Ecology as Critical Pedagogy: Investigating Climate Disparities using the Tree Equity Index and AI

The aim of this resource is to show how the integration of critical pedagogy and climate justice can be used in ecology or interdisciplinary classroom. The resource suggests that critical theory should be considered as one of the cross-cutting dimensions used in 4DEE (Four Dimensional Ecology Education). Using the Tree Equity Index database and the EcoCast AI app students learn how to be contributors of new knowledge vs mere digital consumers. The activity aligns with a critical pedagogy model in that it has the capacity to promote a new "conscientização" or transformational learning when students make their own connections between climate inequities and underlying power structures. With new knowledge gained students have the potential to become change agents as they propose a plan of action based on their own observations and data.