Universities are privileged places to explore new learning practices aimed at preparing students for their roles of future researchers, scholars, planning experts. Strong is the need to develop academic curricula more responsible oriented towards the needs of the society. The actual system must respond to societal issues in an ethical, transparent and inclusive way, allowing for the engagement of stakeholders to dialogue and encouraging reflection. We present here an experiment carried out within an Environmental Science university course of Geomorphology of coastal systems, where a group of students was involved in a public engagement activity aimed at creating inclusive and participatory scenarios on the evolution of the coastal area of Venice. The experiment took place in November 2016, on the occasion of the 50 year anniversary of the dramatic high water (Aqua Granda flood) in 1966 in Venice. In order to build their scenarios, students were involved in walking tours along the barrier islands of Pellestrina and Lido, looking for traces of past, present and incipient futures of those Venetian area. The participatory approach was inspired by the Futurescape tours methodology, based on "material deliberation". The result of the teaching experience were 3 future visions, combining the science learnt during the academic course, knowledge coming from the field experience and other sources. In the process students considered different drivers potentially affecting the scenarios, among them, the role played by citizens living in the area. This experience, conceived as a punctual, academic activity, has grown as an example of integration and trans generational communication, connecting different epistemologies, spaces and temporalities meanwhile producing positive societal impacts. In this respect Environmental Science Universities could better respond to the global drivers for change exemplified by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals?
An inclusive experience in academic teaching of Environmental Sciences: building participative scenarios for Venice
L'Astorina A;Guerzoni S;
2018
Abstract
Universities are privileged places to explore new learning practices aimed at preparing students for their roles of future researchers, scholars, planning experts. Strong is the need to develop academic curricula more responsible oriented towards the needs of the society. The actual system must respond to societal issues in an ethical, transparent and inclusive way, allowing for the engagement of stakeholders to dialogue and encouraging reflection. We present here an experiment carried out within an Environmental Science university course of Geomorphology of coastal systems, where a group of students was involved in a public engagement activity aimed at creating inclusive and participatory scenarios on the evolution of the coastal area of Venice. The experiment took place in November 2016, on the occasion of the 50 year anniversary of the dramatic high water (Aqua Granda flood) in 1966 in Venice. In order to build their scenarios, students were involved in walking tours along the barrier islands of Pellestrina and Lido, looking for traces of past, present and incipient futures of those Venetian area. The participatory approach was inspired by the Futurescape tours methodology, based on "material deliberation". The result of the teaching experience were 3 future visions, combining the science learnt during the academic course, knowledge coming from the field experience and other sources. In the process students considered different drivers potentially affecting the scenarios, among them, the role played by citizens living in the area. This experience, conceived as a punctual, academic activity, has grown as an example of integration and trans generational communication, connecting different epistemologies, spaces and temporalities meanwhile producing positive societal impacts. In this respect Environmental Science Universities could better respond to the global drivers for change exemplified by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals?I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
