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Teaching (super) wicked problems: authentic learning about climate change
Abstract
Climate change is a ‘super-wicked’ problem associated with challenges including food security, mass migration and biodiversity loss. Young people are increasingly expecting their university education to prepare them to address these challenges. This requires universities to go beyond scientific accounts of climate change, and to engage students in the complex interactions between social, economic and environmental systems. Authentic learning develops students’ understanding of ‘real-world’ challenges and is well aligned with pedagogical traditions in geography. We researched the extent to which climate change is framed as a wicked problem and how students undertake authentic learning about it in UK and Ireland undergraduate geography programmes. Our findings show that while authentic approaches to teaching climate change can be well developed at module level, programme design lacks coherence. Teaching focuses on climate problems rather than progressively scaffolding students’ skills for finding effective solutions. We propose that academic developers have significant potential to enhance climate change teaching. We present seven principles for geography programme teams to improve climate change teaching in degree programmes. The wicked problems concept emerged at a time of social unrest and growing environmental consciousness and so remains a powerful way to frame teaching about global challenges.
... Learning from real-world situations, or authentic learning, is one common teaching approach that was used in different learning fields, and studies showed that including real-world scenarios in the assignments increases the engagement of foreign language learners [37][38][39]. Authentic learning by involving students in the learning subject increases motivation among learners when adopting tasks and raises the opportunity for students to develop their problem-solving skills [33]. To encourage students to use the target language in their communication, authentic tasks by immersing learners in authentic scenarios prepare them for real-world challenges [34]. ...
... The analysis of the interview part provided more detail about the strengths and challenges of the e-learning approach and how adopting a dynamic (real-world) theme increases the communication and motivation between learners and enhances their understanding. Moreover, the results show that participants applied authentic concepts in practice and showed their confidence in using foreign sign language [24,38,40]. ...
... In addition, this aligns with research suggesting that authentic online learning impacts increasing motivation among learners [39]. In addition, another study on hearing learners, such as [38], believed that learning from real-world situations plays an important role in developing education and shows that the nine principles of authentic learning to design learning environments are also applicable in online contexts. ...
The digitalization of educational systems and the corresponding impact on the learners’ improvement require modern pedagogical approaches to increase motivation among learners in distance learning. According to the literature, authentic e-learning and real-world themes create a dynamic learning setting and enhance learners’ engagement; however, the impact of adopting authentic learning has not been investigated for deaf learners in a sign language e-learning setting. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of adopting authentic learning for the design of e-learning for deaf learners. The study employed a mixed-methods approach by conducting a one-group pre-test–post-test with 11 deaf learners and measuring design principles of authentic learning via semi-structured interviews. The statistical portion analyzed the T-test and Cohen’s d-effect size, and the result showed that e-learning through authentic themes was significantly effective. The interview results revealed a positive attitude toward using e-learning based on an authentic learning approach, which increased deaf learners’ motivation. It was found that e-learning based on an authentic sign language e-learning setting and technology enhances deaf learners’ satisfaction and motivation with their first e-learning experience.
... Simply put, wicked problems often defy the concept of a singular 'right answer', a fact that can disrupt many traditional assessment techniques. Consequently, wicked problems often do not receive the framing they warrant, which potentially obstructs opportunities for students to engage robustly in problem-solving and systems thinking strategies pertinent to tackling such problems [33] (p. 498). ...
... CLEWs modelling simulates the intricate interconnections among various elements such as population, resource capacity, capital investment, land use, and pollution, which are typically difficult to comprehend. Essentially, CLEWs modelling can serve as a pedagogical tool aligned with Cross and Congreve's call for 'systemic learning', a process that fosters understanding of, and intellectual links between, phenomena and the larger context, as opposed to learning which breaks down subjects into isolated components [33] (p. 498). ...
... Although these visualisations are currently in the form of interactive graphs (see Figure 4), with the recent onset of rapidly advancing AI tools, there is every possibility that these visualisations will evolve into even more dynamic interactive simulations as ultimately advocated by Sterman: In other words, through the visualisation of CLEWs modelling, these tools can allow individuals to explore the relationships between emissions, land use, energy supply, and the water cycle, encouraging a more comprehensive understanding of the complex dynamics at play. Indeed, modelling and simulation has been described as an 'authentic learning practice' [33] and is becoming more widely practised due its high potential to improve learning outcomes [81]. An example of using CLEWs tools to visualise modelling and simulation is evidenced by Figure 4. ...
The increasing prevalence of wicked problems, such as climate change, requires a transformation in education that equips students with the skills, competencies and knowledge to address these complex challenges. Wicked problems are characterised by their incomplete, contradictory, and ever-changing requirements, rendering them difficult to resolve due to intricate interdependencies. Nexus thinking offers a valuable approach to these problems, as it emphasises the interconnectedness of various systems, fostering a more comprehensive understanding of the challenges at hand. In this paper, we propose the use of Climate, Land, Energy, and Water (CLEWs) modelling as an innovative pedagogical strategy tool to cultivate nexus thinking among students. Building upon the pioneering CLEWs pedagogical work of Shivakumar et al., in their ‘Introduction to CLEWs’ Open Learn course, we demonstrate how this approach can be utilised in a Higher Education (HE) setting in the form of a Masters’ module for geography students.
... This disparity suggests that low self-efficacy may hinder students' capacity to translate intentions into meaningful behaviours. CCE can increase this self-efficacy by incorporating problem-based learning strategies that explore climate change solutions in the community 22,29,30 . ...
... Activities such as writing poems, crafting stories, or creating artwork about climate change could spark initial interest and lead to deeper engagement through artistic approaches. For the Advocates, more advanced approaches, such as problem-based, project-based or inquiry-based learning, are better aligned 29,30 , empowering them as change agents to explore and implement pathways for climate mitigation and adaptation. ...
... Learning from real-world situations or authentic learning is one common teaching approach that was used in different learning fields, and studies showed that including real-world scenarios in the assignments increases the engagement of foreign language learners [33][34][35]. Authentic learning by involving students in the learning subject increases motivation among learners when adopting tasks and raises the opportunity for students to develop their problem-solving skills [36]. To encourage students to use the target language in their communication, authentic tasks by immersing learners in authentic scenarios prepare them for real-world challenges [37]. ...
... To gather qualitative data, semi-structured interviews, observations, and video recordings were used. To maintain the validity of the collected data from the qualitative part, data source triangulation was followed [34]. The interview questions followed these criteria: ...
The digitalization of educational systems and the corresponding impact on the learners’ improvement require modern pedagogical approaches to increase motivation among learners in distance learning. According to the literature, authentic e-learning and real-world themes create a dynamic learning setting and enhance learners' engagement; however, the impact of adopting authentic learning has not been investigated for deaf learners in a sign language e-learning setting. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of adopting authentic learning for the design of e-learning for deaf learners. The study employed a mixed-methods approach by conducting a one-group pretest-posttest with 11 deaf learners and measuring design principles of authentic learning via semi-structured interviews. The statistical portion analyzed the T-test and Cohen's d-effect size, and the result showed that e-learning through authentic themes was significantly effective. The interview results revealed a positive attitude toward using e-learning based on an authentic learning approach, which increased deaf learners’ motivation. It was found that e-learning based on an authentic sign language e-learning setting and technology enhances deaf learners’ satisfaction and motivation with their first e-learning experience.
... Importantly, uptake of best practices on authentic learning remains slow in institutes of higher learning, especially in the field of environmental sciences. A recent study in the United Kingdom suggests that the design of environmental courses as authentic experiences is rarely institutionalised (Cross & Congreve, 2021). Rather, individual instructors design their own modules, possibly focusing on problems rather than developing solution-oriented skills, as was the case in the climate-change authentic learning courses analysed in that study (Cross & Congreve, 2021). ...
... A recent study in the United Kingdom suggests that the design of environmental courses as authentic experiences is rarely institutionalised (Cross & Congreve, 2021). Rather, individual instructors design their own modules, possibly focusing on problems rather than developing solution-oriented skills, as was the case in the climate-change authentic learning courses analysed in that study (Cross & Congreve, 2021). Scholars have also highlighted that PBL courses often lacked critical learning objectives and rarely had a follow-up phase examining courses' implementation and outcomes (Brundiers & Wiek, 2013). ...
Authentic assessment – where instructors create a realistic, cognitively challenging learning environment – is critical in environmental science education. However, academic staff insufficiently rely on best practices in authentic learning due to lack of knowledge or interest. Here, we evaluate existing frameworks to improve the authenticity of higher-education courses by applying them to an environmental science course and evaluating its authenticity and effectiveness. Our evaluation relies on qualitative and quantitative data obtained from student surveys, as well as students’ reflective journals. We found that the course generally met the criteria of authenticity (realism, cognitive challenge, and evaluative judgement) and that students exhibited positive cognitive, affective, and behavioural responses to the course. Our research suggests that existing frameworks and tools can usefully support the evaluation of authentic assessment, although additional efforts are needed to lower barriers for non-expert academic staff to engage with the recent literature on authentic assessment and improve students’ experience.
... They are not interested in charismatic leaders showing them the way; they want to do it themselves or in partnership with others" (Longo & McMillan, 2015); this is true both pedagogically and politically. This is particularly true when presenting students with "wicked problems" (Lehtonen, Slonen, & Cantell, 2016;Sun & Yang, 2016), or even a "super wicked problem" (Cross & Congreve, 2021), which denotes the connected, compounding, and borderless nature of these problems. Such problems are characterised both by their complexity and the interdisciplinary approach needed to address them. ...
... As noted previously, climate change has been considered by many as a wicked problem (Lehtonen et al., 2016;Cross & Congreve, 2021). The GCDI, therefore, positions itself and its participants in relation to this issue both analytically and practically, as highlighted through the design process, and by using the personal connections of the students to climate change. ...
This paper is based on the collaborative development of the Global Classroom for Democracy Innovation (GCDI), and its month-long virtual pilot workshop, the 'Climate Change Design Jam’. The GCDI is an integrated learning partnership between three international universities located in Canada, South Africa, and Sweden, and civil society partners the Vancouver Design Nerds (VDN). Each partner brought unique skills to the GCDI, as new processes and methods for virtual, global student engagement and dialogue were co-designed. The GCDI hosted the Climate Change Design Jam over four consecutive weeks in March 2022. By employing a design thinking methodology, it facilitated online student project development around the interconnected and broad topics of climate change and democracy. Students and student facilitators were guided through the process of design thinking to develop grounded projects that address climate change issues locally and internationally. This paper argues that fundamental principles of fostering genuine connections (both 'online' and 'offline') between students can act as a useful foundation from which project development can be based. Further, this paper illustrates that when faced with 'wicked problems’ such as climate change and challenges to democracy worldwide design thinking methods and collaborative approaches can act as a catalyst for action (Manzini, 2015). Exploring political theory, democracy, and civic agency through dialogue and co-design provides students with innovative approaches to research, critical thinking, and activism. This pilot series provides insight into student engagement across international contexts, and thus the development of cross-cultural and collective intelligence which can be formative for similar projects in the future (Behari-Leak, 2020).
... The literature describe how teaching should be designed for authentic learning (e.g., Herrington & Oliver, 2000;2010;Rule, 2006;Hill & Smith, 2005), with the goal of developing students' understanding of complex issues like climate change (Cross & Congreve, 2020). Authentic assignments provide a real-world context (Rule, 2006;Resnick, 1987;Young, 1993;Harley, 1993), in which students can apply their knowledge and reflect on their learning (Rule, 2006). ...
