INNOVATIVE METHODS FOR INTEGRATING GEOSCIENCE AND ECOLOGY IN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION WITH THE GEOECOLOGICAL LEARNING FRAMEWORK (GELF)
Abstract
Geo-Ecological Learning Framework (GELF) is an approach to the weaknesses of
traditional, siloed curricula, which combines geoscience and ecology in an interdisciplinary
whole. This framework is a combination of the geoscientific notions of geomorphology,
hydrology, and climate processes and the ecological notions of biodiversity measurement,
ecosystem services, and species-habitat interactions. GELF will use experiential and
systems-based pedagogy to promote understanding of complex interactions between the
Earth and the ecosystem in the learners. A pilot experiment of undergraduate students of
environmental science used pre- and post-intervention surveys, concept-mapping, and
performance-based surveys to measure the effectiveness of the framework. The statistical
analysis showed that the scores in integrated systems-thinking and concept linkage accuracy
on geoscience and ecology improved by 32 percent and 27 percent, respectively, compared to
baseline data. Furthermore, students demonstrated a significant improvement in interpreting
environmental data (p < 0.05), particularly through spatial analysis using GIS and field-based
ecological data. Engagement metrics showed that participation in interdisciplinary problembased
activities rose by 41% compared to traditional lecture-based methods. These
quantitative results confirm that GELF facilitates superior cognitive integration across
disciplinary boundaries and strengthens analytical learning outcomes. GELF offers a statistically validated and scalable way of improving ecological literacy and evidence-based
reasoning by matching what is taught in schools with real-life decision-making and solving
environmental problems. The framework ends up being a strong instrument in developing
the systems thinking that is instrumental in ensuring environmental management is
sustainable.
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