Departamento Ciências da Vida, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
Centro de Investigação em Didática e Tecnologia na Formação de Formadores (CIDTFF) Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal.
Sci Total Environ. 2021 Oct 15;791:148356. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148356. Epub 2021 Jun 8.
The interaction between the Anthroposphere and the Biosphere has resulted in increasingly rapid biodiversity loss. This negative interaction is influenced by attitudes (feelings, actions, and perceptions) of humans towards certain species. Despite the importance of reptiles in food chains and ecosystem services, they are often negatively perceived, resulting in fear and persecution. In this scenario, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) may contribute for students to develop positive attitudes towards nature and, in particular, towards reptile conservation. Some studies showed that watching wildlife movies improves attitudes of people towards wildlife. However, few information is available on the impact of engaging people in movie production in their attitudes on biodiversity. Here we present an exploratory case study and describe a project-based learning activity (PBL) implemented with Cabo Verdean high-school students and planned to improve their perceptions, feelings and actions towards reptiles in general, and the threatened endemic species C. vaillanti in particular. We asked students to write a script, shoot and produce a short film that could improve the attitudes of their community towards this endemic species. This movie was then presented to the community in a public event and subjected to a content analysis. To evaluate the impact of the activity on students, they were asked to fill in two questionnaires, before and after the activity. Our results showed significant increase of positive feelings of students about the reptiles, and increased perception of their importance, and of positive actions towards C. vaillanti from pre to post test. The movie content analyses and interviews showed that students learned about species biology, threats and reasons for its conservation, of which endemicity was the most frequently cited. Our findings support the value of engaging the public in PBL for EDS and the positive impacts of this engagement in public attitudes towards species conservation.
人类与生物圈的相互作用导致生物多样性的丧失速度越来越快。这种负面影响受到人类对某些物种的态度（感受、行动和看法）的影响。尽管爬行动物在食物链和生态系统服务中具有重要作用，但它们往往被负面看待，导致人们对它们产生恐惧和迫害。在这种情况下，可持续发展教育（ESD）可能有助于学生培养对自然的积极态度，特别是对爬行动物保护的积极态度。一些研究表明，观看野生动物电影可以改善人们对野生动物的态度。然而，关于让人们参与电影制作对他们对生物多样性的态度的影响的信息很少。在这里，我们提出了一个探索性案例研究，并描述了一项基于 Cabo Verde 高中生的项目式学习活动（PBL），旨在提高他们对爬行动物的总体认知、感受和行动，特别是对受威胁的特有物种 C. vaillanti 的认知、感受和行动。我们要求学生编写剧本、拍摄和制作一部短片，可以提高他们所在社区对这一特有物种的态度。然后，在一次公开活动中向社区展示这部电影，并对其进行内容分析。为了评估该活动对学生的影响，我们在活动前后让学生填写了两份问卷。我们的结果表明，学生对爬行动物的积极感受显著增加，对它们的重要性以及对 C. vaillanti 的积极行动的认知也有所增加。电影内容分析和访谈显示，学生了解了物种的生物学、威胁以及保护的原因，其中特有性是最常被提及的。我们的研究结果支持了让公众参与 PBL 进行 ESD 的价值，以及这种参与对公众对物种保护态度的积极影响。