... Although students did encounter real problems and tasks, which according to the teachers enable authentic learning (as described by Herrington & Oliver, 2000;Rule, 2006), the teachers attempt to guide them in addressing the complexity of the problems (an important aspect of authentic teaching according to Peters & Tarpey, 2019). Many teaching examples featured problems related to major societal challenges of our time (emphasized by Cross & Congreve, 2020), but when students did not interact with different actors and interest groups in their concrete work, when they were not challenged in discussions by actors outside of school, they may have difficulty fully grasping the complexity and challenges of the tasks they are working on (the importance of discussing and being challenged regarding complex problems is emphasized by Herrington & Herrington, 2006;Pitchford et al., 2021). The tasks, activities, and examples risk remaining school assignments with an authentic touch rather than authentic work. ...
Teaching for authentic learning is described in the literature as motivating. Therefore, some schools in Sweden profile their education as authentic and some teachers strive for such teaching. During 2022, in a case study, we followed teachers and students in grade three with an age of 17-18 years, in a technology programme at a secondary school with the aim to explore specific patterns in characteristics in teaching for authentic learning. The result showed that teaching in a technology programme in an upper secondary school can be done with characteristics related to theories. Some patterns stood out as enablers of authentic teaching. Firstly, it seemed to be important to start early with authentic activities when the students begin their first year. Secondly, the teachers must let the planning, teaching and assessment "go out of control". The present work concerns a follow up study with a broader participation. Data was collected during interviews with six teachers in different schools, both primary and secondary schools. All teachers had participated in specific courses and were involved in projects dealing with teaching about space in STEM, with an authentic approach. The interviews were analysed both related to a category system based on theories about authentic learning as well as more thematic. The aim was to explore what patterns appeared as enablers of authentic teaching.
... There are no clear signals indicating when or if the problem has been solved. 3. ...
... Complicating the teaching about wicked problems is an additional "wickedness": the educational systems themselves. When pairing a wicked problem (e.g., climate change) within a wicked environment (e.g., education systems), K-12 climate change education becomes a "super-wicked" [3] endeavor, doubly difficult to achieve well with the problematic issues both bring with them. This paper's discussion is premised on three proposed axioms and questions that can drive effective climate change education: These three issues-when performed poorly or when ignored-introduce an education wickedness that further confounds the wickedness of climate change. ...
Climate change is a wicked problem, defying simple resolution. Education in various forms and at various levels has sought to improve understanding and stimulate climate change action in young people. There exists, however, a certain wickedness in education systems as well that makes climate change education difficult to enact successfully. These include an unsupportive education environment where academic standards related to climate change are missing, the lack of an inquiry-based pedagogy that can be well-suited to investigating topics like climate change with no easy answers, and ill-prepared teachers who do not fully know both the physical science and social aspects of the topic. A review of education standards in the United States and the literature on the latter two issues is used to make the argument that it is the geography classroom that can serve as the best unifying space that is most supportive of holistic and meaningful climate change education. This future is possible should we be successful in amending standards, pedagogy, and teacher preparation.
... Η σύγχρονη κλιματική κρίση συνιστά μια δυναμική πραγματικότητα που διαμορφώνεται από περισσότερα από ένα συστήματα (οικολογικά, κοινωνικά, οικονομικά, πολιτικά και αξιακά), τα οποία επηρεάζονται το ένα από το άλλο, και από κοινού επηρεάζουν την εξέλιξη επιμέρους διαστάσεών της, όπως και την αποτελεσματικότητα κάθε δοκιμαζόμενης λύσης (Peters, 2018). Επίσης, η παγκοσμιότητα του φαινομένου οδηγεί συχνά στη λανθασμένη εντύπωση ότι η αναζήτηση κατάλληλων λύσεων για την αντιμετώπιση τέτοιων προβλημάτων θα πρέπει να γίνεται σε αντίστοιχη κλίμακα (Cross & Congreve, 2021). Όμως, ολοένα και περισσότερο αναγνωρίζεται ότι η λήψη μέτρων αποκλειστικά και μόνο σε επίπεδο διεθνούς πολιτικής, όσο σημαντική κι αν είναι, δεν είναι αρκετή, ενώ η υιοθέτηση διαφορετικών στρατηγικών και εφαρμογών σε περιφερειακό και κυρίως σε τοπικό επίπεδο αποτελεί μια πιο ρεαλιστική προσέγγιση (Mintrom & Luetjens, 2017). ...
... Με βάση όσα ήδη επισημάνθηκαν γίνεται κατανοητό ότι η ίδια η φύση του ζητήματος της κλιματικής αλλαγής εντείνει τον βαθμό δυσκολίας του σε διδακτικό επίπεδο, ενώ σε μαθησιακό επίπεδο απαιτεί πολύ περισσότερα από την πρόσληψη περισσότερων ή πιο πρόσφατων πληροφοριακών επιστημονικών δεδομένων (Kagawa & Selby, 2010· Δασκολιά, 2015· Δασκολιά, 2017, θέτοντας μια σειρά από προκλήσεις σε επίπεδο διδακτικών και μαθησιακών στόχων και παιδαγωγικών πρακτικών. Όπως υποστηρίζουν αρκετοί, ανάμεσα στους οποίους και οι Cross & Congreve (2021), η εκπαίδευση γύρω από τέτοια «σύνθετα» και «δυσεπίλυτα» προβλήματα ζητά την καλλιέργεια νέων τρόπων σκέψης και ταυτόχρονα καλεί σε μια αναθεώρηση των παραδοσιακών τρόπων διδασκαλίας. ...
Όλοι οι τομείς δράσης για την αντιμετώπιση της σύγχρονης κλιματικής κρίσης απαιτούν την υιοθέτηση μετασχηματιστικών προοπτικών με όραμα την αειφορία. Η εκπαίδευση ειδικότερα αναγνωρίζεται ως κεντρικός παράγοντας στην ανάληψη και καλλιέργεια ενός τέτοιου προσανατολισμού, μέσα από την εννοιολόγηση της κλιματικής κρίσης και των προκλήσεων που εμπεριέχει και την ενεργοποίηση και ενδυνάμωση ατόμων και κοινοτήτων απέναντι σε αυτή. Αξιοποιώντας και προεκτείνοντας τη θεωρία και την πράξη της Περιβαλλοντικής Εκπαίδευσης και της Εκπαίδευσης για την Αειφόρο Ανάπτυξη, στους κόλπους των οποίων γεννήθηκε και εντάσσεται η εκπαίδευση για την κλιματική αλλαγή, θεωρούμε ότι μπορεί να μπορεί να συμβάλλει σε μια ανανέωση της προβληματικής τους και παράλληλα να προσφέρει νέα πεδία εστίασης στην εκπαιδευτική θεωρία, έρευνα, πολιτική και πρακτική. Στο παρόν άρθρο προσεγγίζουμε την κλιματική αλλαγή ως ένα ιδιαίτερο κοινωνικο-περιβαλλοντικό ζήτημα και μαθησιακό αντικείμενο με τα χαρακτηριστικά του «φαύλου» προβλήματος, η αντίληψη, γνωστική και συναισθηματική διαχείριση του οποίου προσκρούει σε μια σειρά από εσωτερικούς ψυχολογικούς μηχανισμούς και εμπόδια. Χρησιμοποιούμε τη θεωρητική ανάλυση και την ερευνητική μαρτυρία για να φωτίσουμε πλευρές και διαστάσεις της ανθρώπινης εμπλοκής με τις προκλήσεις που θέτει η κλιματική αλλαγή ως ένα τέτοιο «φαύλο» πρόβλημα. Τέλος, προτείνουμε ένα πλαίσιο διδακτικών όρων σε επίπεδο εκπαιδευτικού σχεδιασμού και μεθοδολογικών επιλογών, που διασφαλίζει συμβατές και κατάλληλες παιδαγωγικές προσεγγίσεις και πιο αυθεντικές μαθησιακές εμπειρίες, για μια περιβαλλοντική εκπαίδευση με στόχο την αειφορία και θεματική επικέντρωση την κλιματική αλλαγή.
... In the 21 st century, the politicization of 'the environment' has gained a new size and scale. Countries and local communities all around the world are confronting "wicked problems" 1 stemming from climate change, biodiversity loss, overconsumption of natural resources, pollution, and other alarming environmental developments (Cross and Congreve 2021). Together they threaten, not only the societies, but all life on earth. ...
... Alternative, hopeful yet critical perspectives have been presented by interdisciplinary scholarship drawing from political ecology, critical pedagogy, critical geography, and neighboring fields (e.g., Bowers 2001aBowers , 2001bO'Sullivan 2002;Smith 2002;Gruenewald 2003;Klooster 2006;Locke 2009;Goulah 2010;Gopakumar 2014;Aedo et al. 2019;Pisters et al. 2019;Stickney & Skilbeck 2020;Aarnio-Linnanvuori 2019;Cross and Congreve 2021;Crosweller & Tschakert 2021). Many of them emphasize shared responsibilities between public, private, third sector, and civic actors in response to the complex environmental challenges that unfold "trans-scalarly" or "multi-scalarly", that is, cross-cutting different scalar dimensions and forming uneven and unequal translocal, transregional and transnational connections as well as disruptions (Mamadouh & van der Wusten 2008;Jones III et al. 2017) 2 . ...
... The all-encompassing magnitude of the existential threat posed by climate change constitutes a "wicked," problem (Cross & Congreve, 2021). Indeed, predictions of the dire downstream consequences associated with average temperature rises above 1.5 degrees °C are already well documented (IPCC, 2018). ...
Africa is especially vulnerable to the deleterious effects of climate change. Unless there is a significant shift in current trends, many African countries are likely to continue facing extreme weather events that will threaten their food security, water resources, human health, and biodiversity. Consequently, there is a pressing need to ensure that climate change mitigation strategies (strategies to reduce carbon emissions) and climate change adaptation strategies (strategies to circumvent the deleterious effects of climate change) are rolled out across all courses at African universities. Universities serve as both knowledge hubs and vehicles for societal change. However, African universities have traditionally adopted a Eurocentric approach to education that delegitimises Indigenous knowledge and reinforces colonial narratives. To overcome these historical shortcomings, African universities must engage with local populations and leverage Indigenous knowledge systems to co-create place-based climate solutions that provide transformative change for all. In this chapter, we call for African universities to reposition their orientation by reconsidering their conceptualisation of climate change education.
... Moreover, attitudes, beliefs, and teaching intentions vary across fields of study. Given that CC is a "wicked problem" intertwined with global challenges such as food security, migration, and biodiversity loss (Cross & Congreve, 2021), addressing it requires interdisciplinary understanding and strong pedagogical competencies. Teachers must be equipped with not only accurate scientific knowledge but also the ability to integrate CC topics into diverse subject areas. ...
Climate change presents significant global challenges and is a top priority for many countries, including Vietnam, in achieving sustainable development goals. Teachers’ perceptions of climate change strongly influence their teaching and ability to inspire students to take actions. This study examines the knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and teaching intentions of Vietnamese pre-service teachers regarding climate change through a survey of 468 participants from teacher education institutions nationwide. Research findings reveal that while pre-service teachers have some understanding of climate change, their knowledge remains limited. Although most express a willingness to act, their beliefs about climate change are often ambiguous and inconsistent. This study represents the first large-scale survey in Vietnam on this topic, providing implications for teacher education programs. Specifically, integrating climate change education as a mandatory course or shared module, incorporating experiential learning, ensuring access to updated research, and enhancing institutional support are crucial for strengthening pre-service teachers’ knowledge and confidence in educating about climate change.
