Promoting Action Using Interest-Driven Education

2/5/2019

Dr. Brian Ogle - Assistant Professor of Anthrozoology, Beacon College

The new generation of changemakers will be inspired and supported by today’s modern teachers. Employing humane education strategies allows for teachers to meet standards while creating tomorrow’s changemakers. Many leading education professionals have called for a reexamination of our interpretations of educational models to inspire action. The “knowledge leads to caring leads to action” model has been called into question and shown it is not as effective as once believed. It is now believed that action leads to caring which leads to increased knowledge. The focus needs to be placed on creating student action to promote awareness and understanding of the information. This session will examine the model and common misconceptions held about integrating action into any humane education program.

About our Speaker:
Brian Ogle is an assistant professor of anthrozoology and the department chair for humanities and general education at Beacon College in Leesburg, Florida. His research activities focus on instructional issues related to science teaching, public perception of captive wildlife, and trends in conservation/humane education. He serves on the National Science Teachers Association’s committee on college science teaching, the Board of Directors for the Humane Education Coalition, and as an education advisor for the field and cervid taxon advisory groups of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums.

Links and Resources:

Beacon College

Article: Humane-Inspired Approach

15 Comments

Maggie Lantzy

2/5/2019 03:30:36 pm

Hi Brian, thank you so much for sharing this model with us. I'm definitely seeing lesson planning in a new way and would love to learn more as it makes so much sense! Do you have any suggested resources, maybe your own research, where we can learn more about action-oriented learning?

Brian Ogle

2/5/2019 08:07:17 pm

Hi Maggie,
I am glad you found this session to be helpful to you. I mentioned a few great resources (books and articles) in the other comments below. I would encourage you to glance them over. If you email me (bogle@beaconcollege.edu), I am happy to share some additional resources that may not be publicly available. If you have any questions about the process, I am also happy to chat over the phone and talk shop for a bit.

2/6/2019 08:18:57 am

Thank you, Brian! I will definitely check out those resources and will let you know if I have any questions!

Ellen Schmidt link

2/5/2019 04:23:23 pm

Thank you so much for a phenomenal session, Brian! This was fantastic information. I have so much to think about in terms of our offerings now. I would really love more resources to help us learn more about implementing this model in our programs. Would love to know what you recommend. Thanks again!

2/5/2019 08:05:27 pm

Hi Ellen,
There is a book currently available on this topic. It is focused primarily on business and economics education due to the author's background; however, it does a great job of putting the theory in practice. The book is "ABC of Action Learning" by Revans.

Many examples online (in education blogs, etc) place an emphasis on vocational education with this topic. I would not let this discourage you from reading them though. The principles and techniques are the same, regardless of the topic. Just always remember to design your action like a learning objective and find ways for your learners to practice this action during the lesson.

2/6/2019 11:52:01 am

Thank you so much, Brian!

Marta

2/5/2019 04:31:14 pm

Hi Brian! Thank you so much for the great information you shared! I would love to integrate this into the service learning I am doing with my students and I think I'd need some more examples on how can I do to start the lesson with a call to action. I'll read the article you shared and look for ideas there. Thanks again!!

2/5/2019 08:08:39 pm

Hi Marta! Definitely check out the article, there are some great examples in there. If you have any questions or want some additional feedback, I am happy to help out. Feel free to send me an email (bogle@beaconcollege.edu).

Stephanie

2/5/2019 04:31:23 pm

Thank you for your session. I would love to read more on this, do you recommend any specific journal articles or books?

2/5/2019 08:02:04 pm

Stephanie,
There are a couple of decent articles out there; however, some are a bit older. The ones that guide my understanding of this theory in practice are from Februar (2002), Cachay et al (2012), and Alder & Milne (1997). Sara Hagench (University of Washington) did her dissertation in 2015 on this topic in the context of a science education and after-school programming. It is a really nice read.

Uma Graham

2/5/2019 06:15:57 pm

Hi Brian,
Thanks for sharing your expertise in this summit! I would love the opportunity to virtually with you.
For my senior thesis project for my BS in Wildlife Health Outreach at Montana State University I am developing and implementing a humane education wildlife arts program. I am hoping to find more resources about direct and indirect human impact on wildlife and habitats, as well as the conservation successes you mentioned.

I can be reached at umaryegraham@gmail.com
(also, anyone reading this comment, please feel free to contact me!)

Thanks again,
Uma

2/5/2019 07:11:04 pm

I would love to connect and hear more about your thesis. I will send you an email from my work email.

Patty Finch Dewey

2/5/2019 06:39:24 pm

Thank you! Great presentation. Values follow actions more than actions follow values, as much as we like to believe otherwise, and so structuring lessons like this (Action leads to caring leads to knowledge) makes so much sense. I've had kids form into "foundations" with some real money to give, and then they have to research the approaches to solve some problem which have been taken by various entities, and choose who to give the money to. But what I was really hoping to do was instill the habit of philanthropy. Once you start down the road of philanthropy, you are much more likely to continue....partly because it feels powerful and you get thanked, etc....but you also see the good accomplished...and because you have already done it. I can see now how I could have improved that with measurable actions and providing easy opportunities for them to repeat the action on their own or in groups and finding a way to track that. Because most of us weren't taught this way, I think we need to see lots of examples to totally "get" it and to have plans we come up with critiqued. Anyway, great session! Thank you! Worthy of a follow-up.

2/5/2019 07:08:30 pm

Patty, I am glad you found this session beneficial. I really like the lesson you described and think this is a great way to promote action. I agree with your own self-reflection. It is a journey and takes several revisions to get the call to action consistent and clear for each group. Keep striving towards this. I was encourage individuals to work as a team to critique lesson plans. I am happy to connect to provide some coaching on this process.

Laura Warland

2/7/2019 03:39:31 pm

Hi Brian, thanks for your informative session. I teach 4-5 year olds in Australia and this will certainly have me consider my objectives more carefully with actions out at the fore front. I think we do this quite well as our little humans are very active so require this but I think he clarity with as to the why for each action will need to be assessed more so for me. I’m always looking for new ideas for introducing compassion and connection to the natural world so any little human learning ideas are always welcome. Thanks again

HUMANE SUMMIT 2019