Postgraduate Course: Advanced Topics in Ecological Economics (PGGE11284)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course builds on Foundations in Ecological Economics and facilitates students acquiring a deeper knowledge of select topic areas within Ecological Economics. It is particularly aimed at students who have well-identified interests in particular topic areas within Ecological Economics, and will be especially suitable for students wishing to pursue a PhD in Ecological Economics (or a related area) in the future |
| Course description |
This course builds on Foundations in Ecological Economics. The purpose of the course is to facilitate students in acquiring deeper, specialist knowledge about topic areas within Ecological Economics in which they are interested. Because the course is focused on creating opportunities for students to pursue their own interests, much of the content of this course will be either student-led or come from a process of co-creation with staff. There will also be formal elements of peer/self-review. Thus, students who pursue this course should have clear interests in Ecological Economics, a high degree of self-motivation, and a collaborative spirit.
Students will receive training in evidence synthesis, and will then design, conduct, and write up a review on a topic area of their own choosing within Ecological Economics. The methodological training will equip students with a skill that is useful much more broadly than this course (including in research and post-MSc employment). The result of the review will be a much deeper understanding of one part of Ecological Economics as a discipline.
Students will also receive training and guidance in designing and delivering workshops (focused, specifically, on educational and knowledge exchange workshops). Students will act on this training by designing and delivering a workshop to educate their peers on the outcomes of their review.
Finally, students will reflect on what they have learned from their peers¿ workshops, and how this expands up and refines the foundational Ecological Economics knowledge they gained in semester 1.
The course will be conducted primarily using a flipped-classroom, which means students will need to prepare in specific ways (e.g. by completing readings and pre-recorded lectures) prior to coming to class.
In the first 7 weeks, class time will be spent advancing, and getting feedback on students¿ evidence synthesis pieces. Feedback will come from both staff and students. The remaining weeks of class will be focused on the design and delivery of the workshops (where, again, feedback will come from both students and staff).
Following the completing of class-based activities, students will have a period to reflect, synthetically, on their learning.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | Students will need to purchase one of the two books on running workshops. The more expensive of the two is £18.99 for a new version of the paperback edition, so that is the most they will need to spend. However, there are used copies (and for one of them an e-book edition) for considerably cheaper. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2022/23, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 20 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 20,
Formative Assessment Hours 24,
Summative Assessment Hours 132,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
0 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Feedback |
Much of the class time will be spent on the task of formative feedback using an approach similar to mentoring or supervision).
In the first part of the course, core lecture content will be delivered almost exclusively through pre-recorded lectures, and will be assigned as preparation for class. Students will be given milestones to help ensure they are progressing through their reviews. Students will be asked each week to share updates on their progress within the class. Each person will get feedback on that progress. Both students and staff will be involved in giving this feedback, but the balance between staff/student feedback, and the level of detail will depend to a large extent on how many people are in the course. The structure for class time will also depend on numbers.
In the second part of the course, students will get individual feedback from staff on their ideas for how to deliver their workshop teaching their peers about the outcome of their reviews. Depending on numbers, they may also get feedback from their peers at this stage. Several weeks of class time will be allocated to these workshops themselves.
Feedback on the summative elements of the course will come from staff (for all three assessments), and from peer/self-review (for the workshop themselves). |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Deeper, specialist knowledge about a range of topics within Ecological Economics, including one in which they are specifically interested as individuals
- Practical experience conducting evidence synthesis
- Skills in the design and delivery of knowledge exchange workshops
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Reading List
Most of the reading in the course will be associated with the evidence synthesis activities undertaken by the students themselves, which will depend on their specific interests and the question(s) they want to answer. However, there are a few resources that will be made available each year, regardless of individual student interests. These will pertain to approaches/methods for conducting evidence synthesis and the design and delivery of workshops.
Evidence Synthesis
Barends, E., Rousseau, M., and Briner, R.B. 2008. CEBMa Guideline for Rapid Evidence Assessments in Management and Organizations. Available at: here & here
Collaboration for Environmental Evidence. 2018. Guidelines and Standards for Evidence synthesis in Environmental Management. Version 5.0 (AS Pullin, GK Frampton, B Livoreil & G Petrokofsky, Eds). Available at: here
Collins, A.M., Coughlin, D., Miller, J., Kirk, S. 2015. The Production of Quick Scoping Reviews and Rapid Evidence Assessments: A How to Guide. DEFRA. Available at: here
DFID. Collection of Rapid Evidence Assessments. Available at: here
Grant, M.J., and A. Booth. 2009. A typology of reviews: an analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Information and Libraries Journal 26(2): 91-108. Available at: here
James, K.L., N.P. Randall, and N.R. Haddaway. 2016. A methodology for systematic mapping in environmental sciences. Environmental Evidence 5(7). Available at: here
Workshop Design & Delivery
Fitzpatrick, R., D. Hunt, and A. Rosen. 2019. The Workshop Survival Guide: How to Design and Teach Educational Workshops That Work Every Time.
Sims, N.H. 2006. How to Run a Great Workshop: The Complete Guide to Designing and Running Brilliant Workshops and Meetings. Pearson Business. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Evidence Synthesis; Project Management; Workshop Design & Facilitation; Deeper Knowledge of the discipline of Ecological Economics |
| Keywords | Ecological Economics,Student Co-design,Evidence Synthesis |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Ms Corinne Baulcomb
Tel: (0131) 535 4031
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Jennifer Gumbrell
Tel:
Email: |
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