... The design of the PPL is based on three underlying understandings: firstly, the climate crisis is understood as a wicked problem, implying its complexity and multilayered nature, involving stakeholders with conflicting values and the unpredictability of their outcomes (see, e.g. Cross & Congreve, 2021;McCune et al., 2024;Rittel & Webber, 1973), which requires holistic approaches that go beyond technical systems analysis and optimization (Lonngren & Svantr€ om, 2015). Secondly, we assume that the field of the built environment is inherently multidisciplinary and complex. ...
Higher education is essential for equipping architects, engineers and professionals in the built environment sector to tackle the challenges of climate change. To address the multifaceted nature of societal transition effectively, we highlight two key aspects: firstly, we assert that governmental frameworks, regulatory agencies and construction and planning authorities will play a pivotal role in the successful transition. Secondly, we highlight the importance of addressing not only future planners, but also the current active workforce, in order to contribute to an adequate response to the upcoming global changes. In this study, we critically examine the approach of the Public Planning Lab, a postgraduate interdisciplinary seminar at the Technical University of Munich, dedicated to training future civil servants of built environment authorities. We argue that universities can provide the scientific expertise and innovative approaches necessary for high-quality training programs by fostering transdisciplinary formats in a cross-institutional approach and an experimental culture. By analyzing the program and compiling suggestions for further development, we hope to contribute to the debate with a concept of higher education that can offer mutual gains to all parties involved, including students, trainees and built environment authorities.
... In this set of literature, wicked problems are presented as realities that students need to grapple with beyond universities and this means that institutes of higher learning have a changing role which requires them to prepare students for an ever-increasingly complex world (Hanstedt 2018). According to this approach, rather than providing simple explanations about issues taught in the classroom, instructors deliberately highlight the complexity of the problems being discussed, such as climate change (Cross and Congreve 2021) or food insecurity (Worosz, Farrell, and Jenda 2020). Students are then given opportunities to develop what Hanstedt calls "wicked competencies" (2018, 3). ...
The concept of "wicked problems" originated in policy studies to describe complex issues with no clear solutions or boundaries, and has since been applied to higher education. Much of the literature on wicked competencies emphasizes intellectual skills, such as consensus-building and interdisciplinary thinking. This paper, however, focuses on the emotional competencies needed to engage with wicked problems. Through a discussion of iterative course design in Political Science at the National University of Singapore, the paper argues that an exclusive focus on intellectual skills can leave students feeling overwhelmed by seemingly insurmountable issues. It suggests that instructors must also address emotional responses to these problems by creating space for emotional expression and redirecting those emotions toward hope and action. This approach helps students engage more effectively with the challenges of wicked problems.
... S. wu & lee, 2015). Some social work and other community activists have prepared specific curricula designed to teach about the climate crisis (Ben Zvi Assaraf et al., 2024;cross & congreve, 2021;Drolet et al., 2015b;Rambaree, 2020b). others have discussed using the carbon footprint or ecological footprint as a teaching tool (gottlieb et al., 2012b;valls-val & Bovea, 2021). ...
The warming of the planet and the currently increasing evidence of the climate crisis compel social workers to prepare themselves and their students to shoulder new roles and develop new models of education. This focused literature review provides the social work educator or activist with essential and suggested materials in order to teach and/or lead community projects in this area. It starts by providing details of the direct and indirect effects of the climate crisis and proposes two main approaches used by social workers in climate crisis mitigation: the first derives from identifying populations at risk from the increasing heat and extreme weather events and emphasizes future planning and inter-sectorial collaboration on how to provide services to affected populations. The second focuses on preparing to meet the needs of vulnerable populations in extreme weather events and climate-related disasters, using a framework of pro-active disaster management. Additional roles for social workers in addressing eco-anxiety and environmental justice, with examples from the Global North and South are detailed. The second half of the paper suggests appropriate educational approaches and tools that may be incorporated in teaching about the climate crisis. Suggested reading is included.
... reflect an expression of increasing public shame in climate change professionals-as well as frustration and catharsis-that may ultimately foster deeper engagement within individuals, communities and institutions in addressing the complex barriers that have delayed climate action. Climate change has been described as a "super-wicked problem" (Cross and Congreve, 2021), a threat multiplier that will inevitably constrain our capacity for wellbeing (Lawrance et al., 2022). Wellbeing is an equally complex construct (Wilkie et al., 2022), encompassing positive emotions (Fredrickson, 2004), sense of meaning (Wong, 2016), inner development (Woiwode et al., 2021), social identity (Jetten et al., 2017), social cohesion (Delhey and Dragolov, 2016), nature connection (Martin et al., 2020), and pro-environmental behaviors (Capstick et al., 2022). ...
... Social science perspectives are critical to give students an understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of climate change solutions and adaptations, and to promote hope for addressing change (Duram, 2021). The way climate change is taught is also important -education research from various disciplines demonstrates that students are more likely to feel empowered and resilient in the face of the climate crisis if active and authentic learning experiences are emphasized (Cross & Congreve, 2021;Duram, 2021;Monroe et al., 2019;Simm et al. 2021) and pedagogy is used that creates a sense of community and acknowledges and addresses students' emotional responses to climate change (Campbell, 2023;Verlie, 2020). ...
İkizköy-Akbelen forest is at the target of YK Energy company who aims to expand its coal mine territory since 2019. While İkizköy villagers kept watch in the tent for more than 738 days to avert an illegal logging in the forest, they also filed six lawsuits against the company (İkizkoydireniyor.net 2023). Despite these struggles of determined villagers, loggers accompanied by the gendarme came into the forest in July 2023 and razed thousands of trees in ten days
... Moreover, a more general problem that goes beyond non-STEM fields and effects HE more broadly, is that assessment methods at times lack authenticity and fail to reflect real-world sustainability issues adequately (Cross & Congreve, 2021). The feasibility and practicalities of using what may seem like "authentic" assessment should, however, be considered carefully, as this type of assessment would likely require substantial planning and resources, including strong partnerships with external organisations, which may be easier to achieve in some fields than in others. ...
... Sibiu, Romania 21 Transformative education and climate change (35) https://doi.org/10.1080/030982 65.2020.1849066 ...
The article examines the scientific advances about transformative pedagogies that are addressed from the global challenges that are currently presented in humanity marked by a profound ecological, social and political crisis, before which arises the need to rethink education systems, due to the constant dynamics of environmental devastation, inequality and conflict that characterize our era require urgent and transformative responses from education. Taking into account the ecological crisis and the social and economic implications that arise, the promotion of social change and sustainability has been identified as a priority. At the methodological level, a systematic review of the literature was carried out, identifying three main variables: transformative education and sustainable development; curriculum and environment towards sustainable education; and transformative education and climate change. In this sense, the results identified the main lines of action and interdisciplinarity that foster the development of critical thinking and guide the participation of the communities from the pedagogical aspects inside and outside the classroom. By way of conclusion, an emphasis is made on the epistemological variety that addresses the specific psychosocial problems that require a solution to generate changes focused on the construction that allow from the cultural guidelines to articulate the learning outcomes in an effective implementation of educational systems
... The OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030 report has emphasized that, 'creativity and critical thinking are needed to find solutions to complex problems' (OECD, 2019: 5). The report highlights the need for graduates to have well-developed analytical skills to tackle problems, such as climate change and food insecurity (Cross & Congreve, 2021;Worosz et al., 2020). Within the sustainable higher education movement (Boud & Soler, 2016) which moves the focus away from disciplinary knowledge to what students do in real life, there is greater emphasis on teaching of higher order thinking (HOT) skills and problem-solving assessment (Karyotaki & Drigas, 2016). ...
Authentic assessment (AA) is a reform in higher education that has been less explored from students’ perspectives. In this paper we report findings from a pilot study that explored student perceptions of authentic assessment in the Islam West Relations Major (IWRM) Bachelor of Arts program, at an Australian university. This study used a survey that the authors created to explore two aspects of AA including its capacity to 1) develop higher order thinking skills, and 2) improve employability of students. In addition to surveying student’s attitudes towards AA, this study is the first to ask students to suggest alternative forms of authentic assessment. Students recommended oral presentations, government submissions, briefing papers, study tours, and cross-cultural interviews as providing skills they perceived relevant to their future careers. In contrast, students rated exams, quizzes, and tutorial readings as the least helpful form of knowledge evaluation in terms of higher order thinking and employability skills. Initial findings indicate that undergraduate students show support for authentic assessment, as it develops skills transferable to the workplace and their future careers. Finally, AA is best integrated at both program and curriculum levels as a sustainable education model. This model focuses on developing higher-level critical and creative thinking skills that equip graduates to work on, and find solutions for, complex world problems.
... This setup supports the collaborative construction of knowledge. How the teaching is connected to the element Support collaborative construction of knowledge (5) we can see how the students' authentic approach is characterized by collaborations where they can share experiences and insights with one another and with more experienced individuals in the field (Cross & Congreve, 2021;Young, 1993;Hill & Smith, 2005). Regarding the elements Promote reflection to enable abstractions to be formed (6) and articulation to enable tacit knowledge to be made explicit (7), the presence and commitment of the teachers, along with their overview of the work, enable students to constantly reflect and compare their thoughts with those who are more experienced (Herrington & Oliver, 2000). ...
In literature, teaching for an authentic learning experience is seen as rewarding and interesting, promoting better understanding of for example sustainable development and fostering students’ independence. Some upper secondary schools emphasise authentic teaching and learning on their websites, showcasing how students engage in authentic tasks. We are interested in examining how authentic teaching is implemented in practice and what enables it. Therefore, we investigate a specific practice where authentic teaching occurs, and we follow students and teachers. We want to understand what may be required to implement authentic teaching. The research questions were: What characterises authentic teaching and learning when students on the technology program work on their design projects and individual pieces of work? How is authentic teaching and learning facilitated? Students in Year 3 of the technology program engaged in a project where they studied residential apartments’ resource use and climate impact using sensors. They visited the energy research team, learned about the technology and data collection, and completed own upper secondary school projects related to sensor technology, programming, and data analysis. These were meant to be characterised by authenticity according to the school’s procedures. Data was collected through interviews, observations, and analysis of video material, sound recordings, and field notes. The analysis revealed that the teaching exhibited characteristics of authentic learning, facilitated by early exposure, teacher empowerment, and strong support from management and resources. The results thus show both the characteristics of how the teaching is organized and how teachers handle students’ learning, as well as the organizational factors at the specific school that enable it.
... While it demands unprecedented multisectoral, multidisciplinary, and international cooperation to address the complex issues that underpin it, numerous stakeholders that have critical roles to play tend to have divergent perspectives and interests on how to deal with it. Dealing with climate change challenges requires costly measures and there is no succinct assurance of an end in sight [52][53][54][55]. ...
This study examines key considerations for the decolonisation of climate change and environmental education (CCEE) in Africa. It draws on insights into epistemic inclusivity to systematically assess journal articles that drew on primary studies and were published between 2015 and 2022. The findings of the review depict that there are persistent epistemic exclusion and alienation of Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) in CCEE. This lack of recognition of ILK contributes to negatively affecting the quality of what is learnt in educational centres across Africa as learners’ lived experiences in their socio-cultural environments are not contextualised to enhance the relatability of the subjects of their learning. Decolonisation efforts must address exclusion and alienation and promote inclusion and epistemic agency. This paper captures various strategies to achieve these in the continent, as well as some opportunities and challenges. It maintains that multidimensional approaches to decolonisation are required to promote African-centred climate change and environment education. This includes the interrogation of existing theories and depictions of subjugation of ILK, as well as seeking ways to halt or mitigate the prevalence of ongoing epistemic exclusion in different educational contexts and locations. It also requires policymakers and education managers to commit to developing epistemically inclusive education policies, curricula, and learning frameworks that highlight the significance of place-based knowledge.
