Outdoor learning

Navigating on a Kayak: Transcending Disciplinary Boundaries in Sustainability Education

cdtlsd Lighting Talks , , , , ,

Eunice S. Q. NG* and YONG Jia Yu
Ridge View Residential College (RVRC)

*e.ng@nus.edu.sg

 

Ng, E. S. Q., & Yong, J. Y. (2023). Navigating on a kayak: Transcending disciplinary boundaries in sustainability education. [Lightning talk]. In Higher Education Campus Conference (HECC) 2023, 7 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecc2023proceedings/navigating-on-a-kayak-transcending-disciplinary-boundaries-in-sustainability-education/

SUB-THEME

Interdisciplinarity and Education

 

KEYWORDS

Interdisciplinary education, sustainability education, environmental stewardship, experiential learning, outdoor learning

 

CATEGORY

Lightning Talks 

 

ABSTRACT

The pressing sustainability crisis has resulted in an increasing number of educational institutions integrating sustainability into their formal curriculum as a way to develop sustainability-oriented attitudes among the youth of today (Leal Filho et. al., 2019). Yet, sustainability education is focused on providing students with a cognitive understanding of issues and challenges in sustainability from a specific discipline’s perspective (Kim & Coonan, 2023). As a result, sustainability education often overlooks leveraging the power of affective reactivity towards sustainability to promote deeper appreciation of sustainability and motivate sustainable behaviour (Brosch & Steg, 2021). Transcending disciplinary boundaries to foster students’ fundamental connectedness to nature – defined as “individuals’ sense of oneness with, and belonging to, their natural environment” (Coughlan et al., 2022, p. 1)—is vital to holistically developing their sustainability-oriented attitudes (Maller, 2018; Nisbet & Zelenski, 2013).

 

As a way to develop students’ connectedness to nature, Ridge View Residential College (RVRC) organised RV Kayak and Clean (RVKC), which provides marine trash clean-up experiences to undergraduate students. Offered beyond the formal academic curriculum, RVKC enables students from multidisciplinary backgrounds to have a common yet personal experience of being in direct contact with nature. Specifically, RVKC aims to achieve three student learning outcomes:

  1. Learn about the biodiversity within Singapore’s mangroves,
  2. Appreciate the extent of marine pollution in Singapore, and
  3. Relate the importance of sustainable living to individuals’ personal lifestyles.

 

First, students develop a deeper appreciation of Singapore’s biodiversity by kayaking through mangroves with explanations of wildlife sighting. Experienced kayak guides facilitate student learning by explaining the importance of mangrove ecosystems, allowing students to discover flora and fauna native to mangrove biomes. For example, students saw a Great Blue Heron and its nestling, a Strangler Fig Tree, and mud lobsters on a trip in February 2023, leading a student to reflect on “how important it is for us to preserve and protect nature for wildlife for future generations to be able to still kayak this route”.

Sea lettuce almost mistaken by participants as green plastic trash bag floating on water.
Figure 1. Sea lettuce almost mistaken by participants as green plastic trash bag floating on water.

 

Second, RVKC provides students with a first-hand experience in witnessing the extent of marine trash pollution, especially in hard-to-access areas around Singapore’s waterways and nearby islands. With students’ direct involvement in collecting marine debris, they obtain a visual representation of the impact of marine pollution. A recent trip in January 2023 saw 77kg of marine trash collected by 20 participants within half an hour (Figure 2). Trash collected is weighed and reported to Ocean Conservancy, which encourages students that their clean-up has made a difference, and reminds them that marine pollution is a far-reaching and ongoing problem.

Trash collected from a trip to Seletar Island weighed 77kg.
Figure 2. Trash collected from a trip to Seletar Island weighed 77kg.

 

Figure 3. Participants pulling out a fishing net entangled on Pulau Ubin’s shore.
Figure 3. Participants pulling out a fishing net entangled on Pulau Ubin’s shore.

 

RVKC also aims to facilitate personal appreciation and connection to the need for sustainable living. For example, students witnessed the rural, disconnected lifestyle by remaining residents on Pulau Ubin on one of the kayak trails. This facilitated site observation led students to rethink their assumptions: both that their current urban way of life and consumption levels are ideal, and how they can apply sustainable practices to their lives even without modern amenities.

Participants interacted with Ah Ma at her residence in Pulau Ubin.
Figure 4. Participants interacted with Ah Ma at her residence in Pulau Ubin.

 

RVKC allowed students to experience nature while being confronted with difficult issues of marine trash and personal lifestyle changes to be made for sustainability. Being in direct contact with nature has been effective in activating students’ affective response towards Singapore’s biodiversity and sustainability, transcending disciplinary backgrounds to foster their human- nature relationship instead.

