From the Sustainability Education Podcast: “The Sustainability Education Podcast is a series dedicated to examining and debunking myths surrounding sustainability education. Hosted by Dr. Stefan T. Siegel, this podcast series aims to provide evidence-informed, effective, and ethically-responsible insights into sustainability education. Through engaging with global thought leaders and experts, the podcast explores the prevalence, origins, consequences, and prevention of educational myths, contributing to a more informed and critical approach to sustainability education.”
Episode 6: Short Summary of the Interview
“In this episode, Dr. Stefan T. Siegel interviews Melanie Trecek-King, Associate Professor of Biology at Massasoit Community College and Education Director for the Mental Immunity Project. Trecek-King shares insights on fostering critical thinking, combating misinformation, and addressing myths in sustainability education.
Key topics include:
- Defining Core Terms: Differentiating beliefs, misinformation, myths, and pseudoscience to establish clarity in educational discourse.
- Critical Thinking and Mental Immunity: Trecek-King discusses her broader definition of critical thinking as a combination of dispositions and skills, aligning it with the concept of mental immunity, which uses an analogy of cognitive defenses to combat misinformation.
- Myths in Sustainability Education: Common misconceptions such as “sustainability is only about saving the environment” are addressed.
- Inoculation Techniques: Trecek-King advocates for active and experiential inoculation exercises to help students identify and resist misinformation. Examples include creating misinformation to understand techniques like cherry-picking or logical fallacies.
- Addressing Core Beliefs and Values: The conversation highlights how the (perceived) restriction of autonomy or solution aversion can drive resistance to sustainability efforts and how educators can align to the values and (core) beliefs of learners to foster understanding and action.
- Effective Educational Practices: Trecek-King uses diverse media formats and humor to engage students while making critical thinking approachable and relatable.
The episode concludes with practical strategies for addressing misconceptions, fostering intellectual humility, and equipping students to navigate complex sustainability challenges critically and independently.”
Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.