of the course. The student also resolved to give it a go and, ultimately, they got a lot out of the experience. I found it was better to redesign elements across the board, rather than have a few students experience the course di erently. This way, we do not emphasise di erences but make the experience accessible for everyone. Another key distinction from the character-building approach is that ecopedagogy encourages collaboration rather than competition. While competition can be healthy, it is intrinsically exclusive and that is not what the approach is all about. Keeping it simple Ecopedagogy does not require huge amounts of cash, or an army of risk assessors and first aiders. By using the built environment and short campus field trips, the principle can be built into almost any course. My journey began with a very simple impulse. Five years ago, looking at the glazed eyes of a dozen risk students, I said: “OK everyone, I want you to get up, go outside and do a risk assessment of hazards on campus.” When the students got back after 40 minutes they were refreshed and alert and they knew how to do a risk assessment in practice. What started as an elaborate leg stretch is now central to all my teaching. In essence, it is no riskier to walk across campus than it is to get to the lecture theatre. I should add that the students I described did not spring to their feet and skip outdoors joyfully. There was resistance and some confusion. The best way to counter this is to introduce the idea early on in a course. I have an ecopedagogy slot in every lecture, so from week one students become accustomed to leaving the ‘comfort’ of their seats for a simple task. I link this to journaling, so a record is kept and, where possible, I also link this to a student’s summative assessment, as it provides motivation and acceptance of the technique. The importance of staying safe I will end on a warning: if your ecopedagogy project involves some element of additional risk, you will need to double down on your planning. I have witnessed some unsafe outdoor events – fortunately, the unsafe practice in these instances did not lead to any accidents, but the potential was large. It is tempting to rely on learners’ own sense of safety but, in all honesty, you cannot make any assumptions about that. What is more, you will want your learners to engage in the task and not be distracted by other considerations. To achieve this, you need to create a safe space for learning. This means minimising
risk through proper risk assessment. If your aim is to go boldly into the wilderness, I salute you, but ensure you have su cient first aiders, good crowd control (people get lost very easily) and learn about your institution’s set up with regards to risk and liability. Another, more straightforward approach is to ensure that your teaching does not introduce any additional risks to students’ normal activities. The campus field trip is a good example of this. Breaking out of the comfort zone In my short time of standing in the rain alluded to at the start of this article, I did not see any delivery drivers at all. As it turned out, my campus field trip theme in this particular case was a bad one and I had to rethink the whole idea around a supermarket chain which was there and going nowhere. However, time on site is never wasted and I always visit my outdoor sites in person before I finalise any plans. Ecopedagogy is a growing and exciting way of teaching, but like all fresh ideas and all good teaching, preparation is key. Sometimes, academics will cite teaching preparation as a reason not to do something. However, this line of argument leads us back to the 10-year-old slide decks that get resurrected each year. Business school graduates need to be thoughtful, critical and reflective observers and – to put it succinctly – PowerPoint will not get them there.
BIOGRAPHY Dr Matt O ord is a senior lecturer in leadership and management education at Adam Smith Business School at the University of Glasgow. A learning and teaching specialist, O ord’s focus is on ecopedagogy in management education, something that involves breaking out of the classroom and learning about the world by being in the world. O ord teaches online, on campus and with business partners
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Ambition DECEMBER 2023/JANUARY 2024
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