Experiential Learning and Community Immersion for Climate Action in Tanzanian Higher Education

• In Event: Teaching and Learning: Strategies and Lessons for Student Development

Proposal

The climate crisis presents particular challenges that call for a profound transformation in human beings and the societies in which they live. Conventional classroom-based education can be effective in transmitting propositional knowledge about the climate system, including the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the impacts of rising temperatures, and strategies for mitigation and adaptation. Yet research shows conclusively that knowledge transmission in higher education is insufficient for changes in behaviour and collective action (Sterling, 2010; Lotz-Sisitka et al., 2015). Innovative methods that incorporate real-life experiences of climate issues, engagement with emotions, culture, and inquiry are needed for effective climate learning.

Ideas of experiential learning developed in the twentieth century through the influence of John Dewey, who argued that it “allows the learner to create and test solutions to problems in the moment and provides the capacity for the learner to apply these solutions to later life experiences” (Dewey, 1938, p. 16). Kolb (1984) extended this work by outlining a cycle of “concrete experience, observation, conceptualization, and active experimentation.” In environmental education, these ideas have been further developed through ‘place-based learning’ (Gruenewald, 2003a, 2003b; Yemini et al., 2023), which utilizes local communities and environments as resources for experiential, interdisciplinary learning.

While these approaches provide important conceptual resources, they have been situated within Western traditions, and empirical research has been conducted predominantly in high-income Anglophone contexts. There is an urgent need for exploration in non-Western settings, as well as in dialogue with other knowledge traditions (Odora Hoppers, 2002). This paper addresses this gap through a community engagement program in Tanzania, which brings together community members from Somanga and Songosongo in Kilwa District with researchers and students from the Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE). The program combined ecological restoration with participatory methodologies, generating important lessons for higher education and climate action.

Somanga and Songosongo coastal villages are dependent on fishing, farming, and mangroves, but are threatened by coral bleaching, mangrove destruction, and coastal erosion. DUCE partnered with three community-based organizations: KIUMAMA (for coral reef restoration), SEG (for mangrove reforestation), and SHIMAWWA (for climate awareness and education).

The study adopted a participatory action research (PAR) approach (Kemmis & McTaggart, 2005), consistent with Freire’s (1970) vision of education as a dialogical process of mutual learning and empowerment. DUCE researchers and students lived and worked alongside villagers, engaging in ecological restoration and facilitating reflective workshops. Methods included (i) Immersion: students and staff shared daily lives and conservation practices with villagers; (ii) Photovoice: documenting degradation and regeneration to stimulate dialogue; (iii) Storytelling: oral histories on ecological change and past destructive practices; and (iv) Collaborative ecological projects: including transplanting 6,000 coral fragments and planting 17,000 mangroves. This combination enabled knowledge to be co-produced through action and reflection, rather than being transferred unidirectionally, aligning with African philosophies of knowledge as relational and collective (Murove, 2009).

The outcomes are analyzed across the interlinked dimensions of head (knowledge), hands (skills), and heart (values and dispositions). For DUCE participants, immersion translated theoretical knowledge into situated ecological literacy. Students learned species identification and drivers of coral bleaching, while community members reframed local experiences within scientific narratives. This co-production of knowledge reflects Odora Hoppers’ (2002) call for dialogue between indigenous and scientific epistemologies.

In relation to ‘hands’ (skills). joint action enabled skill-building. DUCE participants learned coral transplantation and mangrove nursery techniques, while villagers refined their practices and diversified livelihoods into soap-making and seaweed farming. Local governance was also strengthened through community bylaws on resource management. These competencies reflect the action competence approach in environmental education (Jensen & Schnack, 1997) and demonstrate how experiential pedagogy translates into tangible ecological and social outcomes.

Finally, as regards ‘heart’ (Values and Dispositions), the most profound transformations occurred in the affective domain. Storytelling about past destructive practices elicited remorse and responsibility. Women participants emphasized pride in stewardship roles, while for DUCE students, immersion nurtured empathy. Children, too, began caring for planted trees, calling them “our friends we must water” (School Pupil, Songosongo, 2024).

Photovoice also elicited emotional responses, as images of rubble-like reefs were described as “painful to see,” while regenerating corals evoked “hope and determination.” These value shifts resonate with Gadotti’s (2009) call for ecopedagogy, which seeks to cultivate planetary consciousness and responsibility through critical and emotional engagement. They also align with Murove’s (2009) African ethic of ukama (relationality), which emphasizes the interdependence between humans and ecosystems. These transformations were mutually reinforcing. Knowledge informed skills, action reinforced care, and values sustained commitment. Together they fostered a sense of ecological citizenship (Dobson, 2003) that bridged the university–community divide.

The Community–DUCE project demonstrates that climate education must engage the head, hands, and heart together. Cognitive awareness, practical competence, and ethical responsibility are inseparable in building sustainable futures. Theoretically, the case extends experiential and place-based learning by foregrounding the affective and ethical dimensions and situating pedagogy in contexts of vulnerability and justice. It illustrates Freire’s (1970) vision of co-learning through dialogue, Gadotti’s (2009) ecopedagogy of planetary responsibility, and Odora Hoppers’ (2002) call for epistemic pluralism, while affirming Murove’s (2009) ethic of interconnectedness. Practically, the findings show that higher education can reorient itself from extractive research and abstract teaching to immersive, participatory partnerships that deliver ecological outcomes—restored reefs, mangroves, and diversified livelihoods—while also cultivating ecological citizens.

In contexts like Tanzania, where climate impacts are particularly severe, this approach demonstrates that higher education can make a meaningful contribution to climate justice. By embedding itself in community struggles and engaging cognition, competence, and conscience together, the university becomes not just a site of learning but a partner in building sustainable, resilient, and caring societies, and acting as a catalyst for peace.

Authors

• Almas Fortunatus Mazigo, DUCE

• Tristan McCowan, University College London