Katie Sanders, Kristin Gibson, and Allison Fortner presented their collective work on systems thinking as an educational tool during the CleanTech Symposium at the Delta Innovation Hub on UGA’s Campus. The three Lamm Lab members participated in the student poster competition that wrapped up the day-long event on Wednesday, April 20.
The CleanTech Symposium was a collaboration between the Consulate General of Switzerland and the Swiss Business Hub – both located in Atlanta – along with UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and Office of Sustainability. This event sought to bring together innovative thinkers from both sides of the Atlantic to answer the question “Can tech save the world?”.
Sanders, Gibson, and Fortner’s work proposed systems thinking as a mechanism to help address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially relevant because Symposium attendees discussed innovations related to water conservation, biodiversity preservation, and the SDGs.
The Lamm Lab team presented a series of posters displaying the results of a study that began during a summer 2021 course in systems thinking. Under the guidance of Drs. Alexa and Kevan Lamm, the three students developed a study proposing systems thinking as a tool to teach about the complexities of sustainable seafood. Lamm Lab members used hypothetical choose-your-own adventure scenarios, an online survey, then in-person focus groups with undergraduate students to explore three research topics.
Sanders presented a mixed-methods study utilizing the findings of the survey, scenarios, and focus groups to explore the educational potential of the choose-your-own adventure scenarios in teaching systems thinking.
Gibson used focus group data for a qualitative study that described how students’ experiences with seafood influenced their perceptions of the seafood industry and how they viewed seafood’s role in feeding people after experiencing the scenarios.
Fortner shared the quantitative findings of the pilot survey to explore undergraduate students’ systems thinking tendencies and their green consumption values in an effort to identify if these two constructs can assist educators in preparing students to solve complex systems problems.
Lamm Lab members additionally enjoyed discussing research and networking with faculty from various discipline areas within UGA CAES and Swiss innovators. Dr. Kevan Lamm helped facilitate conversations and was instrumental in connecting students throughout the Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication Department with the industry leaders in attendance.
Thank you, CleanTech, for the opportunity to participate in this inspiring event!
