Dear all,
Let's share in the comments of this post the ideas/facts/quotes that make impression on us during that second day of the Education for Climate Days and that are worth sharing and remembering in our opinion.
That will be an excellent start for further discussions and potential joint actions.
(you can also check the highlights of DAY 1 here)
Conor Galvin Conor GALVIN telling us how good it is to wake up in the morning to go working with young people willing to become teachers. (that's the spirit)
Margherita BACIGALUPO /Margherita Bacigalupo reminding us that competences are defined by Knowledges, skills and attitudes. "They are like stars in the sky", when competence frameworks are like constellations.
Conor Galvin from UCD (Dublin) : average student teachers are increasingly willing to be involved in green education. What they really need is advice and guidance, and access to resources of high quality that are not too heavy, easy to be used. Since their most important value is time.
He gives an example where student teachers studying art were the most interested.
Amelie Josephine Schobesberger Amelie Josephine Schobesberger tells us about the Climate Academy (theclimateacademy.org) she is involved in in the European Schools.
The programme was founded by a philosophy teacher of the European Schools, Matthew Pye , member of our community!
Amelie explains how she joined the Climate Academy, and she shares the fact that the learning it entails is much more about doing, about being involved in concrete projects, very practical activities where students are empowered.
Conor Galvin tells us about what is happening in Ireland with focus on primary and secondary. It is the first time something like this is done. The are seeking to gather high value resources for teachers to use. They need to have immediate value. Their team brings together all sectors in education.
The approach is the same as the Education for Climate Coalition, about giving the possibility to people to act in their communities.
Amelie Schobesberger share with us her feeling that anxiety comes from the facts that people often are not aware of. That anxiety can be channeled and transformed into positive action.
Margherita tells the audience that GreenComp is what you will make out of it (like the Education for Climate Coalition:)).
She wants to make a call to action to start using the GreenComp so that we can then gather feedbacks. More research to come on this.
Conor Galvin on decision in Ireland to develop a new subject curriculum on sustainability. What has been decide is to offer a full on upper secondary subject. It has to be designed. The name will be about "climate action and sustainable development".
A brief has been produced already. And specs will come for summer of 2023. Many people from various horizons are involved. Teachers Unions are actively involved.
Activists also are involved. The second leg was a public consultation. The third leg (for him the most important) is about bringing in young people.
Focus groups with young people will be organised through the country. It will be up and ready for testing in September of 2023.
The approach is based on activities and tasks, on engaging with local communities. On active involvement, not only based on information. The second thing is about how to get teachers on board.
Margherita explain how the competence frameworks are not per se developed for teachers. BUT, Margherita thinks that the competence frameworks should all look the same. She is now working on a deck of card that makes sense for teachers. It will contain set of card on how to plan lessons, how to sequence activities, define target audiences, etc. Assessment methods will be also covered.
54 competences/54 cards. You can pick the ones you want, depending on the context in which the teacher and his/her students are.
Conor Galvin explains how it is problematic that they are so many competence frameworks. There must be ways to combine them, without thinking about having a big universal one.
Amelie explains the chance she had to go to Riga to share her experience with other teachers and students. She insists on the importance of having enthusiastic person, teachers and students, to encourage other's involvement.
Amelie says it is important to find way to break through the problem of climate education being based on facts repeated over and over, and things being "taught". Make climate education attractive is important.
Margherita explains how even the single activity of a teacher can contribute to the agency needed to change things at policy level.
Conor explains how particularly for upper secondary level, involving students in advocacy is key. And for this we need to structure the learning experience around tasks at community level, and not only limited at the level of the school.
The use of technology in relation to communicating and advocacy does a difference. Young people will find ways to reaching out communities beyond school walls if they are giving a chance to do so.
Conor explains how climate education/education for sustainable development must not packaged in a given subject. He gives the example of Ontario, where things are done fully transversally. In Scotland also, where it goes through the whole curriculum. In New-Zealand it even start with junior years, kinder garden, and then it becomes adapted right away through the system.
The goal of sustainability has redefined the role of schools and their relationship with the community. The focus has shifted beyond ‘what to teach students’ and ‘how they are behaving’ to seeing schools as a focal point where students, teachers/professors and the community interact and learn together
MarÃa de la Yedra MartÃnez Expósito What you describe is unfortunately far to be the reality in all schools I am affraid. But the trend is the right one. What to teach students remains important, and has to, but can't be the only focus, learning is not only about listening indeed...
For Conor everyone should be involved in doing more for sustainability in all education systems, and this goes for primary school and university. He thinks that we are on the curve. Things are starting. But we need to keep pushing.
Conor explains how outdoor learning is essential.
Structural and methodical planned curriculum will serve the purpose in providing practical education. As a part of vocational studies for early years VET, Writing a books (surrounding the topic)for public will have awareness but not a direct benefits to early years....
Curriculum design remains obviously a key instrument. Don't hesitate to share with us your research, that would be nice to focus more on VET.
VET has wide range for early years. From "plastic pollution and collection/behavioural change" to " many form of pollution in environment " which contributes to climate change.....
My email was hacked/blocked since 7th November. Just now, i have been able to assess my account. Apology for not been able to attend the scheduled meetings.
Member States agree on different priorities, and from there competence frameworks are developed. Then, once developed they can be used as reference documents. But anyway they are used the way Members States and stakeholders want to use them. Up to them. The take up depends on them.
Margherita introduces GreenComp https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/greencomp-european-sustainab… a competence framework about sustainability.
It goes beyond education, also tackle environmental justice, etc. It was published this year in January. It has been translated in 24 languages, which shows the urgency as this does not apply to all competence frameworks.