Education as a tool for addressing the extinction crisis: Moving students from understanding to action

Background/Question/Methods Human activity is leading to mass species extinctions worldwide. Conservation biology (CB) courses typically focus on the proximal causes of extinction without teaching students how to respond to this crisis. We developed activities in Zoology 360, “Extinction of Species”, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to both teach traditional CB principles and also encourage immediate conservation action. We implemented action and community-oriented activities targeting peer conservation education and individual consumer habits. We assessed goal achievement in numerous ways. Understanding of CB principles and attitudes towards activities were measured by a survey administered before and after the course. Consumption reduction was measured using an online footprint tool. Finally, community impact was measured by number of participants in student-led presentations. Results/Conclusions Students learned the science underpinning conservation efforts, as evidenced by highly significant learning gains from pre- to post-class in every measured category (p<0.01, t-test). Students and instructors also made direct and immediate changes in their lifestyle and consumption habits, including decreases of: 13,040 gallons gas/year, 324,954 miles driven/year and 1251 lbs. solid waste/year. Additionally, 8500 people participated in the students' conservation and consumption-based presentations. We provide a rigorous treatment of the direct and indirect causes of extinction while also developing a student’s sense of personal empowerment to help slow the extinction crisis. Our success shows that action and community-oriented activities can complement traditional educational methods while encouraging a cultural shift towards sustainability.