Transformative learning in graduate global change education drives conceptual shift in invasive species co-management and collaboration

Abstract

Many graduate training programs in global change recognize the importance of policy and appreciate the complex, multi-stakeholder nature of policymaking in practice. However, few engage directly with diverse stakeholders, an important goal in transformational education, through traditional curricula. We present the results following analysis of a course designed to provide graduate students with an immersion-based experience focused on the flow of information between science, advocacy, policymaking, and management as they relate to invasive species, an important driver of global change threatening many facets of the human condition. In this course students constructed a conceptual model of these interactions. Then, in an immersive experience, they directly engaged with a diverse group of stakeholders, including government agency officials, policymakers, and land managers. Finally, to drive transformational learning, students were challenged to refine the conceptual model and develop a revised framework that more accurately reflected the true co-production (transdisciplinary) nature of these interactions. Thematic analysis of student perceptions revealed a shift from a science-centric view to one where science was but one of many inputs responsible for shaping invasive species policy. This immersive approach, founded in face-to-face interactions among diverse stakeholders, represented a transformative shift in student thinking toward the importance of co-management and collaboration in addressing invasive species.

Keywords:

• Government
• graduate education
• interdisciplinary teaching
• science-policy interface
• course design

Acknowledgements

The authors thank USDA-APHIS for coordinating and moderating a panel discussion with various government agency officials. We also thank the Fralin Life Science Institute and the Global Change Center at Virginia Tech for providing the funds to support this effort and, in particular,the GCC Coordinator for helping us navigate the many issues associated with course charges. We thank four anonymous reviewers for many helpful suggestions that have improved the paper and Trish Haak for helpful analysis suggestions, and serving as naïve rater for the theme analysis. Finally, we thank the many individuals who took the time to meet with our group.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

David C. Haak

David C. Haak is an Assistant Professor of Plant and Microbial Genomics in the School of Plant and Environmental Science at Virginia Tech, where he is faculty affiliate of Fralin Life Science Institute, Global Change Center, Translational Plant Science Center, and Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology. He works on identifying genomic and data science solutions to pressing global change problems with an emphasis on invasive species and sustainable agriculture. He is actively engaged in the scholarship of teaching and learning with a research interests in experiential and active learning.

Scott Salom is a Professor of Forest Entomology and Biological Control for the Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech.  He works on non-native forest insect and weed pests, most notably biological control research on the hemlock woolly adelgid and the tree of heaven.  He teaches courses for undergraduate forestry students on forest pest management and a graduate course in biological control. He is a founding member of the Invasive Species Working Group affiliated with the Virginia Tech Global Change Center.

Jacob N. Barney  is an Associate Professor of Invasive Plant Ecology in the School of Plant and Environmental Science at Virginia Tech, where he is faculty affiliate of Fralin Life Science Institute, Global Change Center, and Translational Plant Science Center. He works on the causes, consequences, epidemiology, management, teaching, and policy of invasive species.

Todd Schenk is an Associate Professor in Virginia Tech’s School of Public and International Affairs, founding director of VT’s new Science, Technology & Engineering in Policy (STEP) Program, and affiliated faculty with the Global Change Center, Fralin Life Sciences Institute, and Center for Coastal Studies. His practice-oriented scholarship is at the intersection of environmental policy and planning and collaborative governance. He works on a wide range of issues, including climate adaptation, endangered and invasive species, freshwater salinization, and antibiotic resistance. Todd received both a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Planning and a Master in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor’s degree in Geography from the University of Guelph.

Vasiliy T. Lakoba is Director of Research at The American Chestnut Foundation, an environmental non-profit organization. He collaborates with government and academic partners across biological and social disciplines toward the restoration of the functionally extinct American chestnut tree to forests of Eastern North America. His research interests include restoration ecology, invasion ecology, plant biogeography, remote sensing, and environmental science policy.

Rachel K. Brooks is a Forest Health Scientist with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. Dr. Brooks received her PhD from the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences at Virginia Tech in 2020 as a fellow in the Interfaces for Global Change PhD program. Her interests include environmental science policy, invasion ecology, biological control and the economics of invasive species.

Rebecca A. Fletcher is a Biological Scientist with the Plant Evaluation Branch, Biotechnology Risk Analysis Program with the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Biotechnology Regulatory Services. Dr. Fletcher received her PhD from the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences at Virginia Tech in 2019 as a fellow in the Interfaces for Global Change PhD program. Her interests include surveillance and spread of invasive species.

Jeremiah R. Foley IV is a post-doctoral research ecologist for the United States Department of Agriculture-Invasive Plant Research Laboratory, Davie, Florida. Dr. Foley received his master’s and PhD in entomology from the University of Florida and Virginia Tech, respectively, where he studied invasive termites and the post-release biology of biological control agents for the hemlock woolly adelgid. In his current position, he is focused on the areawide management of waterhyacinth through an integrated pest management strategy. His research interests are in community restoration, biological control, and science communication.

Ariel Heminger is a doctoral candidate at Virginia Tech with a background in entomology and microbial ecology with her research focusing on the eco-evolutionary dynamics between plants and their microbial communities. She has served as an instructor and teaching assistant for a course on invasive species. Her interests are to educate individuals on the importance of plants, insects, and microbes that exist in our ecosystems.

Lauren Maynard is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Biological Sciences at Virginia Tech. Her dissertation explores the chemical mechanisms that mediate multispecies interactions, primarily focusing on plant–bat mutualisms. She is a graduate fellow of the National Science Foundation and Virginia Tech Interfaces of Global Change. As a member of the Lumbee tribe, she is interested in continuing her work on invasive species through an Indigenous lens.

Philip McElmurray is a doctoral student in the Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, where he works with the Goualougo Triangle Ape Project and Mondika Gorilla Project. He is originally from Roanoke, Virginia. His primary research focus is on great ape health, and in particular the effects of anthropogenic disturbances on the health of western lowland gorillas and central chimpanzees in and around Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in northern Republic of Congo.

Hye-Jeong Seo is a doctoral student in the Planning, Governance, and Globalization program at Virginia Tech. Her research interests are environmental risk communication, informational governance, and data-driven community engagement and development. She works as a graduate research assistant at the Virginia Tech Center for Economic and Community Engagement, assisting communities to make data-driven decisions and providing them with quantitative and qualitative analysis for economic development, community engagement, and technology adoption.

Gourav Sharma is a doctoral student and graduate research assistant at the school of plant and environmental science, Virginia Tech, native of India.  He has a background in plant genomics, weed science, and plant ecology. His Ph.D. projects focus on deciphering the role of DNA methylation in stress adaptation using model plant species.