For five days from August 30 to September 3, Social Ecology: Principles of Invasion Ecology 2021 was held via Zoom as a course offered by Hokkaido Summer Institute (HSI) 2021.
The lecturer for this course was Dr. Al GLEN, who is engaged in cutting-edge research at Landcare Research (Wildlife Ecology & Management) in New Zealand. We invited him as a lecturer in 2017, 2018 and 2019 (cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19), and were pleased to welcome him once again this year. In recent years, invasive foreign species have adversely affected ecosystems and society, as exemplified by decreases in the number of native species and damage to the health of humans. This course geared toward undergraduates, which was held for the fourth time this year, was aimed at helping participants gain in-depth understanding of not only the current situation surrounding these invasive species and the extent of the damage they do but also causes and countermeasures.
Through the lectures, students gained basic knowledge about invasion ecology through numerous slides covering specific cases seen in New Zealand and Australia, as well as those in Japan.
Invited foreign lecturer Dr. Al GLEN (Landcare Research, New Zealand)
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this course was offered online from New Zealand. Due to the time difference between New Zealand and Japan, the last of three lectures each day was held as on-demand viewing of a video recorded lecture prepared by Dr. Glen in advance. When students had questions about these on-demand lectures, they were free to contact the lecturer via e-mail, or were given time for a question-and-answer session during the lecture on the following day. Great care was taken to come up with ways to help students better understand the lectures by minimizing the time they spent in a state of not fully understanding them.
During the five days of intensive lectures, a daily quiz was given to students at the end of the lecture to confirm how well they understood what they had learned that day. The answers to the quizzes and comments were provided at the beginning of the first lecture on the following day. Although the lectures conducted online were more difficult in terms of interactive communication than those given in a classroom, the daily reviews using ten-question quizzes reflecting the lecture content helped give students a deeper understanding.
This was the first time to offer HSI courses online, but the tremendous contributions made by Dr. Glen and sufficient coordination and preparation among the instructional staff in charge made these online lectures no less effective than those given in classrooms. Students were able to attend lectures in English, which they are rarely able to do in their regular classes, thereby providing them with a valuable experience.
This course is offered in English by a researcher who is active on the front lines of invasion ecology and involved in implementing actual countermeasures. We are hoping to invite Dr. Glen to the lecture here again next year.