Pedagogical innovations in horticulture and landscape training: can we imagine an international network of innovative teachers?

Based on six topics previously selected through a call for papers, a workshop on pedagogical innovations was organized in three parts, each presenting up to three examples, mainly related to plant identification and knowledge. The main conclusions of the workshop were that, first of all, the use of digital tools is interesting to help students learn and self-assess and that the development of these tools can also be a means of collaboration within a teaching team. Even if these tools offer the possibility for being used in the framework of e-learning, they can only be complementary to face-to-face sessions in order to favor exchanges with the teacher and among students. Furthermore, the example of the use of metacognition sciences was discussed using two examples concerning the identification and knowledge of plants. It was felt that it is important to make students aware that there are different learning strategies for the same teaching unit and that each student is likely to be more or less comfortable with one of these strategies, which the student could then use himself for other teaching activities. Finally, the example of the construction of an international master's degree in horticulture highlighted the importance for teachers to share their experiences in order to foster pedagogical innovation. Based on all these conclusions and in view of the current challenges horticulture is facing, the workshop participants discussed the importance of setting up a working group on pedagogical innovations within the ISHS in order to better understand and disseminate present and future pedagogical transformations in horticulture and landscape education.