In Practice: Teaching Environmental American Studies in a Time of Crisis

I have been thinking a lot about environmental pedagogy in American studies, especially since I started teaching a third-year interdisciplinary course, Climate Change & Culture Wars, which focusses on the post-1970s US. I wanted to know more about how others are approaching the topic as we face up to looming climate and ecological collapse. University teachers and learners across disciplines are reckoning with it, but what's going on in American studies in Britain, and what can we learn from each other and from teachers elsewhere? How is the crisis impacting on the framing of our disciplinary fields and how are we incorporating its intellectual and practical demands into pedagogic spaces and syllabi?

Effects of an Interdisciplinary Course on Pre-Service Primary Teachers’ Content Knowledge and Academic Self-Concepts in Science and Technology–A Quantitative Longitudinal Study

Primary school teachers need adequate professional knowledge and motivational orientations to qualify scientifically and technologically literate students. Previous studies have focused on the impact of coursework on (pre-service) primary teachers’ content knowledge, rather than on the development of academic self-concepts. In addition, the influence of the course format and the major field of study has not been investigated much to this date. Thus, this study examines the effects of an interdisciplinary course on pre-service primary teachers’ content knowledge and academic self-concepts in science and technology using a quasi-experimental, quantitative, pre-post-follow-up design (n = 202). Whilst no significant changes in knowledge were revealed for the baseline group not participating in the course, significant short-term and long-term cognitive gains were found for the experimental group. Biology-, chemistry-, physics- and technology-related self-concepts increased significantly when participating in the course. The results also indicate that the course format and major field of study can have an impact on the development of pre-service teachers’ professional knowledge. Regarding the development of academic self-concepts in the experimental group, it can be assumed that both the weekly and block course format are beneficial for heterogeneous learner groups consisting of pre-service teachers with different major fields of study.

Interprofessional Learning in an Online Programme: A SWOT Analysis

The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has forced educators individually, and educational institutions collectively, to rethink their teaching and assessment modes. Several universities have seen a sudden shift from traditional face to face teaching and learning to online approaches. The aim of this case study is to share the authors’ experience in the design, coordination, delivery and evaluation of a fully online post-registration programme. Now in its twelfth year, this is an interdisciplinary course and caters for qualified health professionals from various sectors and with various levels of experience seeking a baccalaureate qualification. The paper uses the SWOT analysis technique to highlight the programme’s strengths and weaknesses, and to reflect on its opportunities for, and threats to, further development. In so doing, it discusses some considerations underpinning the shift from a face to face to an online, mainly asynchronous, mode of delivery for this post-registration academic top-up programme. The paper explains the challenges encountered and the lessons learnt through feedback from the students, stakeholders, and external examiners. The good practices that were developed as a result, including strategies to foster a community of learners, may be of interest to, and applied by, educators in other settings.

Bioethics as an Anthropological Challenge

The subject of the proposed paper is the disclosure of prerequisites and determinants of the implementation of the soteriological concept of studying the interdisciplinary course of bioethics, the structural model and synectic algorithm of its comprehension and epistemological map of formation of soteriological competence of the future specialist during the study of bioethics. The methodological basis for the implementation of the proposed project is the theory of research-oriented professional education (Inquiry Based Science Education) and, thereafter, technology of advanced learning (Technology Enhanced Learning), which provide wide opportunities to study the course of bioethics in the form of observation of remote virtual experiments on the portal Go-Lab; GRAASP environment for the implementation of author's developments and pedagogically structured programs in the process of performative interaction between teacher and students. The scientific novelty of the material is to substantiate the content of anthropological competencies of future specialists in biomedical specialties and the strategies of obtaining them on the basis of the principles of hermeneutic didactics. Conclusions. Today, obviously, the task of bioethics is not only to protect nature and human life, but also to participate in the realization of the high mission of Salvation. This defines the research field of bioethics as a space of secret dialogue, in which it is desirable to find a place not only for the voice of clinicians, pharmacists, engineers, philosophers, public figures, but also the pastoral voice of the Church.

METHODOLOGY FOR TEACHING AN INTERDISCIPLINARY COURSE IN ECOLOGY IN 5TH–9TH GRADES OF A SECONDARY SCHOOL

Statement of the problem. The relevance of the study is determined by the social order of modern society for the training of students who are able to quickly adapt to changing environment, apply the knowledge gained in practice, and be active in mastering educational material. All of this can be achieved with the help of interdisciplinary academic courses that contribute to the achievement of metadisciplinary results required by the Federal State Educational Standard of Basic General Education. The pedagogical experiment was aimed at testing and evaluating the effectiveness of this method. The purpose of the article is to develop a methodology for teaching an interdisciplinary course in Ecology in the 5th–9th grades of a secondary school and to experimentally prove its efficacy. The research methodology consists of the analysis and synthesis of normative legal documents in the field of basic general education, scientific works of foreign and Russian scientists, experience in teaching Ecology in the 5th–9th grades. Research results. An interdisciplinary academic course in Ecology for the 5th–9th grades was developed and tested, the indicators of qualitative and quantitative performance of students before and after studying the course were analyzed. Conclusion. The interdisciplinary academic course in Ecology for the 5th–9th grades includes elements of N.B. Shumakova’s interdisciplinary teaching methodology and the following integrated concepts: system, science, force, adaptation, and interconnection. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the proof that interdisciplinary interaction in a general education institution allows achieving meta-disciplinary educational results that increase the quality of academic performance.