Diversifying Ecology Education for Everyone Through More Inclusive, Interdisciplinary, and Accessible Teaching

Abstract

Educating more students about ecology and its beneficial applications to societal issues is urgent yet challenging. To address this challenge, diversifying ecology education is a key way to make ecology more inclusive, accessible, and interdisciplinary for more people than ever. Advancing this goal requires ecology educators to develop a more expansive view of (1) how to engage more diverse undergraduate students in ecology courses, especially those from historically underrepresented groups and non-majors, (2) the interdisciplinarity of content in those courses, and (3) the learner-centered pedagogies used to engage students. We suggest ways that ecologists can advance “ecology education for everyone” including focusing on connecting ecology to students' everyday lives and local (urbanized) places; applying ecology to solving problems in social–ecological systems; introducing students to the diversity of worldviews about science and nature; and adopting authentic teaching practices such as course-based undergraduate research, service learning, and reflective practices. Through such efforts, ecology education can become more positivistic and pluralistic and help students better appreciate the value of ecology for society and use their ecological literacy to engage in improving local communities and ecosystems. Successful diversification of ecology education should also benefit the discipline of ecology as more diverse students decide to take more ecology courses, potentially pursue ecology-related careers, and support ecologically based decision-making for a more sustainable and environmentally just future for all people.