... Isu perubahan iklim juga menjadi salah satu permasalahan terbesar yang dihadapi dunia saat ini [2]. Ada beberapa penelitian yang menyatakan bahwa perubahan iklim adalah masalah super jahat paling kritis yang dihadapi peradaban[3], [4], [5]. Perubahan iklim sendiri merupakan perubahan beberapa unsur iklim yang terdiri dari suhu, tekanan, angin, kelembaban, hujan, dan lain sebagainya terhadap kondisi normal [6]. ...
... The difficulty of ensuring high-quality education is a significant issue in numerous countries worldwide, especially concerning climate change (Cross & Congreve, 2021). The effectiveness of educational institutions depends on the quality of education they offer, and educators, policymakers, scientists, and researchers exhibit their sincere excitement for Total Quality Management (TQM). ...
This study examines the relationship between the Total Quality Management Strategy (STQM) variable and the E-Learning System (ELS) variable in the context of climate change. The aim is to develop a sustainable educational system and effectively incorporate technological improvements at the University of Kufa. This will be achieved by surveying the perspectives of various individuals. The teaching staff at the university and its colleges used the random sample approach and utilized statistical tables to investigate the population of 2262 teaching staff members. The study determined that the ideal sample size comprises 327 teaching staff members. Of the sent surveys, 20 were not received, and 12 were incomplete. Therefore, 295 questionnaires that met the criteria were used for statistical analysis. The findings demonstrated a considerable and favorable impact of the entire quality management approach on the e-learning system. We found that implementing comprehensive quality control in the e-learning system is efficacious and should be used. The effectiveness of the e-learning system in higher education depends on implementing comprehensive quality management. Several suggestions have been put forth to enhance the standard of higher education in Iraq and establish a sustainable educational system amidst the challenges posed by climate change. When formulating comprehensive strategic plans for quality management, all faculty members must exert maximum effort in attaining total quality management. This can be achieved by contributing beneficial ideas and implementing advanced educational programs while adapting academic curricula to anticipate the effects of climate change.
... Geoscientists, specifically, are working on many topics which can be directly relevant for the wellbeing of humans 140 and other species. According to Cross and Congreve (2021), in order to tackle "wicked problems" such as climate change, it is vital for academics to possess higher level skills in communication, in addition to their domain-specific technical skillsets. They argue that as educators to undergraduate students and early career researchers, it is the duty of Geoscience academics to develop these skills. ...
Science communication is an important part of research, including in the geosciences, as it can benefit society, science, and make science more publicly accountable. However, much of this work takes place in “shadowlands” that are neither fully seen nor understood. These shadowlands are spaces, aspects, and practices of science communication which are not clearly defined and may be harmful with respect to the science being communicated or for the science communicators themselves. With the increasing expectation in academia that researchers should participate in science communication, there is a need to address some of the major issues that lurk in these shadowlands. Here the editorial team of Geoscience Communication seeks to shine a light on the shadowlands of geoscience communication and suggest some solutions and examples of effective practice. The issues broadly fall under three categories: 1) harmful or unclear objectives; 2) poor quality and lack of rigor; and 3) exploitation of science communicators working within academia. Ameliorating these will require: 1) clarifying objectives and audiences; 2) adequately training science communicators; and 3) giving science communication equivalent recognition to other professional activities. By shining a light on the shadowlands of science communication in academia and proposing potential remedies, our aim is to cultivate a more transparent and responsible landscape for geoscience communication—a transformation that will ultimately benefit the progress of science, the welfare of scientists, and more broadly society at large.
... Research reveals that the public's beliefs about climate change are often influenced by external factors, including heuristic-driven information processing, ideological reasoning, and cognitive style tied to political conservatism (Kahan, 2013, 407-424). Socio-political factors like gender, emotions, and social identity also shape climate change viewpoints (Centeno,(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15), and leadership, social norms, and structural changes affect climate inaction (Wade and Griffiths, 2019, 15-40). ...
This design proposal aims to enhance students' cognitive processes when judging two competing claims about climate change are seen in online videos. Given the absence of specific background knowledge and opinions of the learners, and the requirement to select a module from the class, this paper adopts the following structure: 1– Cognitive Process Analysis: Exploring the situated cognition framework to understand how individuals approach judgment tasks; 2– Hypothetical Study Design: Utilizing a mind map game in sustainable business classes at the University of Nottingham; 3– Sample and Participants: Targeting 200 adults aged 18 and above, including both undergraduate and postgraduate students; 4– Influence of Environment and Politics: Reviewing literature on the impact of social and environmental factors and political viewpoints on climate change actions; 5– Factors Affecting Judgment: Investigating the significance of various factors in shaping final judgments on climate change claims. Our proposed solution involves the introduction of an AI-generated mind map application to visualize arguments and facilitate well-informed and accurate judgments. We also address potential limitations and suggest areas for future research. Lastly, we evaluate the writer's grasp of learning theories in the context of the digital age. By focusing on cognitive processes, leveraging technology, and considering environmental and political influences, this design proposal seeks to empower students to make well-informed judgments regarding climate change claims found in online videos.
Keywords: cognitive process, climate change judgment, university studies, sustainable class, application
... Lehrpersonen fehlt es an Zeit für die Vorbereitung, Materialien, Wissen und Selbstvertrauen, um den Lerngegenstand zu unterrichten (Adamina et al., 2018;Ennes et al., 2021;Wise, 2010). Auch ist Klimawandel vielerorts nicht explizit Bestandteil von Lehrplänen, des Unterrichts oder der Lehrpersonenbildung (Cross & Congreve, 2021;Wise, 2010). Da die Thematik weiter an Bedeutung und Brisanz gewinnen wird (Masson-Delmotte et al., 2021;UNESCO, 2020), sind Kenntnisse zu wahrgenommenen Anforderungen, Einflüssen und Hindernisse, welche Lehrpersonen beim Unterrichten des Lerngegenstandes als socio-scientific issue (Zeidler & Nichols, 2009) begegnen und allenfalls vom Unterrichten der Thematik abhalten, erforderlich. ...
Hintergrund: Angesichts der Bedeutung der Bildung für Nachhaltige Entwicklung (BNE) und der Verankerung des Klimawandels in den globalen Nachhaltigkeitszielen der Vereinten Nationen ist ein vertieftes Verständnis von Klimawandel als socio-scientific issue (Zeidler & Nichols, 2009) auch bei angehenden Lehrpersonen unerlässlich. Obwohl Lehrpersonen das Unterrichten des Lerngegenstandes Klimawandels als relevant einschätzen, wird Klimawandel im Primarschulkontext aufgrund der hohen Komplexität und der damit verbundenen Herausforderung selten unterrichtet. Bisherige Forschung fokussierte entweder auf den Berufseinstieg oder auf klimawandelbezogenes Wissen und Einstellungen von Lehrpersonen; dieser Aufsatz nimmt beide Aspekte in den Blick.
Ziele: Ziel dieses Beitrags ist es zu untersuchen, wie sich angehende Primarlehrpersonen kurz vor dem Berufseinstieg zum Unterrichten von Klimawandel äussern, und wie die herausgearbeiteten Aspekte (insb. Fachwissen, individuelle und soziale Ressourcen, Kontextfaktoren) auf die Wahrnehmung der Anforderung Klimawandel zu unterrichten einwirken.
Stichprobe / Rahmen: Die Stichprobe umfasste neun angehende Primarlehrpersonen. Die vier Studentinnen und fünf Studenten standen zum Untersuchungszeitpunkt ca. einen Monat vor dem Einstieg in die eigenverantwortliche Berufstätigkeit als Primarlehrperson.
Design und Methoden: Basierend auf dem wahrnehmungs- und stresstheoretisch hergeleiteten Rahmenmodells der Entwicklung pädagogischer Professionalität (Keller-Schneider, 2020), wurden die angehenden Primarlehrpersonen mittels leitfadengestützter Einzelinterviews befragt; die Daten wurden in einer inhaltlich-strukturierenden qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse ausgewertet.
Ergebnisse: Ergebnisse von zwei, in Bezug auf Fachwissen und Einstellungen zum Klimawandel systematisch und kontrastiv ausgewählten angehenden Lehrpersonen zeigen, dass die Bereitschaft, Klimawandel im Unterricht aufzunehmen, in fallspezifischer Weise von berufs-und themenbezogenen Komponenten geprägt wird. Nicht nur Wissen, sondern auch individuelle Ressourcen und Kontextfaktoren sind von Bedeutung, jedoch im unterschiedlichen Mass. Gemäss ihren Äusserungen fehlt es den angehenden Lehrpersonen zudem an fachlicher Sicherheit oder an fachdidaktischer Kompetenz, um die Komplexität des Lerngegenstandes für die Primarstufe adressatengerecht aufzubereiten. Die Anforderung, Klimawandel im Unterricht zu thematisieren, wird vermieden.
Fazit: Die Studie macht deutlich, dass zukünftige Forschungsvorhaben sich vermehrt mit der berufs-und themenbezogenen Anforderungswahrnehmung von Lehrpersonen auseinandersetzen müssen, um Rückschlüsse für die Bewältigung bei transformativen Lernangeboten im Sachunterricht und im Rahmen einer emanzipatorischen BNE gewinnen zu können. Dazu bedarf es auch in der Lehrer:innenbildung einer adressatengerechten Vermittlung.
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Background: In view of the importance of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and the anchoring of climate change in the global sustainability goals of the United Nations, a deeper understanding of climate change as a socio-scientific issue (Zeidler & Nichols, 2009) is essential for pre-service teachers. Although teachers consider the teaching of climate change as a relevant topic, climate change is rarely taught in the primary school context due to its high complexity and the challenges it poses. Previous research has focused either on entry into the profession or on teachers' climate change-related knowledge and attitudes; this paper looks at both aspects.
Objectives: The aim of this paper is to investigate how pre-service primary teachers express themselves about teaching climate change shortly before entering the profession, and how the aspects identified (esp. subject knowledge, individual and social resources, contextual factors) affect the perception of the requirement to teach climate change.
Sample / Frame: The sample consisted of nine pre-service primary teachers. At the time of the study, the four female and five male students were about one month away from starting their independent careers as primary school teachers.
Design and methods: Based on the framework model of the development of pedagogical professionalism derived from stress- and resource theory (Keller-Schneider, 2020), the pre-service primary school teachers were interviewed using individual interviews; the data were analyzed in content-structuring qualitative content analysis.
Results: Results from two pre-service teachers, systematically and contrastively selected in terms of subject knowledge and attitudes towards climate change, show that the willingness to include climate change in the classroom is shaped in a case-specific way by job-related and topic-related components. Not only knowledge, but also individual resources and contextual factors are important, but to different degrees. According to their statements, the pre-service teachers also lack the subject-specific confidence or subject-didactic competence to prepare the complexity of the learning subject for the primary school level in a way that is appropriate for the target group; the requirement to address climate change in the classroom is avoided.
Conclusion: The study makes it clear that future research projects must increasingly deal with the professional and subject-related perception of demands of teachers to be able to draw conclusions for coping with transformative learning opportunities in science education and within the framework of an emancipatory ESD. This also requires teacher training that is appropriate for the target group.
