Excellent teaching in geography at the RPTU in Landau

The “VereinsKomPass Klimaanpassung” project by the Geography Didactics working group at RPTU in Landau was awarded the 2023 Prize for University Teaching in Geography. The teaching concept follows the concept of service learning, which combines science and social commitment and allows students to think outside the box by cooperating with volunteers from associations. In an interview with campus reporter Anne Papenfuß, project team member Teagan Wernicke talks about what makes the teaching concept so special and what the students and club members take away from the collaboration. And student Jakob Stapf gives an insight into the challenges and newly gained knowledge in the cooperation with a regional rowing club and what he has learned through the project.

Teagan, what is the teaching concept?

The project seminar follows the concept of service learning, learning through engagement. In the first half of the seminar, students receive technical and methodological training and receive scientific input on the consequences and effects of climate change, climate adaptation and climate communication from lecturers and external experts. In the second half of the seminar, students work with voluntary associations in the region, such as youth centers, allotment garden or soccer clubs, to develop risk analyses and recommendations for adapting their work. The Master's students on the Geography teaching degree course attend a film seminar at the same time in order to record the implementation and the results achieved in a short film. The short films made so far can be viewed on the website of the Geography Didactics Group in Landau.

What is special about it for you?

For me, the special thing is that the students think outside the box and adopt a different perspective. They have the feeling that they are putting their knowledge to good use and making a difference in society. There is collaboration on an equal footing, because the members of the association also have the opportunity to share their knowledge. This transdisciplinary collaboration helps science immensely and the students become bridge-builders between science and society.

What should the students take away from this seminar?

In addition to the theoretical content, students should expand their skills in project and time management as well as communication in this seminar. These skills will be put to the test during the seminar. In terms of communication, working with the members of the association is particularly exciting, as students have to learn how to communicate and work didactically with specific target groups. At the beginning, many students wondered how they would ever manage the project in terms of time, but in the end they all rose to the challenge and can be proud of themselves. I certainly am.

Teagan, the seminar was awarded the Prize for University Teaching Geography in 2023. How did you get this award?

The prize for outstanding achievements in geography teaching is awarded every two years by the Association for Geography at German-speaking Universities and Research Institutions (VGDH). We applied for the prize and actually had the honor of receiving it last year. We are Svenja Brockmüller, who initiated the project, Jan Göppel, Anna-Maria Woszczyk and myself.

What do the association members say about the project?

The association members are delighted that the students are so helpful. They take the time to talk to them and are very committed. Even though the members are already aware of the problems relating to climate change, they often don't know what they can do about them. In cooperation with the students, they receive recommendations and strategies and learn how they can consciously implement them. Most clubs already act in a very climate-conscious way by switching to LED lamps, offering vegetarian food or thinking about waste avoidance. These are already important steps. The students also make suggestions for climate adaptation. At a soccer club, for example, training times could be adapted to the climate so that the body is not overloaded on hot days. Another adaptation could be made to the ground of the soccer pitch, for example, so that the water can drain away better on rainy days.

Why do you think this project is needed?

Climate change affects us all in our everyday lives and we need to start making a difference now at the latest. It is very important to think and talk about climate change, climate adaptation and climate protection. If we don't do this, we won't change anything. With the project seminar, we want to raise awareness by visiting local associations and seeking communication. Many clubs reported back to us that they had already identified problems before the project and were trying to deal with them. The students were able to support them scientifically and provide new impetus. The aim is not to implement as much as possible in six months or to check whether all the recommendations have been implemented, but to sow the seeds for ideas that the associations can continue and grow independently.

Jakob Stapf, why did you take the seminar?

I am studying for a Master's degree in Environmental Sciences and also completed my Bachelor's degree in Man and the Environment in Landau. I have been dealing with the challenge of bringing scientific knowledge into social systems for a long time through my Bachelor's degree and I think it is important to find ways to do this. On the Master's degree course, students are given a great deal of freedom of choice in the module plan. As most of the other courses tend to be purely science-based, I was looking forward to looking more at the social consequences of the climate crisis in this seminar.

What advantages do you see in the seminar?

I see it as an advantage to look at the consequences of the climate crisis at a regional level and to meet a wide variety of stakeholders from science and society. The relaxed, informal atmosphere in the relatively small course and the friendly support from Teagan Wernicke meant that the learning content was conveyed in a sustainable way and we didn't feel left alone even in the more difficult phases of group work.

What were the challenges?

Time was tight to organize collaborations with local associations, including a video shoot, within just one semester. My group decided to establish contact with a local rowing club. Its members met much less actively on site in winter to talk about our concerns than would perhaps have been the case in summer. As a result, contact was initially rather slow. During the actual work phase, we were all the more pleasantly surprised by their broad support as interview partners and the general interest in our topics.

What did you take away from the seminar, both professionally and interdisciplinary?

As a rule, complex environmental problems such as climate change tend to be considered at a global level in lectures. This is justified in view of the huge threat. Nevertheless, this often means that we lose sight of what the enormous changes actually mean for me and the people in my environment, my region. As far as heat trends are concerned, for example, I learned there that the Palatinate is one of the risk regions within Germany with potentially particularly high temperature increases over the next 30 years. I hadn't come across this worrying news before. However, it seems particularly important to me to inform people who live in such regions so that they can implement effective adaptation measures in good time.

What were the club's problems?

In interviews with the older members of the club, we were told about the climatic changes that have already taken place and what they have meant for the development of rowing in our region over the past 30 years. The rowing club has a small harbor basin on the Rhine. Until the 1990s, this was still regularly frozen over in winter, so that there was no possibility of rowing at all. Members of the club now practise their sport all year round - even days in summer are lost due to the heat. Falling water levels are a problem for the club. The old arms of the Rhine around Germersheim are mainly used as rowing areas. During the low water events on the Rhine in recent years, it was always questionable whether these could still be used without risking damage to the boat. There have not yet been any restrictions, but the members firmly believe that this will become a problem in the coming years.

What ideas did you come up with during the cooperation?

Together with the rowing club we worked with, we came to the conclusion that we need to be more sensitive to heat events. Hot days can be dangerous, especially for the old and young members. In addition, the risk of UV rays to skin and eyes is significantly increased on the water due to the reflections. One of the experts on the course then suggested to us that setting up a heat protection officer would be an option. In other words, a person who keeps an eye on the weather in advance and, if necessary, points out potential dangers for children and the elderly. A club-owned range of sun protection products was another idea. Such a person could also maintain contact with representatives from other water sports clubs and share experiences.

Info box

The “VereinsKomPass” project is offered as part of the seminar “Human-Environmental-Systems: Communication of Climate Change Adaptation between Science and Society” in the Master's degree programs Geography (Module 13 “Space and Landscape”) and Environmental Sciences (GEO1a “Human-Environmental-Systems”) at the RPTU in Landau. The service-learning concept combines social commitment with the training of students' technical, methodological and social skills. The aim of the project is to contribute to raising awareness among volunteers with regard to regional climate impacts and to develop tailored adaptation concepts in cooperation with association stakeholders. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV).