Queensland Teachers’ Relationship With the Sustainability Cross-Curriculum Priority

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Nicholls ◽  
Marcia Thorne
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Sustainability Education ◽  
Education For Sustainability ◽  
Educational Context ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Formal Curriculum ◽  
Australian Curriculum ◽  
Limited Opportunity ◽  
Supporting Teachers

AbstractSustainability is a Cross-Curriculum Priority (SCCP) in the Australian Curriculum and is intended to be integrated into teaching and learning where deemed appropriate by teachers. This article explores teachers’ knowledge, understanding, and beliefs about curriculum priorities and the situational context of teaching and learning in Queensland schools. In this article we discuss the ways in which teachers describe their relationship with sustainability education and the SCCP. Data were collected from interviews with 26 Queensland teachers, teaching across all year levels from early childhood to Year 12, as part of two different PhD research projects. Queensland teachers participating in both studies indicated strong support for the inclusion of sustainability within formal curriculum; however, this strong support did not translate into practice in most cases. As a result of curriculum and policy pressures, teachers indicated that despite their belief that Education for Sustainability (EfS) is important, few believe they have the time or support for teaching EfS. The current educational context teachers have described offers limited opportunity for teachers to integrate sustainability in ways that are meaningful and relevant to their students. The SCCP did not influence planning or teaching decisions, and many teachers were unaware of its existence. Data from both studies question the adequacy of current educational policy and curriculum documents for supporting teachers to engage with sustainability education.

The potential of the non-formal educational sector for supporting chemistry learning and sustainability education for all students – a joint perspective from two cases in Finland and Germany

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Affeldt ◽  
Sakari Tolppanen ◽  
Maija Aksela ◽  
Ingo Eilks
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Chemistry Education ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Sustainability Education ◽  
Education For Sustainability ◽  
Formal Learning ◽  
Formal Sector ◽  
School Students ◽  
Formal Curriculum ◽  
Chemistry Learning

Non-formal education has been suggested as becoming more and more important in the last decades. As the aims of non-formal education are broad and diverse, a large variety of non-formal learning activities is available. One of the emerging fields in many countries, among them Finland and Germany, has been the establishment of non-formal laboratory learning environments. These laboratories were established in universities and research institutes to aim at enriching opportunities for primary and secondary school students to do more and more intense practical work,e.g.in chemistry. The primary rationale of these laboratories, in the beginning, was mainly to raise students’ interest in the fields of science and engineering, possibly inspiring them to pursue a career in these fields. However, recently the movement has started offering more programs aiming at all learners, but especially those students who are sometimes neglected in traditional science education in the formal sector. A focus on all learners is suggested to help raise students’ level of scientific literacy when connecting practical science learning with the societal and environmental perspectives of science. Chemistry learning connected to sustainability issues offers many contemporary topics that are often not yet part of the chemistry formal curriculum but can easily form contexts for non-formal learning. Because of its flexible character, non-formal education can help implementing aspects of sustainability into chemistry education and also can take a gander at the growing heterogeneity of today's students. This paper derives a joint perspective from two non-formal chemistry education initiatives from Finland and Germany focusing education for sustainability for both talented and educationally disadvantaged students in the foreground of a more general perspective on non-formal and sustainability education in chemistry.

scholarly journals Teaching Sustainable Responsibility through Informal Undergraduate Design Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8378
Author(s):  
Louise R. Manfredi ◽  
Meriel Stokoe ◽  
Rebecca Kelly ◽  
Seyeon Lee
Keyword(s):  
Design Education ◽  
Sustainability Education ◽  
Focus Group Study ◽  
Formal Curriculum ◽  
Informal Curriculum ◽  
Exchange Program ◽  
Sustainability Literacy ◽  
Material Conservation ◽  
Rich Data ◽  
The University

Recent reports, initiatives, and activities around higher education institutions revealed the relevance and value of sustainability education through both formal curriculum and informal curriculum activities. While the significance of sustainability education has continuously improved by raising awareness among new generations of students, it has not adequately promoted pro-environmental behaviors or attitude changes. This research study used a linear pretest–posttest experimental approach to understand whether two codesigned interventions; a trash and recycling bin system, and a Materials Exchange program, could improve sustainability literacy and material conservation behaviors across the School of Design. Additionally, a mid-experiment focus group study was conducted to provide text-rich data for analysis of 3R behaviors. Analysis of the data collected revealed that these interventions were reasonably successful in improving responsible material management. To have a greater impact on sustainable behavior, it is suggested that a formal educational experience should supplement the informal interventions described in this paper to onboard students as they enter the design studio culture. Additionally, the expansion of the trash and recycling bin station system into the university dormitories is discussed. This work has successfully catalyzed a collaboration between all School of Design stakeholders to address studio waste in a tangible way.