... This may be through direct encounters with impacts, embodied experiences through friends, or from the increasing visibility on social media. As other researchers have indicated (Cross & Congreve, 2021), responding to wicked problems requires competencies and practices, information and knowledges, understandings, and connections. Interdisciplinary, engaged, solution-based activities challenge students to learn widely applicable skills in advocacy, negotiation, affective practices, and empathy. ...
In this chapter, we present an interdisciplinary scenario and role-play activity on climate-induced migration embedded in geographical pedagogies that challenge preconceived understandings of geography, climate change, and knowledge systems. We first provide a summary of the relevance of the activity for interdisciplinary ESD before describing the specific structure of the activity. This offers educators an understanding of the historical development of the activity, its place in the wider curriculum, and the steps necessary for implementation. We then reflect on our experiences in delivering this learning activity over multiple years, with a focus on the importance of performance making, the challenge of identity bias, and the significance of emotional responses. We conclude with implications for educators interested in teaching SDG13 and our call for climate justice-forward transformative learning experiences that are creative, collaborative, and solution-based (Davidson et al., 2021).
... Salah satu isu sosiosaintifik yang kontroversial adalah perubahan iklim (Hüseyin & Öztürk, 2021). Pemanasan global, dan perubahan iklim sebagai konsekuensinya merupakan masalah super jahat (Cross & Congreve, 2021) yang paling kritis yang dihadapi peradaban saat ini (Akaygun & Adadan, 2021;Kurup, Levinson, & Li, 2021) pada tingkat global (Kelley & Knowles, 2016;Semiz & Teksöz, 2019;Shin et al., 2022). Hal tersebut merujuk pada dampak yang ditimbulkannya yakni krisis lingkungan (Morales et al., 2021) dan mengancam keberlangsungan kehidupan. ...
One of the reasons why climate change is a contentious socioscientific topic is the swift advancement of research and technology. Based on sound judgment, controlling climate change becomes an urgent matter. This study intends to gain an overview of the factual circumstances of elementary school pupils' decision-making skills with reference to the subject of combating climate change. Descriptive quantitative research methodology is employed. The test is a multiple-choice test with 10 questions that were created using criteria for rational decision-making. 612 pupils at ten public elementary schools in the city of Bandung took the test offline. Descriptive statistics were used to assess the data and categorize it in accordance with the rationale for decision-making. The study's findings show that judgments about climate change are difficult for elementary school pupils to make. Most of their decisions are made using intuitive principles. This study has implications for the significance of discussing climate change with elementary school pupils and having them practice making critical decisions.
Incorporating sustainability across the curriculum is a growing component of college and university sustainability commitments. Education for Sustainability aligns with institutional commitments to advance solutions to the world's most pressing challenges. Most sustainability curricular change initiatives take a “bottom up” approach, engaging interested faculty through small learning communities. While effective, this approach is slow and many instructors choose not to engage. This chapter draws on the experience of a technologically focused university to suggest strategies for “scaling up” sustainability across the curriculum. The following strategies supported significant expansion of sustainability course integration: laying the groundwork through a major initiative to enhance undergraduate learning; leveraging strategic planning to win high-level commitment and resources; connecting sustainability education with professional development in teaching and learning; empowering faculty to co-design initiatives; and supporting wellbeing through on-going learning communities.
Universities in the UK have taken a growing interest in climate change over the past 50 years, with varying support from the government over this period. From being mainly academic research interest to a central policy concern, the degree of engagement between universities and the government has evolved, although with the government primarily seeking to encourage research and reserving its more directive powers for a more recent focus on compliance in emissions reduction. Universities engage with climate change policy on several levels, but the role of government across each is differentiated and has varied over time. Mapping out the involvement therefore requires examination of trends across research, teaching, operations, and external engagement, each being affected by long-term trends in the relationship between UK governments and the higher education sector. Overall, UK university commitment to climate change mitigation is strong but, as a result of a fragmented policy framework, has been less cohesive than it could have been.
There is a growing body of research evidence showing the need to identify and integrate innovative yet effective pedagogical approaches in climate change education. Among the ones proposed as most appropriate are those that seek to ground scientific knowledge about climate change in students’ personal real-life
situations, as well as those that engage them in active and experiential learning experiences. Based on this rationale, we propose an interdisciplinary approach to teaching and learning about climate change that draws on the combination of two different disciplines and their research methodologies: citizen science and environmental oral history. We first justify from a theoretical point of view the synergy between the two approaches in the context of climate change education, and then present an educational case study in which we applied and evaluated it. Fifteen Greek high school students participated in an educational fieldtrip to explore the relation between forest fires and climate change in the Parnitha
National Park, a protected nature reserve at the top of the highest mountain in Attica. The students first engaged in citizen science processes recording and identifying plant species with the use of the Pl@ntNet app and then conducted and analyzed a life narrative interview with a civil protection volunteer and forest fire expert to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the interplay between
the two issues. We discuss the added pedagogical and learning value of this approach to promote interdisciplinary understanding of the complex manifestations of climate change in local contexts.
This study investigates visitor soundscape perceptions in Queulat National Park (QNP), Chile, to inform biodiversity conservation strategies amid rising anthropogenic pressures. By analyzing responses at two sites—Lagoon and Overlook—during peak tourist periods, this research examines how visitor experiences align with protected area management goals. A one-minute listening exercise was followed up by a survey to gather data on perceived sounds and their appeal. The results highlight the importance of involving visitors in monitoring acoustic environments, providing managers with insights into visitor-perceived soundscape dynamics. Unique QNP ecosystem characteristics emerged, with visitors identifying anthrophonic sounds as problematic, especially at the Lagoon site. Perceptions aligned with management concerns about noise impacts from congestion, showing visitors can discern when soundscapes diverge from protected area objectives. These findings underscore the need to integrate visitor engagement into acoustic monitoring to enhance biodiversity conservation. This study advocates ongoing sound level monitoring, protective policies, and tools derived from visitor input. It promotes protected areas as educational venues in order to deepen connections with local environments through sound recognition and calls for signage to inform visitors about noise impacts. Future research should continue to explore these strategies and the potential of visitor soundscape perceptions to reshape conservation strategies and support biodiversity preservation.
Science communication is an important part of research, including in the geosciences, as it can (1) benefit both society and science and (2) make science more publicly accountable. However, much of this work takes place in “shadowlands” that are neither fully seen nor understood. These shadowlands are spaces, aspects, and practices of science communication that are not clearly defined and may be harmful with respect to the science being communicated or for the science communicators themselves. With the increasing expectation in academia that researchers should participate in science communication, there is a need to address some of the major issues that lurk in these shadowlands. Here, the editorial team of Geoscience Communication seeks to shine a light on the shadowlands of geoscience communication by geoscientists in academia and suggest some solutions and examples of effective practice. The issues broadly fall under three categories: (1) harmful or unclear objectives, (2) poor quality and lack of rigor, and (3) exploitation of science communicators working within academia. Ameliorating these problems will require the following action: (1) clarifying objectives and audiences, (2) adequately training science communicators, and (3) giving science communication equivalent recognition to other professional activities. In this editorial, our aim is to cultivate a more transparent and responsible landscape for geoscience communication – a transformation that will ultimately benefit the progress of science; the welfare of scientists; and, more broadly, society at large.
Across the globe, interdisciplinary and creative approaches to climate change education are crucial at all levels, particularly in higher education. In this article, I draw from insights working with a class at New Mexico State University in the United States. The aim was to examine approaches to understanding, communicating, and representing climate change. Each student was asked to compose a narrative in which they imagined the year 2100 as a time when we have adequately mitigated and/or adapted to the climate crisis. The assignment set the tone for collective action and foregrounded the importance of story and imagination in building just and sustainable futures. The class complemented a public climate change speaker series and, as a second assignment, students suggested which speakers to invite to shape the series in the future. The two assignments opened new spaces to empower, learn with and from, and build connections between university students and academic staff to shape climate discourse and action in communities. Reflecting on what was learned, sharing an example of a climate futures assignment, and presenting views on a collaborative approach to climate change education all add, I hope, to the literature on imagining futures, empowerment, and authentic learning in climate change education.
O progresso tecnológico tem levado a transformações nas formas como o ser humano interage com a informação e o conhecimento. Tais mudanças, consequentemente, trazem não apenas alterações como também novas possibilidades para a área da educação, sendo o surgimento de novas teorias e a popularização do ensino online exemplos disso. O presente trabalho apresenta o desenvolvimento e os resultados obtidos fruto de uma investigação no contexto dos Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). A partir da premissa da crescente complexidade das temáticas sendo tratadas em sala de aula, se propôs uma pesquisa voltada a identificação de princípios para a elaboração de atividades e contextos de aprendizagem que favoreçam a aprendizagem, em MOOCs, de tópicos entendidos como “de caráter aberto”. Fundamentado em uma teoria de aprendizagem para a era digital denominada Conectivismo, argumenta-se que os MOOCs possuem, em suas origens, respostas às necessidades que tópicos desta ordem demandam. Este potencial, porém, nunca foi atingido em sua totalidade devido a dificuldades de tradução da teoria em práticas tangíveis, e também um gradativo movimento de retorno a formas de aprendizagem as quais já se tenha costume (i.e., menos disruptivas). Assim sendo, a partir de uma análise do tópico dos MOOCs – em suas origens, bases pedagógicas, subtipos e dificuldades – e da Teoria da Conectivismo, foi desenvolvida uma intervenção na forma de um protótipo de MOOC Híbrido, inserido no contexto do ensino de design, propondo atividades e medidas que visavam viabilizar a aprendizagem de tópicos de caráter aberto através de um MOOC fundamentado na Teoria do Conectivismo. Os resultados obtidos apontam para o sucesso da intervenção, tendo os pontos críticos identificados sido relatados na forma de princípios de design que podem ser extrapolados para a construção de MOOCs com objetivos semelhantes.
This chapter explores the embedding of Carbon Literacy and digital skills into a UK undergraduate tourism module which is designed to meet tourism employer needs and expectations of graduate employability skills. Carbon Literacy is an awareness of the carbon dioxide costs from everyday activities and it scaffolds learning on the complex relationship between climate change and tourism. An authentic assessment of the key learning outcomes is based on the identified needs of a tourism destination and illustrated via easy-to-use and freely available digital software such as an App, narrated video or website builder.
