Description
In today’s educational landscape, there is a pressing need to incorporate environmental education and sustainability into the classroom.
This course is designed to equip educators with the necessary tools and knowledge to integrate the 8Rs of sustainability – Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Refurbish, Repair, Repurpose, and Recycle – effectively into their teaching practices.
Schools, teachers, and students face the challenge of understanding and addressing environmental issues while fostering a sustainable mindset.
The primary objective of this course is to introduce participants to the key concepts and practices of environmental education and sustainability. This course will explain the principles of sustainability and their application in educational settings to empower educators to become catalysts for environmental change and sustainability within their classrooms and communities.
During the course, participants will engage in a variety of activities, each designed to explore a specific aspect of environmental education and sustainability. These include:
- Understanding the impact of everyday choices on the environment and strategies to promote conscious decision-making among students;
- Learning approaches to minimize the use of single-use items and techniques to reduce overall consumption and its environmental impact;
- Exploring creative methods for reusing, refurbishing, and repairing materials to emphasize sustainability;
- Encouraging creativity in repurposing materials and understanding the recycling process and its role in sustainability;
- Creating a sustainability contract for classroom use and discussing strategies for effectively implementing these practices in educational settings.
By the end of the course, participants will have gained a comprehensive understanding of environmental education and the ethical considerations of sustainability in the educational context.
They will acquire practical skills and strategies for integrating the 8Rs of sustainability into their teaching, thereby enhancing student engagement in environmental issues.
Participants will be equipped with best practices for implementing these concepts in the classroom, ultimately enabling them to address the initial challenges and become effective facilitators of environmental stewardship and sustainable living among their students.
What is included
Learning outcomes
The course will help the participants to:
- Develop a deep understanding of environmental sustainability principles and their importance in education;
- Acquire skills and strategies for integrating sustainable practices into classroom activities and curriculum;
- Enhance student engagement and awareness regarding environmental issues through innovative teaching methods;
- Foster a culture of sustainability within the school community, encouraging responsible and conscious decision-making;
- Create actionable plans, including a sustainability contract, to implement and maintain sustainable practices in educational settings.
Tentative schedule
Day 1 – Course introduction
- Introduction to the course, the school, and the external week activities;
- Icebreaker activities;
- Presentations of the participants’ schools.
Understanding the Need for Environmental Education in Today’s World
- Group Discussion and Brainstorming on Current Environmental Challenges;
- Mapping Environmental Education in Our Schools.
Day 2 – Rethink and refuse: fostering conscious choices and environmental ethics
- Decision-making processes and the impact of choices on the environment;
- Creating a ‘Green Code of Conduct’.
Day 3 – Reduce and reuse: practical strategies for minimizing waste in educational environments
- Waste Audit Challenge;
- ‘Upcycling’ Creating educational resources from recycled materials.
Day 4 – Repair, refurbish, repurpose: hands-on activities for sustainable classroom practices
- Repair Café;
- Designing a Sustainable Classroom.
Day 5 – Recycle and beyond: implementing effective sustainability contracts and closing reflections
- Sustainability Contract;
- Reflection and Action Plan Development.
Day 6 – Course closure and cultural activities
- Course evaluation: round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussion;
- Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance;
- Excursion and other external cultural activities.
