Edvin Østergaard

Becoming an Agroecologist through Action Education

Action education provides an appropriate set of methods for learning about the complexities of farming and food systems. Agroecology provides the framework to organise learning opportunities for students interested in solving challenges in todays world. Our programmes in agroecology concentrate on discovery and learning. Rather than agroecological theory having primary value, we immerse students in practical phenomena at the farming and food system level, and let these phenomena determine what theory is necessary and relevant. Teachers are converted from lecturers to leaders and catalysts in the learning process. In a learning landscape on campus, on farms, and in communities, we find direction by focusing on how students can become agroecologists. Students will have knowledge of farming and food systems, and the skills necessary to handle complexity and change, to link theory to real life situations, to communicate and facilitate in an effective way, and to be autonomous in their learning. Agroecology and sustainable agriculture are good places for training in these skills. Such skills will be vital for graduates to proactively deal with the challenges of specialisation, high technology, and use of non-renewable resources in modern society, in the quest for strategy to achieve sustainable development.

Doing phenomenology in science education: a research review

This article is a review of applications of phenomenology, as a philosophy of knowledge and qualitative research approach, to the field of science education (SE). The purpose is to give an overview of work that has been done as well as to assess it and discuss its possibilities of future development. We ask: what attempts for connecting phenomenology and SE do we find in the research literature, and what possible effects could such connections have for teaching and learning? In approaching this field we distinguish between three sources of phenomenological SE: (1) Goethe’s phenomenology of nature; (2) philosophical phenomenology; and (3) anthropological phenomenology. Existing research based on phenomenological approaches is categorised as phenomenology of SE, phenomenology in SE, and phenomenology and SE integrated. Research examples from each category are critically evaluated and discussed. Finally we discuss the question of the relevance of phenomenology to science teaching. Our review indicates that phenomenology has considerable potential as a method for investigating science learning as a holistic process. It also seems that phenomenology and SE meet most fruitfully when phenomenology is done in the classroom, that is, when it is turned into actual efforts for promoting learning.

Agroecology Education: Action-oriented Learning and Research

Abstract Purpose: This article examines and evaluates the potential contributions from action learning and action research with stakeholders to higher education in agriculture and food systems. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research is based on our experiences over the past two decades of running PhD courses and an MSc degree programme in Agroecology in Norway that have attracted students from the Nordic region and other countries. Findings: We conclude that collaborating with non-university stakeholders as an integral part of a university course or programme serves four main purposes, two directly related to learning and two that can be considered as practical implications. Firstly, it enables learning about complex topics, a learning that cannot be achieved by merely reading or listening. Secondly, the real-life flare of such activities provides the students with enthusiasm and energy to delve into theory. Practical Implications: Thirdly, students collaborating with non-university stakeholders connect university and society. Fourthly, this process builds social relevance and civic engagement not found in conventional courses or curricula. Originality/Value: The article presents conceptual foundations and practical implementation of a unique educational programme in agriculture and food systems.

Composing Einstein: exploring the kinship of art and science

Abstract The work Albert Einstein published in 1905 led to a revolution in physics and the way nature is explained. At the same time, his physics touches on profound existential questions which are also dwelt upon in the arts. This article addresses the relatedness of music and physics, art and science. The point of departure is my composition The Einstein Resoundings, and how writing it refined my sensitivity to the deeper layers of creative effort. I discuss points of contact between the spheres of music and physics: the phenomenon of quantum leaps, continuous and discontinuous structures in tone and atom, and the role of continuity and discontinuity in the act of creation. My reflection on the kinship of art and science is based on the notion of complementarities. This allows a double perspective on art and science as different in regard to activity and language, but similar in regard to their mutually complementing characters.

Moon Music: A Composition of Art and Science in Dialogue

ABSTRACT Leonardo da Vincis careful descriptions of the reflection of light by the moon inspired the author to compose a piece for choir on ways of perceiving the moon. In The Two Moons, Leonardos words are contrasted with two additional texts: facts from a textbook on astronomy and a poem by Denise Levertov. The author discusses the challenge of transforming text and idea into musical sound. Further he discusses exploring natural phenomena by means of parallel efforts in art and science.

Pendulum Dialogues and the Re-enchantment of the World

In this chapter, my main educational argument is that music can provide an entrance into aesthetic experience of nature. Based on my own experiences as composer and researcher with the ongoing art-science project Pendulum Dialogues, I discuss how artistic-scientific dialogues with the pendulum might reveal the world’s ontological dimensions. I ground the argumentation in Heidegger’s space analysis in Time and Being, his distinction between geometrical space and existential space, and the problem of the ontological reversal. I argue that an ontological re-reversal is a matter of both explicit philosophical investigations and innovative explorations of practical teaching efforts. Obviously, an ontological re-reversal also implies giving experience and sensing back their role in education. Discussing art and science, I argue that the differences between the artist’s and the scientist’s approach to one and the same phenomenon should be highlighted in order to create a dialogue between artists and scientists, teachers and students in a common learning space. The lesson to learn from music education is that science teachers should, in order to promote aesthetics in science class, intentionally cultivate a more open, unbiased kind of observation.