Cultivating Sustainable Lifestyles October 2004 Teaching responsibility Victoria W. Thoresen The Consumer Citizenship Network, Project Manager, University College of Hedmark, Norway

A labyrinth of choices

Approaches to responsibility Biological determinants Social expectations Moral imperatives

The present labyrinth Soul sickness Cooperation Complexity Mobility Globalization and commercial influence New patterns of cognitive understanding and moral development New forms of citizenship Alternative visions of the future

Teaching responsibility Motivation Skills Goals

Motivation fundamental pessimism positive responses to scientific and spiritual knowledge

Skills communication skills decision making skills problem solving skills creativity change management skills

Cooperative learning Team learning Service learning Value clarification Active value choice Problem based learning Case studies Experimental learning Role playing, simulations Project work Action-research Campaigns Debates Biographies Story telling Methods

-Help students discover the underlying principles and values connected to issues and dilemmas -Reflect on one's own experiences -Personalize as well as theoretize issues

-Identify specific ways of posing a problem -Help students acquire an understanding of systems and processes -Develop the capacity in students to listen as well as to express one’s own ideas and map alternative solutions

-Challenge the students’ prejudices -Use social commentary as learning material -Use of ICT (Information and Communication Technology)

Content suggestions Education for sustainable development Lifestyles in the past and present Making choices Managing resources Solving problems Contributing to the future

“nobility becomes the accent of life…”