This is a cute little video that could be used as a base for a critical thinking exercise around consumption and fashion.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Framework for EfSD - issues to consider & notes on the run
Here I'll collect all the random thoughts and issues to consider in compiling my framework for designing and evaluating EfSD programs - hopefully I can pull it altogether into something coherant later on!
Critical thinking
Critical thinking challenges "one size fits all" thinking, and helps challenge bias and dominant versions of what is important based on incomplete understanding of the issues involved. It encourages examination of personal and professional contribution to change, and helps lead to self determination and autonomy for the learner. It can also provide an encouraging basis for future participation, and the capacity to take a stand (GSE827 2010).
Education for sustainable development
What is education?
Education can be formal (schools, universities, training courses and colleges); informal (friends, museums, zoos, family, councils, media, advertising etc); or non-formal (on-the-job training, apprenticeships, internships etc).
Education encompasses life-long learning. Environmental education used to be focused on individuals and their behaviours, but now encompasses empowering individuals to envision systems/structural changes and gives them the skills to effect these. EfSD is more about expanding perspectives, and building critical skills, rather than providing information on specifics (ARIES 2006, ARIES 2009,GSE827 2010).
"Education for sustainable development is an emerging but dynamic concept that encompasses a new vision of education that seeks to empower people of all ages to assume responsibility for creating a sustainable future" UNESCO 2002 From Rio to Johannesburg p5
What can education achieve?
Through our class, I've learnt that there are two types of education - one that supports the status-quo, and one that helps empower people to bring about the changes they seek in the world (GSE827 2010). I come from a family of academics, and have always believed in education as one of the both powerful and benign: as the great leveller, in fact. But these classes have taught me that education must be carefully planned so as to not be counterproductive and a tool of indoctrination.
Education can be formal (schools, universities, training courses and colleges); informal (friends, museums, zoos, family, councils, media, advertising etc); or non-formal (on-the-job training, apprenticeships, internships etc).
Education encompasses life-long learning. Environmental education used to be focused on individuals and their behaviours, but now encompasses empowering individuals to envision systems/structural changes and gives them the skills to effect these. EfSD is more about expanding perspectives, and building critical skills, rather than providing information on specifics (ARIES 2006, ARIES 2009,GSE827 2010).
"Education for sustainable development is an emerging but dynamic concept that encompasses a new vision of education that seeks to empower people of all ages to assume responsibility for creating a sustainable future" UNESCO 2002 From Rio to Johannesburg p5
What can education achieve?
Through our class, I've learnt that there are two types of education - one that supports the status-quo, and one that helps empower people to bring about the changes they seek in the world (GSE827 2010). I come from a family of academics, and have always believed in education as one of the both powerful and benign: as the great leveller, in fact. But these classes have taught me that education must be carefully planned so as to not be counterproductive and a tool of indoctrination.
The IUCN Engaging People in Sustainability report (Tilbury & Wortman, 2004) highlights that EfSD, given the ill-defined nature of sustainable development as a concept, "seeks a tranformative role for education, in which people are engaged in a new way of seeing, thinking, learning and working" - that is, that EfSD is more about empowering people with the capacity to critically explore their behaviours and their environment, rather than with providing them a new paradigm.
EfSD helps build "capacity in individuals and organisations for transformational change" by "emphasising creative, critical and innovative approaches" (ARIES 2009).
Envisioning: teaching tool
Normally, people are told what their goal is, and how to get there. It has been noted that creates a situation where people "don't take ownership of the change process and also feel extremely disempowered" (ARIES 2006).
Envisioning invites participants to create a shared vision around an issue, and take many forms. It involves the creation of a shared vision among the group, and gives people a positive goal to work towards together that they have created together (GSE827 2010, Tilbury & Wortman 2004).
I think it could be a useful tool to sidestep the hopelessness that can surround may seemingly overwhelming environmental problems. It helps people simultaneously hope for better outcomes, as well as take ownership of the problem and its solutions: while it is important to show people "hell" [the world if the problem is not fixed], you must also show them "heaven" - this also helps them contrast the positive vision world with the status-quo world (GSE827 2010).
Envisioning invites participants to create a shared vision around an issue, and take many forms. It involves the creation of a shared vision among the group, and gives people a positive goal to work towards together that they have created together (GSE827 2010, Tilbury & Wortman 2004).
