Linder Benjamin, Huang Jean
Olin College of Engineering, Needham, MA 02446, USA.
Biomimetics (Basel). 2022 Jul 6;7(3):90. doi: 10.3390/biomimetics7030090.
Biomimicry practice and pedagogy unify biology and design for problem solving inspired by nature. Pedagogy that supports biomimicry practice can facilitate the development of novel solutions to address societal needs and challenges. Even though biomimicry affords the possibility to address sustainability, its current practice does not necessarily lead to doing so, which can result in exploitation of nature and increased unsustainability. Recognition of this risk exists but is not yet widespread in biomimicry pedagogy, and few structured methodologies are available to support learner's efforts towards sustainability. The difficulties associated with incorporating sustainability within biomimicry are numerous and varied. In this report, we contribute to an understanding of incorporating sustainability in teaching and learning. We describe a pedagogical framing and conceptual scaffolding developed and used to bring sustainability into a biomimicry course for design- and biology-minded engineering students that integrates available biomimicry and design language, tools, and methods. We scaffold consideration of structure-function and conditions conducive to life separately, and then unify these perspectives in a way that is accessible to students. This approach centralizes sustainability in biomimicry practice and asks students to consider the ethics of design practice and responsibility to the natural world. We are encouraged by student outcomes, observing clear signs of creative systemic thinking and higher-level learning from nature. Based on pre- and post-design sprint results, students significantly shifted away from a narrower structure-function practice towards addressing conditions conducive to life. We propose that biomimicry educators and facilitators make a commitment to always include a sustainability approach within their pedagogy or explicitly acknowledge their delivery does not provide for it.
仿生实践与教学法将生物学与设计结合起来，以解决受自然启发的问题。支持仿生实践的教学法可以促进开发新颖的解决方案，以满足社会需求和应对挑战。尽管仿生学提供了解决可持续性问题的可能性，但其当前的实践并不一定能实现这一目标，这可能导致对自然的剥削和不可持续性的增加。虽然人们已经认识到这种风险，但在仿生教学法中尚未广泛存在，而且很少有结构化的方法可用于支持学习者为实现可持续性所做的努力。将可持续性纳入仿生学所涉及的困难众多且各不相同。在本报告中，我们有助于理解在教学中纳入可持续性。我们描述了一种教学框架和概念支架，其开发并用于将可持续性引入一门面向有设计和生物学思维的工程专业学生的仿生课程中，该课程整合了现有的仿生学和设计语言、工具及方法。我们分别构建对结构 - 功能以及有利于生命的条件的思考，然后以学生易于理解的方式将这些观点统一起来。这种方法将可持续性置于仿生实践的核心位置，并要求学生考虑设计实践的伦理以及对自然世界的责任。学生的成果让我们备受鼓舞，观察到了创造性系统思维和从自然中进行高级学习的明显迹象。根据设计冲刺前后的结果，学生们显著地从更狭隘的结构 - 功能实践转向关注有利于生命的条件。我们建议仿生学教育者和促进者承诺在其教学法中始终纳入可持续性方法，或者明确承认他们的教学未涵盖这一点。