Las investigaciones sostienen que la juventud puede percibir su futuro de forma negativa y considerarse incapaz de cambiar las cosas. Sin embargo, una nueva generación está actuando para hacer frente al cambio climático, encontrando oportunidades de sostenibilidad y justicia social. El objetivo de este estudio es analizar el grado de concienciación entre distintos grupos de adolescentes de zonas vulnerables (una población de difícil acceso en investigación) en relación con el conocimiento del cambio climático. Así, este estudio analiza el grado de concienciación sobre el cambio climático entre alumnado de tres centros de secundaria situados en zonas vulnerables de Europa tras la puesta en marcha de un proyecto eTwinning sobre el cambio climático durante la pandemia de Covid-19. Se ha seguido un diseño descriptivo no experimental utilizando un cuestionario validado para responder a las siguientes preguntas de investigación: (1) ¿Cuáles son los niveles de concienciación sobre el cambio climático del alumnado? y (2) ¿Es posible identificar diferentes grupos según su nivel de concienciación? El cuestionario fue cumplimentado por 238 estudiantes: 162 de la República Checa, 34 de Grecia y 42 de Italia. Los resultados identifican cuatro grupos diferentes de estudiantes con diversos niveles de concienciación, desde los más preocupados hasta los que apenas lo están. Se argumenta que estos temas deberían promoverse en los centros educativos para mejorar la concienciación del alumnado sobre el cambio climático y su percepción de un futuro mejor en el que desarrollen un sentido de su capacidad de acción con respecto al cambio social, la participación en la sociedad y la justicia social. Palabras clave: Cambio climático, concienciación, alumnado vulnerable, sostenibilidad, justicia social Analysing the awareness of vulnerable young people on the future of Climate Change Abstract: Research argues that young people may perceive their future negatively and view themselves as not having the power to make a change. However, a new generation of young people are moving towards addressing climate change and recognising the opportunities for sustainability and social justice. The goal was to analyse the level of awareness between different groups of teenagers from vulnerable areas (a hard-to-reach population in research) in relation to the awareness of climate change. As such, this study analyses the degree of climate change awareness amongst students from three secondary schools located in vulnerable areas of Europe following the implementation of an eTwinning project on climate change during the Covid-19 pandemic. We followed a descriptive non-experimental design using a validated questionnaire to answer the following research questions: (1) What are the levels of climate change awareness of the students? and (2) Is it possible to identify different groups according to their level of awareness? The questionnaire was completed by 238 students: 162 Czech students, 34 Greek students and 42 Italian students. The results identify four different groups of students with diverse levels of awareness, from the most concerned to the barely worried, and shows that these schools have the potential to improve awareness. It is argued that these issues should be promoted in schools in order to improve student awareness of climate change and their perception of a brighter future in which they develop a sense of agency with regards to social change, participation in society, and social justice. Keywords: Climate change, awareness, vulnerable pupils, sustainability, social justice
Children and young people’s lives are increasingly shaped by climate change. As we face the consequences of climate breakdown, this chapter argues there is a need for transformative approaches to Climate Change Education (CCE) which integrate climate science, global justice and collective citizenship action, in addition to addressing personal, social and environmental concerns, through child-centred engagement. The chapter examines the demands faced by teachers as they address the climate crisis and considers how their professional agency is shaped by their surrounding environments. The chapter then calls for coherent and coordinated governmental policy to enable forms of CCE that move beyond ‘soft’ apolitical approaches (Andreotti 2006; Selby 2017b) and provide a framework for educators to support the knowledge, understanding and collective action of children, young people and wider society.
The concept of wicked problems has become widely used in policy analysis. The popularity of the concept has led to its overuse, and has produced significant conceptual stretching. This paper investigates the extent to which this stretching has led to the application of the concept to issues which are not ‘wicked’ in any meaningful sense. Based on a survey of policy experts, we find that few, if any, policy problems are perceived to have all the attributes of wicked problems. Although the concept does not appear useful in categorizing problems in a strict manner, the presence or absence of certain attributes can still be used in understanding the problems and in designing solutions for them.
The concept of wicked problems has served as an inspiration for research in a variety of research fields but has also contributed to conceptual confusion through the various ways in which it has been defined and used. In this special issue, a number of ontological, theoretical and methodological issues are discussed. First, while its use as a buzzword has undermined precise conceptual definition, recent work goes beyond the wicked versus tame dichotomy and conceptualizes wickedness as a matter of degree, differentiates between dimensions of wickedness and emphasizes the relational character of problem definitions. Second, new and existing governance approaches have often been unproblematically proposed as ways to solve wicked problems, while only imperfect solutions, partial solutions or small wins are achievable in practice. Third, the concept of wicked problems has had little direct impact on policy theories, and while some argue that the analysis of wicked problems should be mainstreamed in public policy thinking, others propose to reject the concept and rely on existing policy theories. Fourth, as a concept used in policy practice, wicked problems tend to provoke either paralysis or an overestimation of what policy can do about wicked problems. Possible ways forward include (1) leaving the concept behind; (2) using the wicked problems literature as knowledge base to understand when and why policy and governance approaches fail; and (3) developing dimensions of wicked problems (i.e. conflict, complexity and uncertainty) into more analytically precise research tools and linking them with more closely with contemporary policy science developments.
Over the last twenty years, higher education for sustainable development (HESD) has attracted increasing interest from scholars, students, and academic institutions globally. This bibliometric review of research analyzed 1459 Scopus-indexed documents related to higher education for sustainable development. The goals of the review were to document the volume, growth trajectory, and geographic distribution of the HESD literature, identify key authors, journals, and publications, analyze the intellectual structure of this knowledge base, and highlight emerging research issues. The review documented a rapidly growing knowledge base of recent vintage, mostly authored by scholars located in developed societies. Four core journals were identified, based on the volume of HESD publications and citation impact. Author co-citation analysis revealed three research clusters that underlie this knowledge base: Managing for Sustainability in Higher Education, HESD Competencies, and Implementation of HESD. This review provides a benchmark for future reviews of research on HESD, reveals the emerging intellectual structure of this inter-disciplinary field, and offers reference points for scholars entering this discipline.
Authenticity has been identified as a key characteristic of assessment design
which promotes learning. Authentic assessment aims to replicate the tasks
and performance standards typically found in the world of work, and has
been found to have a positive impact on student learning, autonomy,
motivation, self-regulation and metacognition; abilities highly related to
employability. Despite these benefits, there are significant barriers to the
introduction of authentic assessment, particularly where there is a tradition
of ‘testing’ decontextualised subject knowledge. One barrier may be the lack
of conceptualisation of the term authentic assessment sufficient to inform
assessment design at the individual course level. This article tackles that
omission by a systematic review of literature from 1988 to 2015. Thirteen
consistent characteristics of authentic assessment are identified leading
to the classification of three conceptual dimensions: realism, cognitive
challenge and evaluative judgement. These dimensions are elaborated and
used to propose a step-based model for designing and operating authentic
assessment in individual higher education subjects.
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/02602938.2017.1412396.
Free e-print: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/wiwTYaX55jR5qDzFDI5G/full
Fieldwork is an important part of undergraduate degrees in Geography and has been shown to be an effective pedagogic strategy. Fieldtrips are often to remote locations, both residential and shorter day trips. For institutions, field trips can be costly in terms of money and staff time and difficult to timetable. Some students may have difficulty attending due to caring commitments or employment. For some, going to a novel environment to learn new skills can be overwhelming. At Askham Bryan College a “Field and Environmental Techniques” module for Foundation Degree level students, ran in weekly two hour sessions, for 24 sessions. These were formatted to suit the College timetable and to fit with students other commitments. It resulted in a structure re-think, moving from individual lectures and longer fieldtrips to an integration of theory and fieldwork in short sessions utilizing the campus environment. Student surveys revealed this structure benefited learning as they could link theory with practice and it prepared them for carrying out future fieldwork in novel locations. In addition, students highlighted the social benefits of the module. Social aspects of fieldwork are regularly reported as a benefit of residential trips, but it was an unexpected benefit of this module.
There is an urgent need to address the grand sustainability challenges of our time, and to explore new and more responsible ways of operating, researching, and innovating that enable society to respond to these challenges. The emergent Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) policy agenda can act as a catalyst towards the development of new and more responsible research and innovation efforts. Inevitably, higher education needs to be closely attuned to this need and agenda, by preparing students to engage in RRI efforts. This paper makes a first step towards guiding the embedding of RRI within higher education. It does so by bringing together academic knowledge with phronesis or practical knowledge about what should be done in an ethical, political, and practical sense. It draws on a literature review and on the reflective practices of partners in the European Commission funded project EnRRICH (Enhancing Responsible Research and Innovation through Curricula in Higher Education), as well as on interviews and case studies gathered as part of the project. The paper suggests elements, especially design principles and a competence framework, for (re)designing curricula and pedagogies to equip higher education students to be and to become responsible actors, researchers, and innovators in a complex world, and to address grand sustainability challenges. In addition, this paper proposes that contemporary higher education teaching and learning policies and strategies, especially those promoting neoliberal agendas and marketized practices, need to adopt a more responsible and responsive ethos to foster the renewal of higher education in times of systemic dysfunction.
The concept of wicked problems has become a fad in contemporary policy analysis, with any number of problems being labeled as “wicked”. However, if many of these problems are analyzed using a strict definition of the concept they do not meet the criteria. Building on this analysis, I have developed a research program to investigate the extent to which even those problems usually thought to be wicked are actually that difficult.
There is, in the twenty-first century, an intense interest in the nature of wicked problems and the complex tasks of identifying their scope, viable responses, and appropriate mechanisms and pathways towards achieving improvement. This preoccupation is timeless, but the discussion over several decades has benefited from Rittel and Webber’s (Policy Sci 4(2):155–169, 1973) path breaking conceptualisation of wicked problems and the political argumentation needed to resolve them. This review revisits Rittel and Webber’s work and its enduring significance, reflecting upon its broad uptake and impact in the policy sciences, an impact that continues to grow over time. We revisit how the classic 1973 paper came to be published in Policy Sciences, its innovative depiction of social problems, its rejection of rationalistic design, its acknowledgement of the subjectivities involved in problem identification and resolutions, and the consequent need for argumentative-based solution processes. We find great resonance in the paper with contemporary problem solving preoccupations, not least that the political context is crucial, that argumentation must be transparent and robust, and that policy interventions may have consequences that cannot be easily controlled in open and highly pluralised social systems.
Amidst the rapidly evolving Higher Education (HE) landscape, this paper provides a systematic review of Academic Development (AD) work, the roles and responsibilities of Academic Developers (ADs) in HE. Beginning from the perspective that HE institutions, as publicly funded organisations, have responsibility to contribute to the public good, more than 100 peer-reviewed papers (1995–2015) are interrogated under five themes. These are: a review of reviews, technology and AD work, their status and identity, assessment of AD work and impact, and the leadership roles of ADs and their impact on institutional leadership. Critical to the evolution of their work has been a more mainstream and public contribution. Their emerging responsibilities in collaboration with institutional leaders, as ‘brokers’ and ‘bridge-builders’ position them more strategically within institutions – with potential to be compromised in terms of their espoused values and dispositions while potentially more influential in shaping the futures of their organisations.
Policy entrepreneurs are energetic actors who work with others in and around policymaking venues to promote significant policy change. After several decades of study, we know a lot about what policy entrepreneurs do, and how to assess their effectiveness in given policymaking contexts. Here, we review common practices of policy entrepreneurs, emphasising their problem framing activities and their role in catalysing large-scale behavioural change related to climate change. We then review what policy entrepreneurs operating in various locations and at different levels of government have begun doing to tackle the climate change challenge. Like others, we contend that policy entrepreneurs will play a vital role in future efforts to address climate change. We conclude by discussing opportunities for new research on policy entrepreneurship, policymaking processes and the diffusion of policy innovations relating to climate change.
to be published and added
Description:
If we understand authenticity as constituting a state of ‘‘being’’ in a constant process of ‘‘becoming’’, that is, as a moral goal in itself (e.g., self-fulfilment as a teacher) as well as constituting a moral means towards attaining other goals (e.g., through positive relations with students), we must recognise the value that the concept of authenticity has on an individual level as well as acknowledge its relevance in a wider (societal) context. Psychologically, philosophically and pedagogically the concept of authenticity can be used to deepen our understanding of ourselves and others (Malm, 2008, p.385).
Citizen science projects can serve as constructivist learning environments for programming focused on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) for youth. Attributes of rich environments for active learning (REALs) provide a framework for design of Extension STEM learning environments. Guiding principles and design strategies for the University of Minnesota Extension's Driven to Discover: Enabling Authentic Inquiry through Citizen Science project demonstrate how education and investigations grounded in real-world citizen science projects can capitalize on REAL environments to generate meaningful STEM learning. Positive evaluation results support the efficacy of the design for enhancing youth science identity and practice.
