Enabling the disabled through acoustic ecology and environmental education by listening to the ecosystem of the turtle

Transcription

1 Educational Rsarch (ISSN: ) Vol. 2(12) pp , Dcmbr 2011 Availabl Copyright 2011 Intrnational Rsarch Journals Full Lngth Rsarch Papr Enabling th disabld through acoustic cology and nvironmntal ducation by listning to th cosystm of th turtl Chariklia Minotou 1, Andras Mnistris 2, John D. Pantis 3, Stfanos Paraskvopoulos 4 1 Candidat in Sustainabl Managmnt of Protctd Aras, Univrsity of Ioannina. 2 Profssor of Dpartmnt of Music Studis, Lonio Univrsity. 3 Profssor of Aristotl Univrsity of Thssaloniki. 4 Profssor in th Dpartmnt of Spcial Education, Univrsity of Thssaly. Accptd 28 Novmbr, 2011 Environmntal ducation and awarnss projcts fostr nvironmntal-frindly attituds and contribut to th protction of th nvironmnt through activ participation. Spcial Environmntal Education provids to groups of popl with disabilitis, opportunitis for both ducation and activ participation in nvironmntal protction projcts. Th scinc and art of Acoustic Ecology may function as an spcially usful ducational tool or listning path which could assist studnts with disabilitis to mtaphorically cross th listning path of nvironmntal ducation. Th National Marin Park of Zakynthos (NMPZ) is officially rcognizd as a nsting bach of th sa turtl Cartta cartta. Appropriat nvironmntal ducation matrial was cratd for spcial groups, and particularly for popl with visual disabilitis, haring disabilitis, as wll as for popl with mobility disabilitis. Th abov mntiond protctd ara of th National Marin Park of Zakynthos was chosn as th location for th cas study, bcaus it appard to b an idal sit for nvironmntal ducation activitis that could mbrac popl with disabilitis. An intrdisciplinary approach was adoptd for th dvlopmnt of th nvironmntal ducation matrial for spcial groups, combining Acoustic Ecology with Consrvation Education, which is ducation for cosystm s managmnt and consrvation. Th currnt rsarch drw on knowldg from ths two filds. Th ducational matrial was cratd and succssfully implmntd, rsulting in th participants incras of nvironmntal awarnss and th dvlopmnt of nvironmntally frindly attituds, as dmonstratd by th rsarch rsults. Th producd ducational matrial includd powr point and oral prsntations, audiovisual matrial, intractiv activitis basd on obsrvation, touching and listning, as wll as a visualization modl of th protctd ara. Kywords: Acoustic cology, spcial nvironmntal ducation, protctd aras, ducation for cosystm s managmnt and consrvation (consrvation ducation), and popl with disabilitis. INTRODUCTION Environmntal Education Acoustic Ecology Consrvation Education Environmntal ducation nhancs th participants awarnss and undrstanding of nvironmntal issus, whil at th sam tim it incrass thir willingnss to participat in nvironmntally frindly actions for th *Corrsponding Author charmini@otnt.gr; Tl: car and managmnt of protctd aras (Dimopoulos, 2007). Environmntal ducation that is dsignd and adjustd to th nds of spcial groups may hlp th popl involvd dvlop thir slf stm, promot thir social intgration, and provid thm with opportunitis to participat in nvironmntal actions. Th procss of undrstanding th complicatd systms of natur turns nvironmntal ducation into a tool for nurturing th participants slf-worth and prcption of th slf (Gibson (1979), supports that our prcptual systms

