Collaborative Learning and Global Education: Human-Environment Interactions in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Authored by Laura Brewington, Kim Engie, Carlos Mena

Date Published: 2013-09-01

DOI: 10.1080/00221341.2012.740066

Sponsors: UNC Center for Faculty Excellence

Platforms: NetLogo

Model Documentation: Other Narrative Flow charts

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

This article focuses on two innovative approaches to teaching human-environment interactions and international engagement in geography: (1) utilization of an agent-based model (ABM) at undergraduate levels to explicitly demonstrate complexity theories, and (2) implementation of a teaching experiment that connects students simultaneously enrolled in companion courses in North Carolina and in the Galapagos Islands through various multimedia and synthetic approaches to enrich a case study of conservation challenges to a World Heritage Site. Spatial simulation models are used to complement integrative geographic learning, to demand higher order skills of students and build critical thinking in college classes.

Tags

Agent-based model Galapagos Islands human-environment interactions scenario testing student engagement