A cross-university initiative to enhance SOTL through a students as partners approach

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 218
Author(s):  
Colin Bryson
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Western Washington ◽  
Traditional Structures ◽  
Washington University

This case study evaluates a new initiative to establish a cross-disciplinary forum focusing on enhancing learning, teaching and the student experience. All staff and students are welcome to participate and participants set the agenda themselves. The intention is to have open and informal dialogue and to work in partnership towards setting up collective participatory action-research projects. This is modelled on the Teaching and Learning Academy at Western Washington University (Werder and Otis, 2010). An important aim was to create a space to give voice for those - the so-called ‘hard to reach’- who do not get such opportunities in traditional structures. There have been many challenges to creating a sustainable and successful working model, not least such barriers as communications, creating time and opportunity and working against current dominant cultures. Nonetheless, staff and students, including many international students, have participated and found legitimacy to discuss their own priorities. 

Problem-Based Learning

2018 ◽  
pp. 280-293
Author(s):  
Ernest Ampadu ◽  
Emmanuel Adjei-Boateng
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environments ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Authentic Learning ◽  
Problem Based Learning ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Strategic Approach ◽  
Supporting Teachers

Students learning and understanding is enhanced if the teaching and learning process is authentic. Authentic learning process leads to understanding and meaningful application of concepts learned. One way by which teachers can to provide authentic learning environment is through Problem-Based Learning (PBL). PBL offers opportunity for students to learn about something that is real and beneficial. Teacher education programs, pre-service or in-service, should help teachers to understand how to use PBL to provide students with authentic learning environments. The chapter aims at supporting teachers' understanding and application of PBL so that they can provide students with meaningful learning experiences. Specifically, this chapter is intended to assist teachers have a better understanding of PBL as a strategic approach to meaningful teaching and learning as well as identify effective ways to incorporate this approach into their pedagogical practices.

Back to the Future

2019 ◽  
pp. 237-252
Author(s):  
Gabriele I.E. Strohschen
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Instructional Methods ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Community Stakeholders ◽  
The World ◽  
The University

This chapter corroborates competence-based and social-situational educational practices with the principles of Blended Shore Education (BSE) and Metagogy. These two theorems emerged from several action research projects that engaged Chicago community members, university students, and educators from around the world. The principles, tenets, and descriptions of applied instructional methods in the context of civic and social engagement projects demonstrate how teaching and learning praxes and curricula and program design can be achieved by and with the learners, by the university, and by the community stakeholders to result in relevant and meaningful education models in higher education.

Web 2.0 Meets Conference

2010 ◽  
pp. 192-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Bernhardt ◽  
Marcel Kirchner
Keyword(s):  
Web 2.0 ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Educational Context ◽  
E Learning

Admittedly the usual conference format stays in opposite to the thoughts of participation and equality in Web 2.0. The EduCamp is a special BarCamp for trends in teaching and learning. It is focused on the educational context and considers important topics like E-Learning 2.0 in schools, universities or business and many others. The main intention of an EduCamp will become obvious which aims on conversations and discussions about different problem areas, searching and finding solutions together and exchanging on application scenarios or appropriate tools for education. It is based on a new concept that finally offers potentials for developing a conference culture with improved participation.

What's in a Name?: Exploring the Implications of Eurocentric (Re)naming Practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nomenclature in Australian Education Practices

2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Weuffen ◽  
Fred Cahir ◽  
Margaret Zeegers
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Aboriginal Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Australians ◽  
Australian Curriculum ◽  
Curriculum Assessment ◽  
Australian Education ◽  
History Of ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Naming Practices

The aim of this article is to provide teachers with knowledge of ways in which Eurocentric (re)naming practices inform contemporary pedagogical approaches, while providing understandings pertinent to the mandatory inclusion of the cross-curriculum priority area: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2015). While we have focused on Eurocentric naming practices, we have also been conscious of names used by Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders to name themselves and others and as non-Indigenous Australians we acknowledge that it is not our place to explore these in detail, or offer alternatives. In this article, we have explored the history of nomenclature as it relates to original inhabitants, the connotations of contemporary (re)naming practices in Australian education and discussed the importance of drawing on cultural protocols and engaging local communities for teaching and learning of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures. It is anticipated that discussions arising from this article may open up spaces where teachers may think about ways in which they approach Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures.

Virtual Spaces for Teaching and Learning

2009 ◽  
pp. 52-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter R. Albion
Keyword(s):  
Learning Process ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Virtual Spaces ◽  
Online Spaces ◽  
Low Threshold ◽  
Supporting Teachers

Interaction is fundamental to the learning process and game-like 3D online spaces present opportunities for enhancing learning through supporting a richer variety of interaction between learners and content, instructor and peers. Provision of a “low threshold application” for development of learning experiences in such spaces will extend the opportunities for more teachers to arrange learning experiences in virtual spaces. A heuristic that maps the possible variety of learning experiences in virtual spaces is one option for supporting teachers in the design of such experiences.

Discourse and Culture of Learning Communication Challenges

2000 ◽  
Vol 129-130 ◽  
pp. 275-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingsheng Li
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Chinese Culture ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Chinese Students ◽  
Cultural Learning ◽  
Educational Context ◽  
Educational Models ◽  
Culture Of Learning ◽  
Communication Challenges

It has been widely acknowledged in language acquisition research that cultural learning is an inseparable part of language learning. However, insufficient attention has been paid to the culture of classroom learning which involves both teachers' and learners' cultural values, beliefs, roles, expectations, and conceptions of teaching and learning. Communication challenges become obvious when teaching methodologies developed in one educational context are exported to another educational context. This paper reports on the findings from a case study conducted in 1997 in the People's Republic of China where pedagogical communication conflicts between English native speaking teachers and Chinese university English language majors became acute. The paper focuses on the problematic area - the discourse of participation that was highly valued, promulgated and practised by native speakers teaching English in China. It will point out some of the discrepancies between this discourse and the Chinese culture of learning. In transplanting Western educational models to Chinese classrooms, participants did not sufficiently acknowledge the cultural distance between these models and the Chinese local socio-cultural and educational realities. The discourse of participation was strongly resisted by Chinese students and teaching by native speakers often failed to achieve the desired results. In spite of the "good" intentions on the part of both native teachers and Chinese students, there existed a vast gulf in their perceptions of what constituted "good" teaching and learning, of what appropriate roles they were fitted in, and what they expected of each other. The paper argues that the gulf, the hidden source of the pedagogical communication problems, can be bridged through creating a cultural synergy in which common interests are to be found and shared, sources of problems identified, cultural differences understood and respected, and learning maximally enhanced.

scholarly journals “A Little Less Conversation, a Little More Action Please”: Examining Students’ Voices on Education, Transgression, and Societal Change

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 6231
Author(s):  
Annika Manni ◽  
Eva Knekta
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Educational Experiences ◽  
Learning Model ◽  
Personal Life ◽  
Education For Sustainability ◽  
Societal Change ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Thematic Content Analysis ◽  
Contemporary Education

Education for sustainability is urgent but also challenging when aiming for transformation, transgression, and action-oriented societal change. It is important to take into consideration students’ voices in order to enhance education, and this study used semi-structured interviews to explore students’ voices on the role of contemporary education, in society, in relation to urgent issues related to sustainability. Thematic content analysis was applied, as a first step, to analyse the students’ answers. Then a T-learning model was applied on the themes to further analyse the results in relation to transformative, transgressive, and action-oriented learning. The students reflected on a diversity of important issues in society and the possibilities of action for change, many of them related to their personal life and experiences. They also talked about diverse educational experiences, but our analysis indicated that their current education did not always meet the needs of a more transgressive and change-oriented learning. Finally, we have found that the T-learning model has the potential to be used for educational reflection and for developing new understandings of teaching and learning.

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