I think it could be a useful tool to sidestep the hopelessness that can surround may seemingly overwhelming environmental problems. It helps people simultaneously hope for better outcomes, as well as take ownership of the problem and its solutions: while it is important to show people "hell" [the world if the problem is not fixed], you must also show them "heaven" - this also helps them contrast the positive vision world with the status-quo world (GSE827 2010).
Amazonian manatee rescue: case study
This could be a possible education program to evaluate: The ACOBIA and Dallas Zoo (ACOBIA-DWAzoo) Manatee rescue programin Iquitos, Peru.
ACOBIA-DWAzoo is a not-for-profit organisation that cares for injured and orphaned amazonian manatees, and rehabilitates them for rerelease back into the wild. As part of their conservation work, they have a donation-funded education program that works with local communities, especially targeting children, which aims to educate them about the problems facing the manatee and about what they can do to preserve the few remaining animals. Participants can visit the manatee rescue centre in Iquitos, and ACOBIA-DWAzoo visits with local villages to engage the children with educational materials, games and sometimes manatees they are trying to release into the wild, which helps further engage the children.
ACOBIA-DWAzoo is a not-for-profit organisation that cares for injured and orphaned amazonian manatees, and rehabilitates them for rerelease back into the wild. As part of their conservation work, they have a donation-funded education program that works with local communities, especially targeting children, which aims to educate them about the problems facing the manatee and about what they can do to preserve the few remaining animals. Participants can visit the manatee rescue centre in Iquitos, and ACOBIA-DWAzoo visits with local villages to engage the children with educational materials, games and sometimes manatees they are trying to release into the wild, which helps further engage the children.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Systemic thinking
(Image reproduced from asiasociety.org)
Typologies of Participation
Participatory engagement often leads to community participants having ownership of a direction, course of action or decision, and its implementation, where previously power groups, such as governments or corporations may have had sole carriage and ownership. This can cause tensions between the groups seeking participation and the participatory decision makers, who may have significantly different interests or opinions to the former. In addition, the greater the degree of participation in the decision making process, the higher the level of perceived ownership of the decision.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Participation
Participation is to take part, share and act together. In some forms it brings together multiple stakeholders and their views to a) help build consensus and b) help future decision making processes. It can:
- help build capacity, skills and motivation to contribute to sustainability
- empower communty groups, especially those with less power, to contribute to decision making
- recognise and involve indigenous groups and their knowledge.
Possible EfSD workshop activity idea
Possible idea for what to do in EfSD workshop:
"Problems and solutions" speed dating - divide into two groups and sit one in inner circle. Other sit in front of one at random (is possible?), and then for each turn outer circle have to move one to the right.
For first half number of turns, have 30 secs to workshop the "worst" from current world (environmental problem? impediments to sustainability? equity divide?) they can think of between two. Then for second half, have to come up with a vision word for how they want world to be, or qualities society/world should have eg peace, stability, participation.
Then get inner circle to put words up on board - negatives first, then positives, and seek out commonalities. Then seek ways from negative first to positive second - further workshops to second positive.
Probs: enough time in 20 min workshop? (number in class? will need an intro section) Also, our group is currently thinking of exploring animal rights-interspecies equity - is this a useful tool for exploring those issues? Maybe can put in our workshop overall, but not use in the 20 mins?
"Problems and solutions" speed dating - divide into two groups and sit one in inner circle. Other sit in front of one at random (is possible?), and then for each turn outer circle have to move one to the right.
For first half number of turns, have 30 secs to workshop the "worst" from current world (environmental problem? impediments to sustainability? equity divide?) they can think of between two. Then for second half, have to come up with a vision word for how they want world to be, or qualities society/world should have eg peace, stability, participation.
Then get inner circle to put words up on board - negatives first, then positives, and seek out commonalities. Then seek ways from negative first to positive second - further workshops to second positive.
Probs: enough time in 20 min workshop? (number in class? will need an intro section) Also, our group is currently thinking of exploring animal rights-interspecies equity - is this a useful tool for exploring those issues? Maybe can put in our workshop overall, but not use in the 20 mins?
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Game: ElectroCity - online energy production game
The game ElectroCity is was developed as a public awareness tool teaching resources management and energy production. The site is suitable for upper secondary students and adults, with class discussion and critical thinking exercises.
It does have some issues, and is paid for by a major energy provider with interests in continuing the status quo and use of fossil fuels.
It does have some issues, and is paid for by a major energy provider with interests in continuing the status quo and use of fossil fuels.
learningforsustainability.net
learningforsustainability.net is an online sustainability resource which aims to provide a practical resource for proponents of multi-stakeholder learning processes.