2 1760 Educ. Rs. ar at th sam tim xtrosnsitiv and propriosnsitiv; abl to provid us with information about th xtrnal and intrnal worlds. Thrfor, basd on his cological approach to prcption, on's prcptual acts in th nvironmnt may improv his/hr prcption of th xtrior world but also th prcption of him/hrslf in it.) (Pntovoulou Ziaka, 2007).Whn dsigning nvironmntal ducation matrial for popl with disabilitis, it is particularly important to considr ways of activating thir snss so as to transfr knowldg primarily through snsory stimuli and not so much through simpl visual symbols, which thy may b unabl to prciv. From this prspctiv, imag, sound and touch, ithr individually or in combination, may function as invaluabl ducational rsourcs and tools. Strssing motional ngagmnt in th planning of nvironmntal ducation activitis is of utmost importanc as wll, if on taks into account that in spcial groups, motion and sntimnt tnd to dominat xprinc and may facilitat knowldg acquisition (Blancht and Trognon, 2002). Finally, sinc spcial groups tnd to rspond in th avrag at a slowr rat than that of gnral groups, it is important for larning to focus both on knowldg and on mtaknowldg (Lundbrg and Olofsson, 1980; Mayr, 1987; Strnbrg, 1977), in ordr to facilitat undrstanding and th dvlopmnt of 'frindly' attituds towards th nvironmnt. Acoustic cology can b implmntd and utilizd as a larning tool for th visually impaird. Sounds, sonic cosystms, suprficial sounds, variabl sounds, ar th parts that compos a synthsis which may compnsat for th lack of visual information about th landscap and its biodivrsity (Wojcichowski, 2008). Rcording th sounds of a protctd ara s cosystm is a way of mapping th ara s gomorphologic charactristics, its diffrnt spcis, th landscap, human intrvntions and prsnc, as wll as cultural lmnts. Th rcordings of th sounds producd by various spcis, lik th sa turtl Cartta cartta undr study in this papr, ar accompanid by additional multimdia matrial, such as vidos, which prsnt sounds not as isolatd audio fils, but as ral sounds in thir original contxt. In this way, th matrial can dscrib biological procsss (.g. laying ggs), instad of simply prsnting snapshots of biological sounds. Rsarch Objctivs Th gnral objctivs of th prsnt rsarch wr: (a) to familiariz spcial groups with th cosystms and th spcis that inhabit thm, (b) to nhanc thir willingnss to participat in nvironmntal actions, and (c) to highlight thir options to participat in th managmnt of a protctd ara through nvironmntal and managmnt activitis. Othr objctivs wr: social intgration, nhancmnt of slf stm, physical, social, profssional, psychological and cognitiv dvlopmnt, knowldg acquisition and adoption of appropriat attituds towards th managmnt of protctd aras. An intrsting scondary ffct of th prsnt rsarch is th socialization of spcial groups through nvironmntal ducation and awarnss projcts, as wll as through thir activ participation in protcting th nvironmnt, with th hlp of snsory stimuli in th form of ducational matrial dsignd to stimulat haring, touch and vision. Anothr significant aspct of th prsnt rsarch is th dvlopmnt of nvironmntal 'thos', sinc nvironmntal morality is mor or lss a part of contmporary communitis and socitis. Th nvironmntal morality and th rspct towards natur, as dtrmind by Taylor s Thory (1981), consist of thr lmnts: a systm of blifs, a moral attitud, and a st of norms rgarding our dutis. Participants can dvlop a systm of blifs through a holistic program of nvironmntal ducation, particularly through th knowldg thy gain. Thy can adopt a moral attitud through thir participation, action, and awarnss rinforcmnt. Thy can crat a st of norms by ngaging in cosystm managmnt. METHODOLOGY Environmntal Education Matrial In th framwork of rcording th soundscap of th National Marin Park of Zakynthos, th sounds wr first classifid into distinct catgoris. Th sounds wr rcordd during th sa turtl gg-laying sason (May- Octobr), and covr four parts of th day: a) morning, b) noon, c) aftrnoon, and d) vning. Apart from audio rcordings, audiovisual matrial