Navigating pedagogical challenges in using a thinking tool for Nature-Based-Solutions education in teacher training

NBS Academy project sets out to create a European Community of Practice (CoP) of representatives of teacher education institutions and training providers, pre- and in-service teachers, policy makers and other education experts, by establishing local living labs in 6 pilot countries (Greece, Austria, Bulgaria Sweden, Germany, Cyprus). The focus is to develop and test new professional learning programmes for improving teacher educators’ competences on Education for Environmental Sustainability (EES) by utilising Nature-based Solutions (NBS). 

One of the core challenges of integrating NBS into education is to provide pedagogical opportunities for teachers and teacher students (pre-service teachers) to discuss questions about climate risks and biodiversity challenges and explore possibilities and solutions in relation to curriculum content and contexts in focus. Motivated by this necessity, the NBS Academy consortium developed an online pedagogical thinking tool as a process in which iterative questioning, related NBS-inspired actions and reflections can be integrated with locally relevant content. The critical teaching point is to ask and co-create research questions, explore and navigate pedagogical and local environmental challenges, possibilities and solutions through 6 interrelated steps when designing NBS learning activities. In this way, students, teachers, trainers can engage in collaborative and participatory way in systems thinking, problem-solving, and experiential learning, exploring real-world applications of sustainability, climate adaptation, and ecological resilience.

The thinking tool acts as a bridge between skills (e.g., systems thinking and critical thinking), pedagogical approaches (e.g. Inquiry-Based Learning, Fieldwork and outdoor education), and theories, while it is complemented by an online repository with useful material (good practices, video, tools, games) operating, in parallel, as an online resources library that enriches the 6-step thinking tool. 

Access the NBS Academy thinking tool on our website: https://www.nbsacademy.eu/nbs-academy-resource-hub/