Abstract
The present study aims to investigate the effect of a trans-disciplinary design of curricula, deemed a powerful tool for teaching and research on complex environmental problems, with a goal to help solve the real problems that climate change has brought to the coastal environment in Taiwan. Three major real-life problems in southern Taiwan—declining mullet fisheries, flooding, and coral bleaching—were integrated into four courses. Adopting a qualitative case study method, the researchers investigated the student perceptions of the trans-disciplinary learning experiences, their attitudes toward marine and coastal environmental protection, and their capability of solving the problems related to marine and coastal environments. The researchers employed various methods to analyze the student reflection reports, student self-evaluation forms, and the tape-recorded class meetings. The findings suggest the following: the trans-disciplinary curriculum stands to be an innovative yet indispensable design for coastal management education; such a curriculum benefits students by equipping them with essential knowledge and skills to succeed in future marine conservation; action learning for marine and coastal sustainability serves as the final goal of trans-disciplinary learning project; a trans-disciplinary case study on the design of curricula provides effective knowledge integration of marine and coastal sustainability.
Highlights
The coastal management system can be thought of as a system of relationships among people, policy makers and managers, and members of the scientific community [1]
In view of the fact that marine and coastal environmental problems involve many aspects, including marine environmental engineering and change, ocean humanities and industries, and marine policies, the present study aims to investigate the effect of a trans-disciplinary design of curricula, deemed a powerful tool for teaching and research on complex environmental problems [12], whose goal is to help solve the real problems that climate change has brought to the coastal environment in Taiwan
It has been recently argued that a trans-disciplinary case study approach is suitable for scientifically treating large-scale, complex problems concerning the interaction of human environment systems [12]
Summary
The coastal management system can be thought of as a system of relationships among people, policy makers and managers, and members of the scientific community [1]. The trans-disciplinary approach is considered essential to deal with large-scale, long-term, complex, and interlinked issues like sustainable development and climate change [9], and will move beyond looking for one correct solution and, instead, integrate different solutions, viewpoints, or perspectives [11]. It will involve intense interaction among academics and practitioners in order to promote a mutual learning process [12,13]. Results gained from the study helped the research team to make pedagogical and research suggestions at the end of the article
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