was also producd. Th sounds wr classifid according to th diffrnt cosystms of th ara, such as bachs, duns, sasid pin forsts, rural aras and touristic aras. Th classification was ralizd according to th rfrntial aspcts of th sounds (such as in Schafr, 1994/1977). At th sam tim, w rcordd th sounds mad by spcis that inhabit th protctd ara. Ths sounds wr not short isolatd audio fils, but an nsmbl of sounds displaying continuity and cohrnc, which is a complt soundscap. Particular mphasis was placd on distinguishing btwn surfac sounds (forground) and background sounds and th balanc and imbalanc of soundscap--as viwd from th prspctiv of acoustic cology-- in rlation to th managmnt of th protctd ara. In th contxt of th rsarch for this doctoral thsis, nvironmntal ducation matrial was producd, basd on audio and vido rcordings of th gg-laying procss of th Cartta cartta sa turtl. Th prsntation of audio fils to th spcial groups bgins by listning to th rcordings of th sa turtl. Th

3 Minotou t al rcordd fils includ a) brathing as sh mrgs from th sa, b) crawling in th sand bachs, producing by hr movmnt diffrnt sounds dpnding on whthr th sand is wt or dry, c) digging with hr fins to mak hr nst, d) laying hr ggs to fill th nst, ) covring th nst with sand, f) brathing intnsly and rturning to th sa. Th audio narration that has bn addd to th audiovisual matrial hlps provid th participants with ncssary nvironmntal information. Th implmntation of th matrial showd that, by listning to th turtl s cosystm, participants prciv spac and tim data, such as gomorphologic faturs, sason, tim, human prsnc and activity. Th audio fils w collctd, wr dlivrd to th National Marin Park of Zakynthos and addd to its audio library, which includs various sounds from diffrnt sourcs, of natural, urban, rural or human origin. Th spcific combination of ths kinds of sounds constituts ach ara s soundscap, and is uniqu in spac and tim (Truax 1999; Schafr 1977). Background sounds, surfac sounds, soundscap changs ovr tim and spac at th sam locations, all ths form th soundscap of th NMPZ, which provids disabld participants with data ncssary for th protction and managmnt of th ara, hlping thm analyz th situation. Ths rcordings formd th basis for th dvlopmnt of nvironmntal ducation matrial for th haring impaird and for popl with mobility disability. As alrady implid, th nvironmntal ducation of spcial groups draws havily on xprintial larning and on th activation of th snss (Chrysafidis, 1994). Th tachr of a spcial group approachs th larnrs through touch, sound and movmnt. For th larnrs, this procss forms an autonomous and complicatd systm of rcognizing and xprincing, which ultimatly lads to th cration of cognitiv structurs, such as tactual-sonic-mobility prcption, tactual-sonicmobility mmory, prcption map (Argyropoulos, 2004). Th nvironmntal ducation matrial was cratd with th objctiv to includ xprintial lmnts that ar comprisd of audio, tactual and visual tools (Evn though acoustic cology focuss primarily on sounds, Schafr strsss th importanc of a multimodal approach in childrn's ducation. According to him, [...] a total and sustaind sparation of th snss rsults in a fragmntation of xprinc. [H proposs that w considr] onc again th possibilitis of synthsis of th arts. (Schafr, 1986: 249) Such an approach could b provn spcially ffctiv in th contxt of dvloping nvironmntal ducation matrial for disabld studnts) Dpnding on th spcial group involvd, thir particular combination facilitats th transfr of nvironmntal information. During th implmntation of th matrial, th audio rcordings wr accompanid by a thr-dimnsional modl rprsntation of th protctd ara and by tactil natural matrials. Th modl is a prcis gomorphologic rprsntation of th protctd ara