 

REFERENCES

Brosch, T., & Steg, L. (2021). Leveraging emotion for sustainable action. One Earth, 4(12), 1693–1703. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2021.11.006

Coughlan, A., Ross, E., Nikles, D., De Cesare, E., Tran, C., & Pensini, P. (2022). Nature guided imagery: An intervention to increase connectedness to nature. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 80, 101759. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101759

Kim, E., & Coonan, T. (2023). Advancing sustainability education through a cross-disciplinary online course: Sustainability and human rights in the business world. Sustainability, 15(6), 4759. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15064759

Leal Filho, W., Shiel, C., Paço, A., Mifsud, M., Ávila, L. V., Brandli, L. L., Molthan-Hill, P., Pace, P., Azeiteiro, U. M., Vargas, V. R., & Caeiro, S. (2019). Sustainable Development Goals and sustainability teaching at universities: Falling behind or getting ahead of the pack? Journal of Cleaner Production, 232, 285–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.05.309

Maller, C. (2018, August 1). Embracing the chaos: By transcending disciplinary boundaries researchers can reconceptualise human-nature relations. London School of Economics. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2018/08/01/embracing-the-chaos-by-transcending- disciplinary-boundaries-researchers-can-reconceptualise-human-nature-relations/

Nisbet, E. K., & Zelenski, J. M. (2013). The NR-6: A new brief measure of nature relatedness. Frontiers in Psychology, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00813

 

Taking Students Out of Their Comfort Zone Through Experiential Learning: A Case Study from RVC1001

NUS CDTL Paper Presentations , , ,

Patricia LORENZ
Ridge View Residential College
plorenz@nus.edu.sg  


Lorenz, P. (2023). Taking students out of their comfort zone through experiential learning: A case study from RVC1001 [Paper presentation]. In Higher Education Campus Conference (HECC) 2023, 7 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecc2023proceedings/taking-students-out-of-their-comfort-zone-through-experiential-learning-a-case-study-from-rvc1001/  

 

KEYWORDS

Outdoor learning, experiential learning, community interviews 

 

CATEGORY

Paper Presentation 

 

ABSTRACT

This paper presentation in the sub-theme of “Communities and Education” examines the benefits of taking students outside their comfort zone in their interactions with people from different backgrounds and their culture in order to facilitate deep learning. While Little India lies at the heart of Singapore, many Singaporean students have never visited the area or engaged with the people who gather there. Singapore is home to more than a million Work Permit Holders, of which nearly half work in the construction industry and a majority of these originate from Bangladesh and India. Yet, most Singaporeans have rather sporadic or even no contact with members of these communities, and know little or nothing of their respective cultures. 

 

RVC1001 “The Rocky Road to SDGs” is a newly created course in the Cultures and Connections pillar of the NUS General Education (GE) Programme that focuses on the social pillar of sustainability and explores how culture might be a hindrance to achieving the UN Sustainability  

 

Development Goals (SDGs). With a focus on experiential learning, students are taken on two field trips to Little India and the Bangla Market. During the first field trip, students are tasked to observe and document physical signs of culture in the area. The second field trip engages students in extensive community interviews with migrant workers in Little India and the Bangla Market. Such engagements challenge students to go beyond their personal comfort zone and to engage with people from very different cultural backgrounds and walks of life. Through the course and the field trips, students are tasked to examine their own cultural norms, values, and perceptions, while discovering the culture and values of others. 

 

Such experiential learning experiences can be extremely daunting to students, especially when they have to engage strangers in interviews. Yet, these authentic first-hand experiences cannot be replicated in conventional classroom settings and were therefore deemed an important component of the course. As such, several techniques were developed to facilitate meaningful outdoor learning without overpowering the students. Firstly, the students worked in teams of three to five (depending on class size) and were required to work in their teams at all times during the field trips. Having fixed teams throughout the semester fosters a sense of belonging and provides a feeling of security during the field trips. Secondly, the first field trip took students to Little India and the Bangla Market to explore the area and its visible aspects of culture during class time. For this field trip, each group was provided with a map and a route they were instructed to walk. This first field trip therefore provided an initial point of contact and familiarised students with the area. The second field trip then built on these experiences and added the engagement with members of the community on a Sunday afternoon. As such, the learning experiences were scaffolded and built on each other. Thirdly, both field trips are embedded in the overall course schedule in such a manner that students were discussing relevant SDGs, such as SDG8 “Fair Work and Economic Growth”, prior to the outdoor learning sessions. Lastly, both field trips are the subject of a reflective photo essay which illustrates the students’ personal learning journeys. In combination, these measures assure that students can be taken out of their comfort zones and be engaged in experiential learning that provides valuable additions to classroom learning. 

 
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