It defines sustainability as a process, rather than an outcome or an external achievable goal. The site notes that in sustainable development everyone is a user and provider of information, and notes the need to change from old sector-centred ways of doing business to new approaches that involve cross-sectoral co-ordination and the integration of environmental and social concerns into all development processes.
It also provides links to a number of tools and teaching resources with a sustainability bent, including a number of excellent games such as My Sustainable House and Stop Disasters. Games are an excellent, structured way of learning for children especially, as they contain multiple levels of increasing complexity which increase knowledge as they go, and they offer a wide range of challanges that help combat boredom (Kirriemuir & McFarlane 2004).
It defines sustainability as a process, rather than an outcome or an external achievable goal. The site notes that in sustainable development everyone is a user and provider of information, and notes the need to change from old sector-centred ways of doing business to new approaches that involve cross-sectoral co-ordination and the integration of environmental and social concerns into all development processes.
It also provides links to a number of tools and teaching resources with a sustainability bent, including a number of excellent games such as My Sustainable House and Stop Disasters. Games are an excellent, structured way of learning for children especially, as they contain multiple levels of increasing complexity which increase knowledge as they go, and they offer a wide range of challanges that help combat boredom (Kirriemuir & McFarlane 2004).
Monday, August 9, 2010
Video: RSA Animate - The Empathic Civilisation
An interesting video on empathic functions in the brain, and the idea of spreading empathic understanding to not only other members of the human species, but also to other species and the environment as our "common community".
Video: The Story of Stuff
The film, The Story of Stuff, released in December 2007, is one of the most widely viewed environmental-themed short films of all time. It is an extremely well known example of advocacy journalism.
The film is mainly about the life-cycle of material goods. It outlines the cycle of consumerism and the hidden or secret costs of our consumer goods.
This is Annie Leonard on the Colbert Report (March 9, 2010) talking about the film, book and project:
The Story of Stuff Project was created by Annie Leonard to leverage the film’s impact. The site centres an on-line community of activists, and environmental and social justice organizations worldwide, and hosts a useful range of other films (including on cosmetics and bottled water), curricula and other content.
The film is mainly about the life-cycle of material goods. It outlines the cycle of consumerism and the hidden or secret costs of our consumer goods.
This is Annie Leonard on the Colbert Report (March 9, 2010) talking about the film, book and project:
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Annie Leonard | ||||
| ||||
The Story of Stuff Project was created by Annie Leonard to leverage the film’s impact. The site centres an on-line community of activists, and environmental and social justice organizations worldwide, and hosts a useful range of other films (including on cosmetics and bottled water), curricula and other content.
Introduction!
Welcome to my personal learning and reflection journal for GSE827 Education for Sustainable Development at Macquarie University.
This journal will document my reflective thinking about Education for Sustainable Development (EfSD) and map my journey in developing a framework for designing and evaluating EfSD programs.
I will reflect on issues and questions at the core of EfSD, such as:
The reflections in this blog may seems disjointed, or jumbled up: I don't believe that any learning journey is linear or a smooth process, and I'll note ideas and resources as they arrive during this learning process. I'll try and make some sense out of them through master (such as this one) and conclusions posts and the labels to the right and at the bottom of every post, which will help clump together like thoughts and issues. For example, all posts containing teaching resources may be accessed by clicking the teaching resource tag in the labels section.
I have developed a framework for designing and evaluating EfSD which brings together my conceptions of what EfSD is and how a successful EfSD programme should be developed and implemented (it may be found here). References used in the development of this journal can be found here.
This journal will document my reflective thinking about Education for Sustainable Development (EfSD) and map my journey in developing a framework for designing and evaluating EfSD programs.
I will reflect on issues and questions at the core of EfSD, such as:
- interpretations of sustainability and sustainable development;
- different models of educational practice;
- conceptions and frameworks of EfSD;
- desired outcomes for EfSD.
The reflections in this blog may seems disjointed, or jumbled up: I don't believe that any learning journey is linear or a smooth process, and I'll note ideas and resources as they arrive during this learning process. I'll try and make some sense out of them through master (such as this one) and conclusions posts and the labels to the right and at the bottom of every post, which will help clump together like thoughts and issues. For example, all posts containing teaching resources may be accessed by clicking the teaching resource tag in the labels section.
I have developed a framework for designing and evaluating EfSD which brings together my conceptions of what EfSD is and how a successful EfSD programme should be developed and implemented (it may be found here). References used in the development of this journal can be found here.
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