dscribing managmnt dtails and th human prsnc and its influnc. Additionally, th tactil natural matrials rprsnt co-paths of th protctd ara and important dtails for spcis and thir dvlopmnt. Schafr suggsts that on way to improv th soundscap is to incras sonological comptnc through an ducation programm that attmpts to imbu nw gnrations with an apprciation of nvironmntal sound (Wrightson, 2000: 13). Listning is in th hart of acoustic cology According to Schafr (1986: 246), th habit of listning [should not b confind] to th music studio and th concrt hall. Th ars of a truly snsitiv prson ar always opn ) and a sound ducation which opns th studnts' ars to th sounds of th nvironmnt lads to an awarnss of th uniqu charactristics of th soundscap (Ditz, 2000). This sound approach was incorporatd in th prsnt doctoral thsis. Mor spcifically, th rsarch implmntation suggsts that nvironmntal ducation and awarnss rinforcmnt may bgin with a gnral narration, including dscription and historic data on th protctd ara chosn. It could thn provid a dtaild dscription of th protctd spcis and prsnt th prioritis of managing th protctd ara. This may b followd by th audio or vido rcordings, to provid a holistic approach to th protctd ara, spcis and nvironmntal problms. In this way, participants ar virtually transportd to th protctd ara to obsrv xprintially th ara and its spcis. Lastly, th structurd activitis, such as biodivr. (Th Biodivrsity boxs wr four diffrnt boxs which includd natural matrial from th protctd ara lik sand, sawd, shlls, pics of wood and morovr matrial possibly found at th bach lik plastic itms, fishing hooks, nts tc. Th obsrvation and touch of 'parts' of th nvironmnt was intndd to provid dirct information about th protctd ara and th xisting co-rality) and haring fils imprinting th situation in th protctd ara, may hlp participants prciv th uniqu charactr and importanc of th protctd ara through visual, audio and tactil stimuli. By implmnting projct mthods and xprintial activitis and by activating th snss in an ffort to achiv nvironmntal frindly knowldg and attituds, Tabl 1 provids th rsults of th implmntation of th nvironmntal matrial to diffrnt ducating groups. Implmnting th Environmntal Education Matrial Fiv spcial schools wr chosn for th prsntation, implmntation and valuation of th nvironmntal ducation matrial. Th Grk Educational Authoritis grantd a spcific prmit for this applid rsarch projct. Th participants' ag rangd from 13 to 25 yars. Ovrall, 110 studnts participatd, of which 65 wr with spcial nds and 45 without disabilitis (Th nvironmntal ducation matrial was carrid out in spcial schools and in gnral schools with intgration

4 1762 Educ. Rs. Tabl 1: Comparison of participant s classs following thr main sssions: A: Knowldg B: Awarnss- Undrstanding of nvironmntal problms, C: Managing prcption and Willingnss to participat Class Sssion A: Knowldg Sssion Β: Awarnss-Undrstanding of nvironmntal problms Sssion C: Willingnss to participat and managing prcption 1 st Gymnasium Av 6,1 3,7 3,0 MV 6,0 4,0 3,0 TD 0,8 1,6 1,3 N rd Gymnasium Av 6,5 3,3 2,5 MV 7,0 3,5 2,5 TD 1,0 1,7 1,3 N st Lycum Av 5,6 3,9 2,7 MV 6,0 4,0 3,0 TD 1,0 0,4 1,4 N nd lycum Av 5,2 3,8 2,2 MV 5,0 4,0 2,0 TD 1,1 0,8 1,3 N rd lycum Av 4,4 3,1 2,8 MV 5,0 3,0 3,0 TD 2,0 1,1 0,7 N Vocational training Instituts Av 5,8 3,4 3,6 MV 6,0 4,0 4,0 TD 0,4 1,5 0,5 N MOSSD 0,05 ±1,4 No statistically significant diffrnc No statistically significant diffrnc classs. In th lattr cas, th taching was ralizd in mixd groups including studnts with and without disabilitis). Participants raction to th prsntd matrial was frindly and positiv. Thy displayd a strong willingnss to participat, knly obsrvd th prsntations, th vido and audio rcordings, and