Classroom participation goes global at the Inaugural WSFC

An international conference is an incredible opportunity for sharing ideas, but what about the people who, for whatever reason, aren’t able to make it?

WSFC organizer Ratana Chuenpagdee didn’t want the students in her World Fisheries class at Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada, to miss out on the speakers in Bangkok, which is why they’ll be using this blog to stay connected, ask questions and get an up-close-and-personal perspective on what’s happening at the Congress.


 “The curriculum for the course contains readings from many of the guests who’ll be speaking at the Congress in October,” says Ratana. “Often, my students raise questions or issues after they read their assigned articles, so this will be an opportunity for them to get real answers from some of the most respected fisheries scholars in the world.”

To start, the students will read excerpts by plenary speakers, including Svein Jentoft, Chris Béné and Katia Frangoudes. 

Next, they’ll respond to the readings here on the blog, through a series of guest blog posts. The posts will help Ratana assess how well the students have understood the readings, as well as encouraging them to speak about these sometimes complex issues in a less formal tone than you traditionally find in academic writing.

Finally, the questions that the students raise will be posed directly to the speakers, filmed and shared, here on the blog, and after the conference in the classroom.

We’d like to encourage all conference members to be as active on the blog, and with the students in particular, as possible. Feel free to comment on their posts, answer questions, and raise issues, the trickier the better!