Teacher Pedagogy & Professional Development

5.1 Professional Development of School Leadership

Professional Development of school leadership can begin with a re-orientation of priorities in the curriculum. This is to say SDG 4.7 is not as an add-on, but a critical knowledge that deals with the matter of sustaining human and other life and their thriving on the planet. 

Some helpful guiding questions to ask as leaders and educators may be:

• Is the current school vision created around the critical themes in SDG 4.7 ?

• What is already being taught, and where are points where SDG 4.7 themes can be incorporated?

• Are the standards and performance indicators reflecting what we deem to be priorities?

Operationally, it would be helpful for leaders and educators to:

• Recognize the need for embracing a culture of change

• Give time for incorporation of new instructional approaches

• Apply and promote systems thinking 

  • Some examples of organizations and initiatives educating youth in Systems Thinking and sustainability* 

    • Cloud Institute 

    • K-12 System Dynamics in Education Project 

    • The Waters Foundation; 

    • Creative Learning Exchange

• Be mindful of the concept of “learning as connection”. This is to strengthen more formal types of knowledge through expressing relationships between meaning making, context and concept to make education relevant and situated in local cultures and local environments (Footnote: Shumba, O. & Kampamba, R. (2016). Learning as Connection: Pedagogical Innovations to Support ESD Learning Processes in Science Teacher Education Settings. Schooling for Sustainable Development in Africa: 189-203.)

This UNESCO report "Getting Climate-Ready: A Guide for Schools on Climate Action" details how school governance approaches can promote inclusive approaches to empowering students to take action to address climate change.

The Climate Change Connections report provides useful tips for different age groups. 

The Global Schools guidebook: "Practicing Education for Sustainable Development: Case Study Guide for Educators" showcases best practices of educators around the world who have successfully incorporated Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in their lessons and activities.

*(footnote: Soderquist, C. & Overakker, S. (2010). Education for Sustainable Development: A Systems Thinking Approach. Global Environmental Research 14: 193-202.) 

This section is for school teachers, teacher educators, and non-formal educators to explore action-oriented, inquiry-based pedagogies through examples of how various pedagogies can be applied to specific SDG 4.7 focus areas and topics.  

This section discusses the teacher training that is required to make SDG 4.7 integration into classrooms a reality. It provides examples of school leadership training and will pedagogical models that will be relevant under different contexts. The section shares recommendations of teacher pedagogies and professional development given the contexts (e.g. large classrooms, rural, few teaching aids etc). This section will specifically be helpful for teacher training institutions at the national and sub-national level as well as for teachers and students.

5.2 Teacher perspectives for implementing SDG 4.7

Teachers often refer to the importance of social and emotional learning (SEL) aspects in teaching the SDGs and ESD as we educate for a sustainable future. Climate change can be scary for children, overwhelming for learners, and thinking about integrating ESD can be daunting for teachers. This makes being mindful of SEL as an integral part of the teaching and learning processes even more important. Beyond thinking about the social emotional learning of learners, educators themselves must not forget about caring for their own well-being as a key foundation for effective teaching. This is especially true in the era of COVID-19, where adults and children alike, all over the world, are taking on and managing through additional burdens and stress. 

Below are some thoughts shared by educators on Social and Emotional Learning as a key pillar and which elements of social and emotional learning may especially be important to keep in mind as ESD is taught:

• Address the factors that underlie each student’s experience and not just facts (William Bertolotti, Research Advisor, Plainedge High School)

• An attitude of humility to be open to one’s own blind spots and things that may be absent in certain life experiences versus others’ life experiences (Heila Lotz-Sisitka, Professor, transformative Social Learning & Green Skills Learning Pathways)

• Awareness and reminder that not all communities will be affected in the same way when it comes to climate change (Jordan Muhammad, Northwestern University student and climate justice activist)

• Empathy as a catalyst for learning ; self awareness and understanding of actions of self on others. Being aware of this in the learning process provides a reference and framing point for discussing issues rather than jumping to solutions, which often operate on assumptions (Kiran Sethi, Founder, Design for Change & Riverside School)

  • This enables thinking of solutions WITH, and not FOR, somebody. If the starting place is empathy, it is more likely that solutions would be designed based on specific and real experiences. (Kiran Sethi, Founder, Design for Change & Riverside School)

• If not caring of oneself, there would be no saving others and the planet. Sustainability of the self goes hand-in-hand with sustainability for communities (Elisa Hartwig, Director, Research Foundation for the Innovation for Eco-Education)

• To support students in overcoming eco-anxiety. Educate on taking actions and changes to have an outlet for more hopeful and feasible actions (Marcia McKenzie, Director of the Sustainability Education Research Institute)

Explore our Learning Expectations to Achieve SDG 4.7 to see how Social-Emotional Learning and other attitudes discussed here are incorporated.

5.3 Pedagogical approaches overview + examples of their application for SDG 4.7 content

In outlining some of the key pedagogical approaches to apply in teaching SDG 4.7 content, the main aim is to share interactive approaches that can be used to facilitate learner empowerment and agency, and increase students’ engagement to the learning content and their own learning process as a result of the pedagogical practice. 

*Please note. Not all pedagogies will be used by all-- this is to say, some will be more appropriate and feasible for specific settings and circumstances. The resources, links and activity ideas listed here can be used to gauge what is feasible in your specific settings. We encourage the usage of various pedagogical practices as much as possible as a guiding principle, however they are not meant to be prescriptive on how to facilitate a class or the learning experience. As an overview, you’ll get to hear ideas and tips directly from teachers, experts, practitioners and students in Udemy Module 2 & Udemy Module 3!