xprimntd with th tactil diagrams concrning copaths in th protctd ara and with th tactil matrial as part of th constructd modl of th protctd ara. Th rsult of th implmntation was that participants wr virtually transportd to th protctd ara of th National Marin Park of Zakynthos. Through th audio rcordings, thy wr informd about th gomorphologic faturs, th biodivrsity and human activity of th ara. Th audio rcordings of sa turtls laying ggs displayd th cohrnc of th actual sound of a biological activity, hlping participants follow th procss of gg-laying stp by stp, fling th suspns, participating with qustions, and prciving nvironmntal information. Th sounds providd thm with information about th shap of th turtl, hr struggl to dig a nst with hr fins, hr ggs filling up th nst on by on, th voluntrs who obsrvd th procss for scintific rasons, as wll as th forground and background sounds that influnc and dtrmin th data ncssary for th managmnt of th ara. It should b notd that participants drw on th sounds to prciv th sason, th tim of day, th typ of landscap and th activitis in th ara; for xampl th background sounds of th gg-laying bachs indicatd that a nighboring ara faturd tourist and urban activitis. RESULT Th nvironmntal ducation matrial was valuatd with th us of qustionnairs. Aftr ach prsntation, two qustionnairs wr administrd, on to th spcial groups participants and on to th ducators that wr prsnt. Aftr th rsarch was compltd, th qustionnair data was statistically procssd and th rsults wr analyzd to valuat th nvironmntal ducation matrial. Th findings mrgd from implmnting th ANOVA mthod ( Analysis of Va-

5 Minotou t al S c ti o n A ΜΟ Βαθµολογίας Α a v r a g s c o r s Minimum ΕΠΣΣ =±1,4 obsrvd statistically significant diffrnc Προβλήµατα Haring Impaird Ακοής Intgration Τµήµα Ένταξης Classs Προβλήµατα Όρασης Visually Impaird Οµάδα Αισθητηριακής Αναπηρίας Disability Group Figur 1: Comparison of Snsory Disability Groups of Larnrs, in Sction A avrag scors 5 4 Βαθµολογία Γ 3 Scor C 2 1 R Sq Linar = 0, Scor Βαθµολογία B B 4 5 Figur 2: Dissmination chart of B and C scors. rianc). Th comparison of avrag valus was carrid out with th LSD critrion (Last Significant Diffrnc). Avrag valus diffring mor than 1,4 units in absolut valus display a statistically important diffrnc, of importanc α = 0,05. Basd on th statistical analysis, th vast majority of participants (80%) xprssd a dsir to visit th National Marin Park of Zakynthos, and a significant numbr (65%) statd a willingnss to participat in protction and managmnt actions. Rgarding th ducators, 96% found that th nvironmntal ducation matrial could b asily implmntd in spcial groups and could ffctivly transfr nvironmntal information through th audio rcordings. Th statistical analysis of th rlvant qustionnair answrs also rvald that participants adoptd an nvironmntally frindly attitud, stating that th protction of th nvironmnt is a priority. In th statistical analysis, th ducational matrial displayd diffrnt rsults, dpnding on th spcific studnt catgory. Th bst rsults corrspond to th visually impaird participants, followd by th intgration classs, and th haring impaird at th third plac (S Figur 1). Th participants ag and sx did not affct th formation of scors in sctions A, B and C. In othr words, ths factors do not influnc th participants answrs, rgarding thir awarnss and undrstanding of nvironmntal problms, thir managmnt skills and thir willingnss to participat in nvironmntal actions. Th ag of th studnts rangd from 14 to 20 yars old. Studnts with visual impairmnts obtaind significantly highr scors in trms of nvironmntal knowldg than th studnts with haring impairmnts. Th scors on sctions B and C wr unaffctd by th group of snsory disability (S Figur 2).