The sustainability challenge requires universities to create spaces in which the
disciplinary mould can be substituted for transformational learning. “Transformative”
implies emphasis on new ways of “being” and of thinking about the
environment, facilitated by integration of a multitude of disciplines and
perspectives. Due to its flexible, all-inclusive and integrative nature, Geography
can offer much for sustainability education. The reality is that Geography lags in
its contribution to study programmes in this field. This paper reflects on the role
of Geography in facilitating transformative learning encounters for environmental
sustainability. The focus is on the multi-inter-trans-disciplinary undergraduate
programme in environmental management offered by the University of
South Africa (Unisa) through open and distance learning. The view that
environmental sustainability study programmes may benefit from an anchor
discipline to provide structure and to facilitate the transformative learning
experience, is debated. The value of Geography in this regard is highlighted,
with reference to the experience gained from implementing this particular Unisa
study programme. An outline is provided of how Geography can fulfil an
anchor role in such study programmes, while maintaining its integrity as
discipline. The paper will be useful to higher education practitioners involved in
the implementation, offering and/or coordination of environmental sustainability
study programmes, with specific reference to open and distance learning.
Literature regarding the effectiveness of various practices for nurturing student learning typically focuses on the different outcomes of passive versus active approaches and suggests that active teaching, including exposing students to real-world learning experiences, facilitates a richer and more authentic understanding. Limited investigation of the impacts of instructional scaffolding—implementing a progression of methods that supplements passive procedures with active learning initiatives—has been undertaken in hospitality and tourism education. This study measures learning among 59 students enrolled in an introductory hospitality and tourism course after they were exposed to passive, situated, and authentic instruction in an effort to determine the degree of understanding at each stage. Our findings revealed that incorporating real-world learning opportunities through situated and authentic teaching strategies helps students build upon theoretical knowledge gained passively to reach praxis.
This eBook emphasises the theory to practice of curriculum design in higher education. The book focuses on programme level of design. It incorporates face-to-face, blended and online curricula and attempts to link theory to practice by giving some practical resources and/or exercises. The content draws on the author's experiences of working and researching into curriculum design in the Irish higher education sector. It is aimed at all staff involved in curriculum design, including academic staff (faculty), institutional managers, educational developers and technologists, support staff, library staff and curriculum researchers. Although it is primarily drawn from literature and experiences in the higher education sector, those in adult and further education may also find it useful. The structure of this book is based on a curriculum design process that the author has developed as part of her experience and research on curriculum design.
This paper reveals the extent to which undergraduate students demonstrate transformative learning whilst on international fieldwork in Barcelona, Spain. Groups of students create a series of discrete active learning situations that allow them and their peers to engage more fully with their locale and in turn experience a deeper understanding of “place”. Reflective field trip notebooks are used to capture the experiences of students. Results show that through the use of the affective domain (Krathwohl’s taxonomy) and applying cyclic experiential learning (Kolb) combined with critical reflection (Mezirow), students demonstrate progression and, in some cases, regression along Krathwohl’s taxonomy.
This paper makes a critical assessment of problem-based learning (PBL) in geography. It assesses what PBL is, in terms of the range of definitions in use and in light of its origins in specific disciplines such as medicine. It considers experiences of PBL from the standpoint of students, instructors and managers (e.g. deans), and asks how well suited this method of learning is for use in geography curricula, courses and assignments. It identifies some ‘best practices in PBL', as well as some useful sources for those seeking to adopt PBL in geography. It concludes that PBL is not a teaching and learning method to be adopted lightly, and that if the chances of successful implementation are to be maximized, careful attention to course preparation and scenario design is essential. More needs to be known about the circumstances in which applications of PBL have not worked well and also about the nature of the inputs needed from students, teachers and others to reap its benefits.
This chapter describes and reflects upon the recent history and contemporary situation regarding Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) in the UK. It discusses how ESE is practised and understood in schools and other educational institutions and describes influencers (e.g. policy) on the practice and conceptualisation of ESE. While the focus is on the situation in England, the chapter also refers to publications and policy about ESE in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; in so doing the chapter illustrates what may be known as the ‘green school movement’ elsewhere. A picture emerges of multi-directional influences including policy, public opinion, civil society organisations and businesses, academic research and schools. To illustrate this varied landscape, the chapter includes three case studies, one from policy, one from school-based practice and one from civil society. The chapter concludes with commentary on the influence of the Sustainable Development Goals, wellbeing and nature connectedness and the potential of social media to shape ESE in schools in the future.
Competing influences and pressures on areas of HE and the content of new AL syllabi suggest a need for curriculum reconsideration. We analyse, from institutional website data, the present provision of physical geography in 77 UK institutions providing undergraduate learning in geography. The extent of compulsory modules gives an indication of programme structure: compulsory modules average 65%, no first-year choice is offered in 58% of programmes, all but four require a compulsory dissertation, and on average 28% of compulsory modules were in physical geography. Overall there is a spectrum of provision, with courses solely in human or physical geography at the extremes, and, in between, a variety of programmes: some afford a strong provision of concepts and major themes in physical geography (22%), some emphasize skills (25%) or applied aspects (5%), and others offer a course “cafeteria” from which the student freely selects unless constrained by advised learning pathways. Questions arising include whether sufficient attention is accorded to all aspects of physical environment, to some neglected components of physical geography, and to those physical environments necessary for understanding contemporary rapid environmental change across the world.
This paper reflects on recent teaching and learning practices in two undergraduate human geography modules at the University of the Western Cape: GES111 Introduction to Human Geography and GES225 Space, Place and Mobility in Southern Africa. Content in both modules focuses on mobilities theory and its application toward understanding the shaping of space, place and subjectivity. Teaching and learning activities in both modules include student-generated knowledge through reflections on everyday mobility in the form of e-learning activities and autoethnographic essays. Using examples from teaching and learning activities in both modules, this paper considers the role of e-learning and mobile diaries as a link between theory and practice, where the latter serves as a means of illuminating and demystifying the former. Results from learning activities exemplify the innate understanding of critical concepts in mobilities studies, including the experience of movement, its meanings, and practices within the context of the global South. Comments from student evaluations demonstrate the importance of making connections between theory and practice, at the same time, the mobile diary method serves as an innovative practice of teaching, learning and student assessment.
The strikes in protest at the climate change crisis have made international headlines. Geo? Barton looks at how schools might work with pupils to help them engage with climate change
Sustainability is becoming a key component of many HE curricula. However, questions as to what sustainability is and how it can be embedded within subject specific curriculum are difficult to answer. Focussing on existing pedagogic scholarship in this area and by drawing on experiences from my own institution, this article discusses how the GEES subjects are addressing sustainability in the curriculum. It provides both conceptual framing on the evolution of the GEES subjects in relation to sustainability and offers some practical examples of how different approaches to sustainability might be used in teaching, including challenging disciplinary perspectives and introducing interdisciplinary working around global challenges. It concludes with recommendations for how sustainability might be embedded in the curriculum in practice.
Recent technological changes in communications, in research and in learning and teaching styles should prompt developments in approaches to physical geography curricula. This paper questions whether there has been sufficient open discussion of such curricula and those that have been set nationally. Developments in England and Wales over more than fifty years provide the context for the present situation, which is considered according to types of knowledge under the headings of skills, concepts, and global and local knowledge. It is proposed that “Young Britannia”, a personification of the student who currently faces a changing world, deserves choices for physical geography training that provide sufficient alternatives. We suggest that there should be further open discussion of future curricular architectures for physical geography.
This paper describes environmental systems games developed for energy and water resource use designed to be adaptable from high school to undergraduate use. Two of the games are computer simulations with adjustable levels of difficulty that can be done in a computer lab or as a homework assignment. The third is a peer-to-peer roleplayer game designed for an immersive in-class simulation. For the energy and the peer-to-peer water games, we describe (1) the overall strategy or story line adopted, (2) the manner in which the game is played by students in a classroom setting, (3) the use of scientific literature in conceptualizing and parameterizing the game, and (4) possible game extensions. Preliminary data from use at the undergraduate level shows that the games are very well-received by students and, consistent with other research on quasi-experimental simulations, likely enhance learning outcomes.
Fieldwork is the most powerful learning invitation in the toolkit of Geographical Education. This review of papers in The Journal of Geography in Higher Education (JGHE) suggests seven modes in the development of fieldwork. These are arrayed as a kind of historical, perhaps evolutionary, sequence but most remain current in Geography fieldwork practice. At the far end (1960s) of the sequence are didactic modes that are teacher centred and use the field as an adjunct to the classroom, in the middle (1990s) are modes that involve active learning and focus on the development of students as investigators and at the near end (2010s) are those that centred on the field study area and its qualities, that involve concern about the ethics of student engagement and that employ blended learning technologies. The review charts the JGHE’s gradual shift away from its original, almost exclusively, UK-focus toward something rather more international and inclusive. Fieldwork is where Geographers learn “from doing” Geography to “do” Geography. Its special attributes include providing experiential, sometimes transformative, learning through the immersion of the learner in the field experience. In 40 years, JGHE has helped Geography Fieldwork move from the margins of the curriculum to its current place at its core.
Is sustainable development a workable solution for today's environmental problems? Is it scientifically defensible? Best known for applying ecological theory to the engineering problems of everyday life, the late scholar James J. Kay was a leader in the study of social and ecological complexity and the thermodynamics of ecosystems. Drawing from his immensely important work, as well as the research of his students and colleagues, The Ecosystem Approach is a guide to the aspects of complex systems theories relevant to social-ecological management.
Advancing a methodology that is rooted in good theory and practice, this book features case studies conducted in the Arctic and Africa, in Canada and Kathmandu, and in the Peruvian Amazon, Chesapeake Bay, and Chennai, India. Applying a systems approach to concrete environmental issues, this volume is geared toward scientists, engineers, and sustainable development scholars and practitioners who are attuned to the ideas of the Resilience Alliance-an international group of scientists who take a more holistic view of ecology and environmental problem-solving. Chapters cover the origins and rebirth of the ecosystem approach in ecology; the bridging of science and values; the challenge of governance in complex systems; systemic and participatory approaches to management; and the place for cultural diversity in the quest for global sustainability.
Education is key to the advancement of environmental sustainability. Climate change education is a complex topic where a number of factors play key roles. One such factor, namely the ongoing debate around whether climate change is real poses a significant challenge to the delivery of a climate change curriculum. This factor and others suggest the need to revisit the question of education for sustainability across wider social contexts. The purpose of the following article is to extend previous research and consider how education for sustainability is envisioned across culturally diverse settings around the world. Drawing from survey and interview data, distinguished scholars from Brazil, China, Germany, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and the United States of America provided detailed analyses of the social context of climate change and their visions of an education for sustainability. Results of the survey data indicated that the U.S.’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Change agreement, political and economic barriers to climate change, sustainability initiatives, and university-industry linkages were notable contextual features of a climate change pedagogy across the countries studied. In addition, the scholar's visions of an education for sustainability revolved around five main visions: teaching all forms of scientific knowledge as rooted in some level of uncertainty, complexity, and nuance; comprehensive empirical knowledge of climate change that includes its main principles, myths, and debates; critical inquiry, integration, and engagement with global and cross-disciplinary perspectives; transformative and learner-centered pedagogies conducive to a climate change and sustainability curricula; and student-learner authentic participation in the study and mitigation of climate change. The implications for the practice of education for climate change are discussed. It is argued that global insights have the potential to enrich the practice of education for climate change and towards a more sustainable future.