Below are some pedagogical approaches to which educators reference in teaching ESD/SDG.

• Place-Based Education: Place-Based Education, or place-based learning, connects students to their space by taking advantage of the linkage to students’ environment and geography to create a more “authentic, meaningful and engaging personalized learning for students” (Source). On the part of educators, it is encouraged to know and understand the school community and those living there. It involves taking existing lessons and content and localizing them to bring it home to the students for better comprehension. 

Source: https://www.gettingsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/What-is-Place-Based-Education-and-Why-Does-it-Matter-3.pdf

You can read more on the approach and examples at, What is place-based education and why does it matter?

• Inquiry-based learning: As an educational strategy that follows the practices similar to that of scientists to construct knowledge, inquiry-based learning involves a process from hypothesizing, testing, experimenting, observing and discovering new relations (Source). It can be viewed as an approach to solve problems that also involve the application of problem solving skills; given the nature of the process, learners become an active participant and it falls on the responsibility of the learner to discover knowledge (Source). There are various models or terminology that describes the inquiry phases or cycles. The 5E learning cycle model (Bybee et al., 2016) lists 5 phases of: Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration and Evaluation, beginning with an inductive approach; while others (White & Frederiksen, 1998) label: Question, Predict, Experiment, Model and Apply, beginning with a deductive approach. Another model frames: Inquire, Research/Reflect, Evaluate and Construct. At its core, the process is meant to engage the learners, heighten and welcome their curiosity and encourage the exploration and experimentation processes.

  • Resources to Facilitate Inquiry-based learning

  • Inquiry-based learning strategies 

• Funds of Knowledge: The concept originated to describe historical accumulation of abilities, bodies of knowledge, assets and cultural ways of interacting that were evident in US-Mexican households in the United States (Velez-Ibanez and Greenberg, 1992); the cultural, social and cognitive dimensions of these funds of knowledge were not being used as a resource to enhance students’ academic progress. Teachers engaging families outside of the school (Gonzalez, Moll, Amanti, 2005) showed how community contexts can be applied to school settings, and since then, many scholars have examined this concept in different ways The teachers serve as a facilitator of learning with the students bringing their lived experiences and cultures into the classroom. In a practical way, student’s funds of knowledge can be described as:

  • academic and personal background knowledge;

  • accumulated life experiences;

  • skills and knowledge used to navigate everyday social contexts; and

  • world views structured by broader historically and politically influenced social forces.

Source

Learn more here and here are additional ways in which funds of knowledge can be incorporated as activities and classrooms:

• Funds of knowledge for preschool and early childhood

• Funds of knowledge worksheet activity

“Keep Talking”: In delivering lessons through various pedagogical practices, it is important to have an open communication, conversation and dialogue between educators, facilitators and learners, as well as among the learners themselves. Some strategies that can be used for diversifying communication and dialogues can be found here.

5.4. Curriculum Alignment and Developing ESD-Integrated Lesson plans 

One of the keys to implementing SDG 4.7 is how to turn the pedagogical approaches and contents into curricular contents. This is especially important to not have “additional work” for educators to do in implementing curriculum, but using existing curriculum and standards and finding ways to deliver lessons and contents in a way that reflects the SDG 4.7 and sustainability education. 

This effort becomes easier when there is policy-level support for operationalizing and implementing SDGs to the curriculum, but it is still possible in other, different ways! 

See some examples and approaches:

PART 2: Planning principles for implementing SDG 4.7 in schools 

PART 4: Lesson planning for SDG 4.7

In the case of New York, Next Generation Science Standards were adapted as New York City science standards, taking the roadmap that shows the sequence and scope of the science content, and seeing which specific contents can be linked to climate science, sustainability, UN SDGs connection. This applied across subjects to link to civics, math, MLA, Art and dance, environmental justice. The City’s sustainability office within the Department of Education supports schools to take these initiatives.

5.5. Integrating ESD to Build Learner Agency - Application Across Subjects 

Corresponding to some of the pedagogical approaches outlined in this section, there are numerous ways in which education for sustainable development can be applied across subjects, with the focus of building learner agency. Meaningful delivery and implementation of applying key contents into the learning process involves being cognizant of both the integration of SDG 4.7 concepts into curriculum as well as being mindful of the relevance to the communities, schools, classrooms and specific place-based realities. To go about this process, Part 2 summarizes school- and classroom-based curriculum delivery strategies for consideration, along with examples and case studies.

5.6. Connecting to Communities 

The pedagogical practices shared in this section aimed to show some of the key reasons why place-based education pedagogical approach is important: such approach can better engage learners for learning contents and processes to be more meaningful and real, by positioning learning in the learner’s space and their immediate environments. This pedagogy can be applied by connecting the learning process directly to the communities. To find out more about connecting to learners’ communities, visit Part 4.

Resources

• Global Citizenship Education (GCED) pedagogy: 

  • IBE UNESCO Resource Pack for GCED (2018) or directly to the PDF

  • APCEIU GCED: A Guide for Trainers (2018) or directly to the PDF

These wonderful sources have pedagogy sections as well as sections that address transversal integration.

• For resources on developing a workshop or course via Earth Leadership Program: https://www.earthleadership.org/course-and-workshop-design