Small is Beautiful in Belize

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Small is Beautiful in Belize
How does an international education experience
focusing on environmental sustainability
influence the ability for students to learn?

• Darien Ripple

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Belize
Location Central America, bordering the
Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico
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The Central American land bridge is only three
million years old, but upon connecting North and
South America it radically changed the natural
environment by allowing for animal migration
between the two continents, separating oceanic
currents and isolating aquatic species creating
diversity, and changing weather patterns by
creating the Gulf Stream through North America
(Coates, 1997)
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Geography Belize is a geographically diverse
country that ranges from cayes, inland wetlands,
to mountains. The cayes tend to be the most
explored attraction for tourists due to their
proximity to the longest barrier reef in Western
Hemisphere, which is over 180 miles in length.
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Cultural Diversity
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Social Realities

• Country Belize United States
• Population 294,385 301,139,947
• Median age total 19.9 years 36.6 years
• Infant mortality rate 24.38 deaths/1,000 6.37
  deaths/1,000
• HIV/AIDS 2.4 (2003 est.) 0.6 (2003 est.)
• Literacy 76.7 99

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Tourist Based Economy
Blue Hole Natural Monument
Xunantunich
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• In 2004, Belize hosted 230,832 tourists whereas
  the resort area of Cancun accounted for
  2,330,706, and the eco-friendly country of
  Costa Rica experienced 1,437,098 tourists
  ("Belize Tourism Statistics," 2006).

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Cruise Ships
Day Visitors 1999 - 34,100 2005 - 800,000
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Eco-Tourism
"responsible travel to natural areas that
conserves the environment and improves the
well-being of local people
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A Bridge To Belize

• An international experiential learning model in
  environmental sustainability.

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A Bridge to Belize Study Abroad

• The Program was established in 2006
• 3 study abroad trips
• 56 students have participated in the program

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Summer 2008 Research

• 16 students participated in a study abroad
  learning process that included article analysis,
  experiential learning, world café discussions,
  and self-reflective writing.

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Environmental Sustainability
Sustainable Society - A Society that satisfies
its needs without jeopardizing the prospects of
future generations (Brown, 1990).
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Carrying Capacity - The maximum population of a
given animal (including people) that an ecosystem
can support without being degraded or destroyed
in the long run (Cable, 1995).
Three Es of Sustainability ecology/environment,
economy/employment equity/equality (Edwards,
2005).
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Environmental Nihilism

• an alienation associated with those living in an
  urbanized consumer-driven society.

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Existential Awareness

• A central concept of educational sustainability
  is to overcome environmental nihilism by
  providing students with an existential awareness
  of nature.

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Experiential education

• Experiential education lends itself to the
  learning process by engaging the senses,
  developing natural intelligence and promoting an
  existential awareness of sustainability

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Active Learning

• While in Belize, students directly engaged with
  nature, exploring caves, reefs, rivers and
  rainforests. The basic idea was to let Belize be
  an outdoor classroom.

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Eco-Paradigm
Assessment 1 Environmental Ethics
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Social, Legal Moral
Why is a Scarlet Macaw Important?
Moral, Immoral Amoral
Moral Rules - Particular Actions
Moral Laws Principles that are denied or upheld
by particular actions
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Journal

• Biological Diversity
• Carrying Capacity
• Eco-Philosophy
• Ecotourism
• Sustainable Society
• Social Inequality
• Environmental Ethics
• Three Es of Sustainability - ecology/environment,
  economy/employment and equity/equality
• Option Entry 1 2

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3 groups of 5 students

• Initial grouping (10 minutes)
• (5 mins) Discuss a recent experience where you
  either engaged in sustainable or unsustainable
  behavior.
• (5 mins) As a group, list characteristics of
  sustainable behavior.
• Grouping 2 (10 minutes)
• (5mins) Discuss a recent experience where you
  either engaged in sustainable or unsustainable
  behavior.
• (5mins) Review and discuss ideas posted by the
  previous group and add new ideas to the list.
• Grouping 3 (10 minutes)
• (5mins) Discuss a recent experience where you
  either engaged in sustainable or unsustainable
  behavior.
• (5mins) As a group, use the list of
  characteristics of sustainable behavior in order
  to create a definition of sustainability.

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Environmental Ethics

• I. Assessment paper 10 - The student will be
  given an assessment question on the first day of
  class in order to stimulate thought and
  discussion. (2-3 typed pages)
• II. Article review 10 - The student will be
  asked to review and analyze one of the hand-outs.
  (2-3 typed pages)
• III. Book review 20 -The student is required
  to review, and analyze one of the textbooks
  putting it in context to his/her experience in
  Belize and in reference to environmental ethics.
  (4-5 pages)
• IV. Journal 50 - While in Belize, the student
  will be asked to keep a daily journal noting
  personal observations in relation to experiences,
  thought questions and required readings. (Ten
  entries 1-2 pages in length)
• V. Group learning project (10 of grade) While
  in Belize, students in groups of 3-4 will engage
  in an experiential learning assignment to be
  shared with the rest of the class.

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Post-Modern Research

• Grounded Theory - in which the researcher
  attempts to derive a general, abstract theory of
  a process, action, or interaction grounded in the
  views of the participants in the study. This
  process involves using multiple stages of the
  data collection and the refinement and
  interrelationship of categories of information
  (Creswell, 2003).p.14
• Concurrent Nested Model - that addresses a
  different question than the dominant method or
  seeks information from different levels
  (Creswell, 2003). P.218

http//www.youtube.com/watch?vexTOEGTfZPc
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Qualitative research

• focus groups
• grounded participant observation
• responses to post survey questions
• journal entries

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Focus groups

• hands on approach to being sustainable rather
  than just talking about it and guessing to what
  we think it to mean

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grounded participant observation

• This is my classroom! I wish all my classrooms
  were like this!

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Post survey

• For me, seeing the diversity of the species in
  the ocean, or learning about how bug spray was
  affecting a habitat, or witnessing ancient Mayan
  ruins, all contributed a deep appreciation of the
  environment. I had to make inferences myself
  the design of the course made me explore my own
  thoughts, in such a way that my appreciation for
  the environment made environmental ethics make
  sense

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Journal entries

• I will take all of the experiences from this
  trip with me through my life. I feel so blessed
  and I wish that everyone was given the
  opportunity to be submerged in their learning.
  Reading from a text book can only do so much, but
  when you are able to apply your studies in real
  life circumstances everything starts to click.

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A Students Voice

• there are many different types of study abroad
  programs, so I think experiential learning is the
  whole key to the study abroad perspective. Hands
  on learning, and direct application of what is
  being taught and learned to how it functions and
  manifests into the living world.

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World Heritage Site
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Existential Awareness

• My vision was now limited by the scarce torch
  light. I could see the shadows of the shamans
  flickering on the cave walls. I heard the sounds
  of chanting accompanied by the screams of women
  and children being cut for this Mayan ritual.
  There were several smells lingering in the air.
  Smoke, incents, a vague scent of burning blood
  and a pungent smell which can only be described
  as a primitive body odor. Alex was such a good
  storyteller that I was actually able to immerse
  myself in the situation he was talking about.
  This experience was surreal. It was as if I was
  dreaming when in reality I was just able to
  utilize the full potential of my brain. I
  wouldnt have been able to do this without the
  colorful expression of our tour guide who,
  through his passion, was able to trigger a moment
  of extreme clarity.

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San Ignacio
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Placencia
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A Bridge to Belize 2008
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A Bridge To Belize 2009