6 1764 Educ. Rs. CONCLUSIONS Two particularly important filds of nvironmntal studis can b utilizd to produc nvironmntal ducation matrial and b usd as tools to ducat spcial groups; ths ar: (a) acoustic cology, and (b) ducation for cosystm s managmnt and consrvation (consrvation ducation). Th sonic idntity of an cosystm can b asily analyzd and utilizd in ducating and promoting th awarnss of th gnral public and spcial groups on issus that prtain to th protction of th nvironmnt. Th combination of visual, audio, and tactual matrial, dpnding on th abilitis of th participant groups, contributs to a mor ffctiv nvironmntal ducation and awarnss rinforcmnt. A particular finding of th prsnt rsarch on spcial groups is that through cosystm managmnt and consrvation ducation with an mphasis on sound and acoustic cology (dtrmining forground-background sounds, idntifying, kynots, sound signals and soundmarks, considring issus of sound pollution). Th participants appar to xprinc a strngthning in thir willingnss and agrnss to participat in nvironmntal managmnt activitis, whil at th sam tim thy bcom familiar with th prioritis of caring for, prsrving and managing a protctd ara. In addition, thy larn how to think about taking masurs to solv nvironmntal problms. Scondary ffcts of such a intrvntion also includ th socialization of disabld popl through participation in collctiv larning and activism for th protction of th nvironmnt. Acoustic cology in this projct actd as a tool and a catalyst for crossing listning paths at diffrnt lvls. Such crossings--litral and mtaphorical--involvd th listning paths of th abld and th disabld and thos of acoustic cology, biology, acoustics, nvironmntal ducation and spcial ducation, to mntion th most obvious ons. Whil bing important for th studnts (with and without disabilitis) involvd, ths crossings of listning paths provd to b qually important for th rsarchrs-ducators who wr givn th opportunity not only to crat thm for othrs but also to xprinc thm for thmslvs. Crossing ths 'listning paths' appars to hav ld vryon involvd to a dpr apprciation of th nvironmnt. Disabld prsons could conduct monitoring programs, participat in awarnss programs and ngag in consrvation actions (Bright and Tarrant, 2002). REFERENCES Argyropoulos B (2004). Studnts with visual impairmnts and Curriculum: Towards a nw topology. Europan Confrnc on th Europan dimnsion of spcial ducation. Procdings of th confrnc. Blancht A, Trognon A (2002). La psychologi ds groups. Athns: Savvalas publishing. [Txt in Grk]. Bright AD, Tarrant MA (2002). Effct of nvironmnt-basd courswork on th natur of attituds toward th Endangrd Spcis Act. Th J. Environ. Educ. 33(4): Chrysafidis K (1994). Exprintial-Communicativ Taching: Introducing projcts to th school. Athns: Gutnbrg. [Txt in Grk]. Ditz L (2000). Larning is living. Acoustic Ecology as Pdagogical Ground. A Rport on Exprinc. Soundscap. Th J. Acoustic Ecol. 1: Dimopoulos D (2007). Implmnting an nvironmntal ducation programm on sa turtl Cartta cartta, with th objctiv of dvloping positiv attituds at young popl towards th nvironmnt. Aristotl Univrsity of Thssaloniki, Dpartmnt of Ecology. [Txt in Grk] Gibson JJ (1979). Th Ecological Approach to Visual Prcption. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Pp , & Lundbrg I, Olofsson A, Wall S (1980). Rading and splling skills in th first school yars prdictd from phonmic awarnss skills in kindrgatn. Scandinavian J. Psychol. 21: Mayr RE (1987). Educational psychology: A cognitiv approach. Boston: Littl Brown. Pntovoulou Ziaka A (2007). Spcial ducation in th socity of knowldg. 1 st Grk Confrnc on Spcial ducation, April. Athns: Grigori Publishings. [Txt in Grk] Schafr RM (1994/1977). Th soundscap: Our sonic nvironmnt and th tuning of th world. Rochstr Vt: Dstiny Books. Pp Schafr RM (1986). Th thinking ar. Indian Rivr, Ontario: Arcana Editions. Strnbrg RJ (1977). Intllignc information procssing, and analogical rasoning: Th componntial analysis of human abilitis. Erlbaum, Hillsdal, N.J. Taylor PW (1981). Th Ethics for Rspct for Natur. Environmntal Ethics, 3(3): Truax B (1999). Handbook of Acoustic Ecology, 2 nd Edition, (cd-rom vrsion), Cambridg: Burnaby Publishing. Wojcichowski KH (2008). J. Grano s Concpt of th landscap as an xprinc. In Brnat, S. (d.), Sound in Landscap. Lublin: Uniwrsytt Marii Curi - Sklodowskij. Wrightson K (2000). An introduction to Acoustic Ecology. Soundscap: Th J. Acoustic Ecol. 1: