Project-Based Learning in Education for Sustainable Development: A Case Study of Graduate Planning Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yael Teff-Seker ◽  
Michelle Eva Portman ◽  
Keren Kaplan-Mintz
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Planning ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Attitudes And Behaviors ◽  
Environmental Considerations

Urban planning can serve a vital role in meeting the goals of education for sustainable development (ESD); it could potentially provide future planners with the environmental considerations necessary to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This article presents findings from a quantitative study of planning students’ experiences with Project- and Problem-Based Learning (PPBL). Graduate planning students in an environmental planning class were divided into two groups according to their course assignment, PPBL or non-PPBL, and given pre- and post-questionnaires, with questions to grade statements on environmental attitudes and behaviors. PPBL students reported a statistically significant change in environmental behavior involving others, while neither behavior nor attitudes changed significantly for students in the control group. Then, semi-open interviews were conducted with 11 of the students 3 years later. The interviews indicate that PPBL students remembered more content related to their assignments and felt they received more types of planning experiences and tools than those in the control group.

scholarly journals Case Study to Analyze the Impact of Multi-Course Project-Based Learning Approach on Education for Sustainable Development

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amith Khandakar ◽  
Muhammad Enamul Hoque Chowdhury ◽  
Antonio Jr. San Pedro Gonzales ◽  
Farid Touati ◽  
Nasser Al Emadi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Management Skills ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Design Project ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
The Impact

This work presents a multi-course project-based learning (MPL) approach implemented using two electrical engineering (EE) interdisciplinary undergraduate courses at Qatar University. Implementing an MPL approach helps in the development of critical thinking and collaborative decision-making skills. The attainment of these skills is also the outcome of education for sustainable development (ESD); the skills help students acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and values necessary to shape a sustainable future. The participating students’ worked on a design project, which was used to assess the fulfillment of a set of student learning outcomes (SLOs), focusing on engineering soft skills and project management skills. The skills include the ability to communicate effectively, to work collaboratively in a team, to think both critically and creatively, and to manage projects efficiently with realistic constraints and standards. The challenges of implementing the MPL method are the organization of pedagogical activities that are planned for each of the courses involved, the coordination of the materials delivered by each course, and the supervision of around 90 students per year performing the MPL method. The experience of MPL deployment in the EE program was rated using student surveys. It was assumed that the MPL approach would be beneficial to the students based on the instructors’ and students’ feedback from the same courses in previous years. This was verified using chi-square statistics of the survey results. The implementation of the MPL also helped in increasing the average marks scored by the students in the design project. Some interesting feedback, statistical analyses, and improvement actions are reported for future upgrades. This work also contributes to the MPL pragmatic body of knowledge by exploring a successful initiative and its outcomes, which can help in attaining the skills needed for ESD.

scholarly journals Current Practices and Future Pathways towards Competencies in Education for Sustainable Development

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 8733
Author(s):  
Gisela Cebrián ◽  
Mercè Junyent ◽  
Ingrid Mulà
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Informal Education ◽  
Model Building ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Group Model ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Competencies Development

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development reflects the urgency to embed the principles of education for sustainable development (ESD) into all levels of education. ESD, understood as an integral part of quality education and where all educational institutions, from preschool to higher education and in non-formal and informal education, can and should foster the development of sustainability competencies. This Special Issue entitled “Competencies in Education for Sustainable Development II” responds to this urgency and the papers presented deliver recent developments in the field of sustainability and ESD competencies. They focus on various perspectives: systematic literature reviews and conceptual contributions; curriculum developments and pedagogical approaches to explore competencies’ development, such as action research, serious games, augmented reality, multi-course project-based learning and group model building processes; testing and validation of assessment tools and processes for linking sustainability competencies to employability and quality assurance processes. The contributions show how the field of sustainability and ESD competencies has become a major focus in recent years and present emerging research developments. Further research efforts need to be put into operationalizing sustainability competencies and developing tools that help measure and assess students’ and educators’ competencies development.

scholarly journals An Integrated Model Approach of Education for Sustainable Development: Exploring the Concepts of Water, Energy and Waste in Primary Education

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2947 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guadalupe Martínez-Borreguero ◽  
Jesús Maestre-Jiménez ◽  
Milagros Mateos-Núñez ◽  
Francisco Luis Naranjo-Correa
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Primary Education ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Attitudes And Behaviors ◽  
Academic Courses ◽  
And Behaviors ◽  
Curricular Elements ◽  
Teaching Learning

Education for Sustainable Development requires improving the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of students at all levels of education. However, this should start from the earliest stages of education, promoting an effective teaching/learning process of key concepts for sustainable development. Accordingly, the general objective of this research was to analyze the concepts of water, energy and waste in the primary education curriculum (6–12 years) in Spain. A qualitative research approach was followed, with an exploratory and descriptive design. A system of categories was established for each of the concepts under study, with the aim of classifying the references found, analyzing their integration into the different subjects, academic courses, curricular elements and levels of cognitive demand required of the students. The results of the lexicographical analysis of the content reveal that the regulations governing primary education in Spain mainly focus on the concept of energy and, to a lesser extent, on the concepts of water and waste. In addition, cognitive levels of knowledge and comprehension predominate based on the taxonomy used. The results suggest the need to develop initiatives for the educational framework that promote not only learning, but also attitudes and behaviors that contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

scholarly journals Exploring the Connections of Education for Sustainable Development and Entrepreneurial Education—A Case Study of Vocational Teacher Education in Finland

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 11887
Author(s):  
Eveliina Asikainen ◽  
Annukka Tapani
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Entrepreneurial Education ◽  
Teacher Students ◽  
Vocational Teacher

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Entrepreneurial Education (EE) are quite abstract and demanding concepts for teacher students. Yet, Key Sustainability Competences and Entrepreneurial Competences entail important qualities of future citizens and workers, and teacher students should become prepared to accommodate education for these competencies in their teaching practice. This paper explores teacher students’ process of sense-making of sustainable development and how becoming a teacher who practices ESD connects with entrepreneurship. EE serves as a good mirroring surface to ESD as they both have their roots in Transformative Learning (TL) but pursue transformation towards different goals. The case study follows the vocational teacher education (VTE) students’ sensemaking of Sustainable Development as a part of teacher’s work during one semester which included integrated Thematic Studies of Sustainable Development. The qualitative content analysis of students’ texts focused on signs of transformative learning and was guided by the dimensions of sustainable development and learning goals set for teacher’s sustainability competences in the VTE curriculum. The results indicate that transformative learning is possible. Furthermore, they address the importance of certain entrepreneurial capabilities in the actualization of change agency.

Environmental and Economic Transformation of an Old Industrial Area

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Gao ◽  
David Wadley
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Industrial Area ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
Current Situation ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Industrial Upgrading ◽  
Textile Production

Since the national reform and opening policy of 1978, textile manufacturing has played a vital role in China’s advance. Confronted with the global importance of sustainable development, the industry faces a range of environmental and economic challenges. This inquiry addresses the issues created in an old industrial area and outlines ways in which textile production can be updated. Xiangyang City is taken as the case study, with the focus on three aspects: the use of renewable energy, energy recycling, and industrial tourism initiatives. This study summarizes the current situation and main environmental challenges in China’s textile production and can assist researchers by suggesting development directions and strategies for industrial upgrading and land uses.

Aristotelian Virtue Education and Education for Sustainable Development

2021 ◽  
pp. 55-83
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Individual Behavior ◽  
Human Flourishing ◽  
Moral Dimension ◽  
Moral Transformation ◽  
Attitudes And Behaviors ◽  
Virtue Education

This chapter considers the merits of integrating virtues education into education for sustainable development (ESD). ESD has aimed for the moral transformation of learners since its inception, aiming to shape learner values, attitudes, and behaviors. Understanding sustainability virtue and virtue development along Aristotelian lines, this chapter argues that reconceptualizing ESD’s transformative aims in terms of virtues education has several merits: It highlights the significance of human flourishing as the ultimate goal of sustainability; highlights the moral dimension of sustainable development; highlights the importance of experiencing the best things in life and of practicing sustainability virtue in a virtue-loving social environment; and helps to organize ESD’s transformative ambitions and structure our understanding of how they are to be achieved. The chapter also addresses two potential criticisms of the virtues approach, including that virtues concern individual behavior rather than coordinated collective action, and that Aristotelian virtue thinking is essentializing and parochial.

The Place of Concerns for Posterity in the Global Education for Sustainable Development Agenda

2017 ◽  
pp. 1433-1453
Author(s):  
Katia Vladimirova
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Ethics ◽  
Global Education ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Clear Understanding ◽  
Education Philosophy ◽  
Development Agenda ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Conceptual Foundations

Education is a powerful tool to alter unsustainable values and mindsets. But in order for it to be used most efficiently it is crucial to have a clear understanding of what values should be advanced, changed, or developed. This chapter aims to clarify some conceptual difficulties with the value of future generations in education for sustainable development. Future generations are embedded in the definition of sustainable development and can be reasonably expected to be at the heart of education for sustainable development. This chapter explores this assumption and analyzes how future-oriented concerns are formulated and advanced in the global educational agenda put forward during the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) led by UNESCO. This analysis compares conceptual foundations of ESD against key developments in climate and environmental ethics on the treatment of posterity. This chapter can contribute to the disciplines of environmental education, philosophy of education, and to climate ethics.

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