Prof. Justin Dillon
Towards a convergence of science and environmental education: using blended pedagogies in the face of wicked problems
Society faces a series of ‘wicked’ problems such as climate change, biodiversity loss and food security. At their heart lie issues of science, sustainability and social justice. Preparing young people for an uncertain future challenges existing ideas of scientific literacy and requires new approaches to science teacher pedagogy. Developing problem-solving skills using inquiry-based methods will not be enough to help citizens address problems that have no solutions. In this talk the focus will be on looking at how learning and teaching in museums, science centres and botanic gardens offers ideas for science teachers in school. Finally the role of civic (not citizen) science as an approach to science education will be explored.
University of Bristol
Graduate School of Education
Professor of Science and Environmental Education, University of Bristol
After taking a degree in chemistry from Birmingham University, Justin trained as a teacher at Chelsea College and went on to teach in six secondary schools in London. His research originally focused on teaching and learning about chemistry in England and Spain. Over the past 15 years he has focused more on science learning outside the classroom particularly in museums, science centres and botanic gardens in the UK, Europe and elsewhere.
Together with two colleagues at King’s, Justin co-ordinated the ESRC's Targeted Initiative on Science and Mathematics Education (TISME) and he was a member of the highly influencial ASPIRES project.
Justin was elected President of the European Science Education Research Association from 2007-2011 and he co-edits of the International Journal of Science Education. He is a trustee of the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom and was Chair of the London Wildlife Trust many years.
Justin has co-edited a number of books including the International Handbook of Research on Environmental Education. He was given ‘The Outstanding Contributions to Research in Environmental Education Award’ by the North American Association for Environmental Education in 2013.
Recent publications
- Dillon, J, Stevenson, RB & Wals, A, 2016, ‘Special Section: Moving from Citizen to Civic Science to Address Wicked Conservation Problems’. Conservation Biology, vol 30., pp. 450-455
- Dillon, J, 2016, ‘Science teacher education for our changing climate’. Environmental Education, vol 112., pp. 6-9
- Tasquier, G, Levrini, O & Dillon, J, 2016, ‘Exploring students’ epistemological knowledge of models and modelling in science: results from a teaching/learning experience on climate change’. International Journal of Science Education, vol 38., pp. 539-563
- Dillon, J, 2016, ‘Leadership is the key to sustainable schools’. MyAcademy, vol Spring/Summer., pp. 78-79
- Dillon, J, 2016, ‘50 Years of JBE: From science and environmental education to civic science’. Journal of Biological Education, vol 50., pp. 120-122
- Davies, BR, Leung, AN, Dunne, SM, Dillon, JS & Blum, IR, 2015, ‘Bespoke video vignettes – an approach to enhancing reflective learning developed by dental undergraduates and their clinical teachers’. European Journal of Dental Education.
- Dillon, J, 2015, ‘Innovation in out-of-school science’. School Science Review, vol 358., pp. 57-62
- Regan, E & Dillon, J, 2015, ‘A Place for STEM: Probing the Reasons for Undergraduate Course Choices’. in: Ellen Karoline Henriksen, Justin Dillon, Jim Ryder (eds) Understanding Student Participation and Choice in Science and Technology Education. Springer, pp. 119-134
- Archer, L, DeWitt, J & Dillon, J, 2014, ‘‘It didn’t really change my opinion’: exploring what works, what doesn’t and why in a school science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers intervention’. Research in Science and Technology Education, vol 32., pp. 35-55
- Regan, E, Vergou, A, Kapelari, S, Willison, J, Dillon, J, Bromley, G & Bonomi, C, 2014, ‘Strategies for Embedding Inquiry-Based Teaching and Learning in Botanic Gardens: Evidence from the Inquire project’. in: Patrick Blessinger, John M Carfora (eds) Inquiry-Based Learning for Faculty and Institutional Development: A Conceptual and Practical Resource for Educators. Emerald Group Publishing Limited