New Challenges in the Ecology Classroom: Law & Policy
October 30 from 4 – 5 PM ET
Ecologists and educators face an ever-changing landscape with new and evolving challenges, from AI in the classroom to funding availability to new regulations and policies. The Inclusive Ecology Water Cooler chat series intends to connect ecologists and educators with each other to share questions and ideas about challenging topics that we face.
Join us on Thursday October 30 at 4 pm ET for a conversation about civic engagement and discussing STEM-related law and policy in the classroom. In small groups, on we’ll share ideas and experiences related to questions such as, how do I foster a classroom environment where students can respectfully share their perspectives and feel empowered to make a difference on an issue they care about?
Moderator
Laurel Anderson
Laurel (Laurie) Anderson is a plant ecologist and the Morris Family Professor of Natural Sciences and the Shanklin Family Professor in the Departments of Biological Sciences and Environment & Sustainability at Ohio Wesleyan University. She is also Chair of the Network Management Team of the Macrosystems Ecology For All Network (MEFA) and Past President of the Board of Directors for the Ecological Research as Education Network (EREN), both projects initiated with funding from the National Science Foundation. Anderson’s research and teaching interests include temperate forest ecology, invasive plants, global environmental change, and developing collaborative ecological projects across small colleges. She was honored as the Ohio Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education in 2015, and received the Eugene P. Odum Award for Excellence in Ecology Education from the Ecological Society of America in 2022. Anderson is also a published poet and loves to explore how intersections among the humanities, arts, and sciences deepen our understanding and connection with the non-human world.