Education for sustainable development: Teaching for sustainability – 2024

Aims and objectives

The aim of this course is to allow the students to get a start to prepare for teaching in higher education in a way that strives toward the Sustainable development goals. The point of departure is the concept Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).

Intended learning outcomes

Upon completion of the course, the student is expected to be able to:

• Define the concept of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in connection to the SDGs and consider ways in which ESD impacts their current and future teaching practice
• Plan diverse teaching activities/sessions in the ESD context, justifying the choice of intended learning outcomes, assessment methods, and teaching and learning activities.

Entry requirements

The course is freely available to PhD students and postdocs, and in some instances teaching staff, from universities in the Global Challenges University Alliance (GCUA 2030). Students from other universities may also potentially join, subject to the course fee and availabilty of places.

Course content

This course is envisioned as a way to further develop the generic skills repertoire of doctoral students, giving them an opportunity to approach sustainability from a critical lens in their future careers, including in teaching and research.

ESD is about what to teach, how to teach and how to interact with students. In this course, you will start planning your teaching considering the environmental, social and economic sustainability perspectives in your research/subject area context, linking theoretical facts to real-life issue. We are going to work to try to understand how to teach in a global context where the seemingly objective world of research interacts with a world full of attitudes, values and agendas.

The final assignment is to plan a module in a real or future course that is an example of ESD based in the students research/subject working with a global real-life issue linked to the SDGs.

Teaching format

This 100% online course will be delivered with the use of a Learning Management System (Canvas) and a communication system such as Zoom. Teaching and learning activities will include synchronous and asynchronous activities for example online meetings, pre-recorded lectures, individual and group assignments, group discussions, independent study and case studies.

Timetable

The course will be given during 4 weeks in total, starting 20 October 2024, with 25% study pace. This course is equivalent to 5 days of full-time studies.

Examination

This course will be graded Pass or Fail.

In order to pass the course, participants will need to complete and hand in all individual and group assignments, including online peer-reviews, discussions, and reflections, as well as participate in scheduled synchronous meetings, when applicable.

Course Leader

Alexandra D’Urso, SLU

Contact for further information

Paul Egan (GCUA 2030 coordinator) – gcua@slu.se