Teaching in a Sustainable Way Sustainable Schools KHSSC

Sense & Sustainability – educating for a low carbon world Environmentalists have been good at reminding people to recycle, pleading with them to use their cars less and stop leaving their TVs on standby. However, what society needs now is a vision of a future society and economy that would work both for people and the environment. This involves new ways of thinking about producing what we need – indeed, a new way of thinking about what we need.

It would not stop at having a low environmental impact (eg. being ‘zero-carbon’) but would actually restore both natural and social capital, for example by producing food both for itself and local residents on its grounds, or by acting as a focal point for community action on sustainability. From where we are now, this may seem a radical change, but Ofsted itself has recently commended those schools who have made sustainability central to their planning and curriculum, and recommended that local authorities “develop a common vision for a sustainable community in which the contribution of schools is explicit”.[1][1] [1] ail.cfm?id=202 What would an eco-restorative school be like?

How do we engage students with ‘closed loop thinking’? This would imply a refocusing of the curriculum onto practical engagement with live issues, learning from the school buildings and grounds themselves, and more flexible learning using the resources of the community – approaches which have been shown to resonate with students at every level. Figure 2 below:

The following points owe much to WWF guidance on teaching ESD[1]. Each is followed by an example using the regional business case studies:[1] Critical thinking, discussion, debate and argument: Pupils have the opportunity to clarify their own values and how these relate to controversial or complex issues (see Citizenship 2.1, PSHE Personal Wellbeing 2.1 and 4c, Science 4a,g,k). Learning to debate with those with opposing views, and seek to find consensus or areas of common ground, is a valuable skill in business, environmental conflicts or any other walk of life. Debate: What obligations do businesses have to society? Should all businesses, not just social enterprises, be required to provide employment and training to disadvantaged young people? [1][1] Dorian, C. (1993) ‘How? The teaching and learning styles’, Chapter 3, Planning and Evaluation of Environmental Education: Secondary, pp WWF-UK.

In ESD, pupils are not simply recipients of knowledge but, through helping to direct their own learning process, acquire skills for self-directed learning and action. They come to each lesson with a stock of relevant knowledge and skills which should become part of the subject matter for the lesson. (see PSHE Personal Wellbeing 2.1 and 2.3) Pupils decide what skills and knowledge they want to learn through a business case study, eg. fundraising, horticulture, project planning, and pursue this singly or in groups. Participatory learning, respecting pupils’ existing knowledge:

Cooperative learning: Encouraging pupils to work together to achieve their goals, build up good interpersonal relationships, and make group decisions is important to their ability to take action for sustainable development. (see Citizenship 4c, Design and Technology 4d, Art and Design 4a) Pupils form project teams to put together a funding bid for a social enterprise and create presentations to win support from partner organisations.