Sustainability challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, poverty and rapid urbanization are complex and strongly interrelated. In order to successfully deal with these challenges, we need comprehensive approaches that integrate knowledge from multiple disciplines and perspectives and emphasize interconnections. In short, they aid in observing matters in a wider perspective without losing an understanding of the details. In order to teach and learn a comprehensive approach, we need to better understand what comprehensive thinking actually is. In this paper, we present a conceptual framework for a comprehensive approach, termed the GHH framework. The framework comprises three dimensions: generalism, holism, and holarchism. It contributes to the academic community's understanding of comprehensive thinking and it can be used for integrating comprehensive thinking into education. Also, practical examples of the application of the framework in university teaching are presented. We argue that an ideal approach to sustainability challenges and complexity in general is a balanced, dialectical combination of comprehensive and differentiative approaches. The current dominance of specialization, or the differentiative approach, in university education calls for a stronger emphasis on comprehensive thinking skills. Comprehensiveness should not be considered as a flawed approach, but should instead be considered as important an aspect in education as specialized and differentiative skills.
Objective
Machine learning in healthcare, and innovative healthcare technology in general, require complex interactions within multidisciplinary teams. Healthcare hackathons are being increasingly used as a model for cross-disciplinary collaboration and learning. The aim of this study is to explore high school student learning experiences during a healthcare hackathon. By optimizing their learning experiences, we hope to prepare a future workforce that can bridge technical and health fields and work seamlessly across disciplines.
Methods
A qualitative exploratory study utilizing focus group interviews was conducted. Eight high school students from the hackathon were invited to participate in this study through convenience sampling Participating students (n = 8) were allocated into three focus groups. Semi structured interviews were completed, and transcripts evaluated using inductive thematic analysis.
Findings
Through the structured analysis of focus group transcripts three major themes emerged from the data: (1) Collaboration, (2) Transferable knowledge and skills, and (3) Expectations about hackathons. These themes highlight strengths and potential barriers when bringing this multidisciplinary approach to high school students and the healthcare community.
Conclusion
This study found that students were empowered by the interdisciplinary experience during a hackathon and felt that the knowledge and skills gained could be applied in real world settings. However, addressing student expectations of hackathons prior to the event is an area for improvement. These findings have implications for future hackathons and can spur further research into using the hackathon model as an educational experience for learners of all ages.
A geographical education offers more than skills, subject knowledge and generic attributes. It also develops a set of discipline-specific capabilities that contribute to a graduate’s future learning and experience, granting them special ways of thinking for lifelong development and for contributing to the welfare of themselves, their community and their world. This paper considers the broader purposes and values of disciplinary teaching in contributing to individual human development. Set in the context of recent debates concerning the role of the university and the neo-liberalisation of higher education this paper explores approaches to developing the geography curriculum in ways that re-assert the educational value of geographical thinking for students. Using international examples of teaching and learning practice in geography, we recognise five geocapabilities: use of the geographical imagination; ethical subject-hood with respect to the impacts of geographical processes; integrative thinking about society–environment relationships; spatial thinking; and the structured exploration of places. A capabilities approach offers a productive and resilient response to the threats of pedagogic frailty and increasingly generic learning in higher education. Finally, a framework to stimulate dialogue about curriculum development and the role of geocapabilities in the higher education curriculum is suggested.
In this paper, we argue that it is opportune to revisit profound questions about the purpose, nature and value of higher education in society at a juncture where the context of higher education has been significantly influenced by the global sustainability agenda and responsible management education imperatives (United Nations (UN) Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME), UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UN Global Compact, UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), etc.). We take Holman’s (2000) work on models for management education and his recommendations as our point of departure in critically examining the practice of embedding ESD and UN PRME (as two complementary schemes) in our institution. We explore the nature and interrelationships of Holman's 5 axioms of management education (epistemic, pedagogical, management-as-practice, social, and organisational) in order to provide a reflective account of our experiences and elucidate deeper understandings of what responsible education for sustainable development may mean in practice. The arguments presented here are grounded in both practical theorising stemming from related literature and concrete empirical illustrations generated through our observations and reflections as participants (in our roles as PRME Leader, ESD champion and SD programme leader) in the PRME/ESD initiatives. We have demonstrated that embedding ESD responsibly across a HE institution is a complex, emerging, evolving and non-linear process of addressing simultaneously the curriculum content, power, structures, identity, values, and external checks and balances. Therefore, a critical attention is needed to all 5 axioms and assumptions that are at play and has to be facilitated by a combination of educational activism, informal academic collaboration, formal measures and reporting, and practical skills of maintaining legitimacy and ownership of creative and innovative pedagogic models while negotiating the meaning of those to align with the institutional priorities.
We examined students' understanding of the causes of a scientific phenomenon from a multiple-document-inquiry unit. Students read several documents that each described causal factors that could be integrated to address the given writing task of explaining the causes of change in average global temperature. We manipulated whether the document set included a document that took a position on climate change policies and whether a reading/writing prompt focused only on understanding the causes (“explain how and why recent temperature changes are occurring”) or also included a solution-related addendum (“and what we can do about it”). The results suggest that including a policy-related document can lead to poorer learning outcomes for the causes of climate change, with evidence that students focused upon policy in lieu of, rather than in relation to, a causal understanding of the issue.
As greater accountability in higher education grows, authentic learning has found a prominent place in the education agenda. Technology continues to open up possibilities for innovative and effective learning opportunities, and students and teachers are no longer happy to accept familiar classroom-based pedagogies that rely on content delivery and little else. Authentic learning environments have their foundations in situated approaches to learning which advocate that learning is best achieved in circumstances that resemble the real life application of knowledge. Authentic Learning Environments in Higher Education provides a coherent description of the principles that guide the development of an authentic learning environment, and gives concrete examples across a wide range of discipline areas. The book helps teachers to reflect on the important elements of an authentic approach, and to use the descriptions of a range of implementations to guide their own design and development of an authentic learning environment.
Honorable Mention, General-Non-Fiction category at the 2013 Green Book Festival sponsored by JM Northern LLC. Despite commitments to renewable energy and two decades of international negotiations, global emissions continue to rise. Coal, the most damaging of all fossil fuels, has actually risen from 25% to almost 30% of world energy use. And while European countries have congratulated themselves on reducing emissions, they have increased their carbon imports from China and other developing nations, who continue to expand their coal use. As standards of living increase in developing countries, coal use can only increase as well-and global temperatures along with it. In this hard-hitting book, Dieter Helm looks at how and why we have failed to tackle the issue of global warming and argues for a new, pragmatic rethinking of energy policy-from transitioning from coal to gas and eventually to electrification of transport, to carbon pricing and a focus on new technologies. Lucid, compelling and rigorously researched, this book will have a lasting impact on how we think about climate change. © 2012 Dieter Helm. The right of Dieter Helm to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the
This paper introduces a special issue of the Journal of Geography in Higher Education on the practices and challenges associated with taking undergraduate geography students abroad on field courses. I argue that geography is positioned to benefit from both the internationalization of higher education and the demand by students for global experiences. The papers in this special issue focus on three aspects of international field courses: curriculum design and international partnerships, student engagement during short-duration field courses, and how encounters with place can be aided through reflection and play. I conclude with suggestions for future research on international field courses.
This special section grew out of a series of sessions on ‘Mixed methods and hybrid epistemologies’ at the Association of American Geographers annual meetings in 2013 and 2014. The five papers that comprise it each examine climate change as a mixed or hybrid entity, and consider some of the theoretical and methodological tensions associated with contemporary climate change research. In so doing, the authors reflect on the challenges of field-based observation and measurement, and they draw on a rich array of conceptual resources in attempting to capture climate's multidimensional character. In this brief introduction, I consider the contributions of the papers in the context of three areas of climate change scholarship: climate knowledge, ontologies of climate and the methodologies of climate change research. Taken as a whole, the collection suggests the value of a methodological and epistemological pluralism, one capable of registering the hybrid character of climate change and coping with the fact that multiple measurements, understandings and enactments of climate may be equally valid.
Management of “wicked problems”, messy real-world problems that defy resolution, requires thinkers who can transcend disciplinary boundaries, work collaboratively, and handle complexity and obstacles. This paper explores how educators can train undergraduates in these skills through applied community-based research, using the example of an interdisciplinary research program at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. Participating students strengthened their abilities to handle setbacks in the research process, improved communication and teamwork skills, and gained familiarity with interdisciplinary investigation. Programmatic elements that could transfer well to other settings include studying local human–environment problems, working in multigenerational, small groups, and using multiple methodologies.
Are geography students good “environmental citizens?” Has this improved over time with increasing emphasis on sustainability within higher education? This paper compares environmental attitudes and behaviours of geography students at different stages of their degree and over a seven-year period. The findings show that although geography students have an interest in environmental issues and feel a responsibility to educate others, this does not necessarily lead to pro-environmental behaviours, particularly more indirect behaviours. Environmental citizenship attributes in first year geography students show little change over seven years, other than where behaviours have been influenced by changes to the infrastructure around them.
The process by which issues, decisions, or events acquire different meanings from different perspectives has been studied as framing. In policy debates about climate change adaptation, framing the adaptation issue is a challenge with potentially far-reaching implications for the shape and success of adaptation projects. From the available literature on how the meaning of climate change adaptation is constructed and debated, three key dimensions of frame differences were identified: (1) the tension between adaptation and mitigation as two contrasting but interrelated perspectives on climate change; (2) the contrast between framing climate change adaptation as a tame technical problem, and framing climate change as a wicked problem of governance; and (3) the framing of climate change adaptation as a security issue, contrasting state security frames with human security frames. It is argued that the study of how climate change adaptation gets framed could be enriched by connecting these dimensions more closely with the following themes in framing research: (1) how decision-making biases that to framing issues as structured technical problems; (2) the process of scale framing by which issues are situated at a particular scale level; and (3) the challenge of dealing with the variety of frames in adaptation processes. WIREs Clim Change 2013, 4:321–330. doi: 10.1002/wcc.227
Conflict of interest: The author has declared no conflicts of interest for this article.
For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
Geography graduates face an uncertain future. To help students think and practice as a geographer, we must teach disciplinary knowledge – particularly threshold concepts – as well as skills and attributes. We must role model and articulate our geographical reasoning using signature pedagogies and promote high-impact and signature learning experiences. Through such experiences, students will be empowered to cope with being in an uncertain world. Geography has a history of innovation in pedagogy and a concern for a holistic education, so our discipline is well placed to rise to the challenge of securing a future for our graduates.
In higher education today, institutions are facing a number of challenges—including the challenge to create future-proof graduates. Higher education institutions have a particular mandate to develop future leaders and decision-makers capable of understanding and providing solutions to complex, global issues. Education programmes that focus on multi-disciplinary thinking are required to prepare future leaders to solve problems not yet known to be problems. Using a case study of a postgraduate climate change programme, this study illustrates the challenges addressed and resulting rewards when reforming the curriculum. Two theoretical curriculum models informed the re-imagination of the programme: objectives-based and action research following the process inquiry model. The reformation was undertaken by the programme teachers as researchers of their practice. To future-proof graduates, this study discusses how curricular intentions are aligned with the institution’s capacity for action towards change. Avoiding a business-as-usual scenario when faced with complex, politicized and global issues such as climate change requires both programme and course curricula continuous evaluation and revision. Alignment with internal (university and teacher-level) goals and external directives is required.