|
"But sometimes the knowledge of the scholar is a bit harder to understand because it doesn't seem to match up
with our own experience of things. In other words, Knowledge and Experience do not necessarily speak the same
language . . . It seems fairly obvious to some of us that a lot of scholars need to go outside and sniff
around. . . That sort of thing."
The Tao of Pooh, Benjamin Hoff. p 28. |
Interpretation of nature is an experienced-based communication process. The perspective, or interpretation, that we may have of a particular natural phenomenon is based upon our past experiences with that phenomenon in particular, and with nature in general. What we experience is made more understandable through what we have already learned. Together, experience and knowledge lead us to interpret the world around us, that is, put our world into a "language" that we can comprehend and share with others. In other words, we interpret the world around us; the relationships, the ecological significance, and the "human meanings" through a filter of our past experiences and our accumulated knowledge. Interpretation is not simply knowing and sharing information. It is not the "what" e.g., the identity of an organism or the description of its behavior. Interpretation is about the "so what" of the organism and its behavior. Interpretation is the revelation of meanings and relationships of nature through first hand experience.
This is a web-based course that offers an exploration of communication and experiential learning theories and their application to the interpretation of coastal zone environments. This course provides the student with learning opportunities that will require them to, "go outside, sniff around," explore the coastal zone and thereby be engaged in hands-on interpretive experiences. These will include:
Students will investigate the wide range of media available, including video, interactive web sites, written media, and verbal communication as they implement their interpretive activities.
These experiential learning opportunities will form the basis for reflective observation, self-evaluation, and participant feedback. In addition to gaining a solid understanding of interpretive theory, students will also develop their own interpretive concepts and theories appropriate to their particular location and needs. As the course progresses the students' on-going knowledge of coastal zone interpretation will be applied specifically to the in-course interpretive program that they will be planning, researching and presenting.