Using a MOOC to promote gender perspective in Environmental Biology

The increasingly gender-sensitive legislation promotes the inclusion of substantial legislative changes and actions to move towards effective gender equality in higher education. However, scholars frequently lack information and training to implement the gender perspective in their teaching. Moreover, there is extensive evidence of gender differences in science suggesting that women are underrepresented in most scientific disciplines and publish fewer articles throughout their career, and their work acquires fewer citations (Ley & Hamilton 2008). Thus, the major discoveries in science made by women are often misrepresented in scholar books and courses. The Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) have experienced extraordinary growth since 2012. They are Massive because they are focused on demand of millions of people around the world; Online because are followed via the Internet; Open because their contents are generally free for students; and Courses because they are structured and promote self-learning. MOOCs provide free access to higher education for millions of people and are considered a means for democratizing education. Indeed, students can access complete courses offered by universities all over the world, something previously unattainable. Women in Environmental Biology is a free MOOC available in Coursera platform released in November 2019. It is certified by the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and designed to teach the key concepts of environmental biology from a gender perspective. A team of seven women researchers from the Department of Animal Biology, Plant Biology, and Ecology at the UAB have created this MOOC aiming to promote interdisciplinary, sustainability and gender perspective in higher education. The course is organized in four weeks or sections 1) Biodiversity; 2) Ecosystems and Humans; 3) Human Health and Environment; 4) Strategies for the Conservation of the Environment; and contains a total of 46 videos and additional learning materials. It takes about 10 hours to be completed. In this course, students discover key concepts of environmental biology, what biodiversity means, the main types of living organisms on the Earth and their importance for human beings. They also learn that the gender perspective plays a key role in how we understand the world and how science, and in particular, environmental biology progress. As part of the curriculum, women researchers who have made significant contributions to environmental biology throughout history are introduced, and further references and material about them are provided. In addition, sustainability values and respect for the environment are also key competences within the MOOC. Besides, this course has been designed as a tool to promote gender perspective in teaching (not only at University but also at high school level) since it provides teachers with educational resources and activities. Women references and research conducted by women in many different fields have been used almost exclusively in this MOOC. Thus, it is a source of examples and scientific literature done by women. Moreover, contents and structure have been designed from an ecofeminist perspective, having life as at the core idea of the course. To date, more than 2,400 students have enrolled in the course and 267 have already completed the course. Although the age range of those taking the course is between 13 and more than 65 years, most students are between 18 and 34 years old. Interestingly, whereas in Coursera there is a general gender bias towards male students (60% males, 39% females and 1% others) in our course the bias is towards female students (81% females, 18% males and 1% other). The top five countries where this course is followed are India, Spain, USA, Bangladesh and Mexico. The MOOC has been successful since 97% of the students that already finished the course liked it and wrote more than 20 positive reviews. It is receiving a very good feedback from many specialized organizations that work on environmental biology subjects (e.g. Calaix Ambiental, an ecology and sustainability knowledge platform). The seven scientist women of different disciplines and ages involved in this project have empowered themselves in an interdisciplinary way through the cooperative and creative work done together. This experience has created changes and improvements in gender perspective, oral skills and personal and scientific relations of the teachers of the department, teachers of the Biosciences Faculty, the university, and specially for the researchers involved in the project.