Exploring non-linear pedagogical approaches to ESDGC
By Henry Liebling & Tony Brown
Introduction
It is clear that many teachers in HE Education departments have moved from adopters of
ideas and practice to producers and developers. In recognition of this we wish to encourage
discussion about new pedagogical strategies that engage students in sustainable development
and global citizenship (ESDGC). For many HE teachers the introduction of ESDGC,
“Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship”, has been achieved by the
skilful application and development of existing pedagogy to what was for some a new area of
the curriculum.
The purpose of this paper is to provide:
1. An invitation to anyone working in Education who has developed approaches to
ESDGC with their students to write about their pedagogical approach to continue this
discussion.
2. A commentary below, about some of the pedagogical approaches that are emerging,
particularly the shift from linear models to cyclic models, and what this approach can
mean for curriculum developers
3. Examples of writing from HE teachers who have identified ESDGC as a major focus
of their work with students including student teachers.
Students engaging with ESDGC
What follows is a wide-ranging discussion about pedagogical approaches to ESDGC that can
promote student engagement. We define and then consider the differences between what we
refer to as ‘linear’ and ‘cyclic’ approaches to curriculum development. We review a wide
range of resources that HE teachers have identified as valuable for the development of
pedagogical approaches to ESDGC and we share examples of practitioners’ writing about
their approaches to working with students.
1.
Intended audience for this paper
Our intended audience is teachers, tutors and student teachers, planners and policy makers.
We believe that ESDGC articulates with Education in complex ways, including for example,
students in initial teacher education and training, students in education studies at
undergraduate level and international students working at Masters and Doctoral level prior to
returning to their home countries as the next generation of policy developers.
2.
One-sentence definitions of non-linear pedagogical approaches
‘Teaching as if we had surrendered the belief that we can control nature.’
‘Learning from nature and living systems.’
‘What would happen if we used the principles of living systems as tools for learning?’
3.
Using the principles of living systems as tools for learning
Lots of teachers and writers have used examples of living systems to promote learning. The
following link shows a number of examples from the 1970s to the present.
http://esd.escalate.ac.uk/2529
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The question we pose in this paper is: ‘What happens if we apply what we know about living
systems to a study of ESDGC?’ Do any of the examples resonate with current work aimed at
engaging students with ESDGC within the curriculum?
Can we allow ourselves to raise the status of process above that of content at a time when the
pressure to overfill the curriculum often results in coverage becoming privileged over
mastery?
What would be the effect of developing a curriculum that encourages working smarter, wiser,
slower and deeper, rather than harder, faster and shallower? Can we find ways to give our
students and ourselves opportunities and time to think, rather than just remembering and
recalling?
How can we re-connect our minds and bodies, connect self with other, and hopefully reconnect with nature?
[See Capra ‘Ecological Principles’ and Some Further Guidance .]
4.
Cyclical versus linear approaches to pedagogy and curriculum development
There is some agreement that we need to think differently in trying to find a way to live with
the planet rather than destroy it. We need a change of heart that helps us to see the planet’s
resources as finite and that ‘there is no away’ for our waste to be thrown.
In contrast to the human linear strategy of make, use, discard, we know that in the natural
world there is a cyclical flow of resources, with many feedback loops. The waste from one
living thing becomes the food of another and so on in networks of micro-organisms, plants
and animals living on the varied surfaces and environments of the planet, from tropical rainforest to the bottom of the oceans, in a dynamic dance of life where diversity assures
resilience.
Much remains to be discovered, understood and learned from:
● the cyclical nature of life;
● the way each molecule of sugar, oxygen, water and carbon dioxide is re-used and
even reformed, created and broken down into constituent atoms;
● the balance between photosynthesis and respiration, with the sun’s energy as the
ultimate driving source of energy;
● the self-similarity shown in patterns of clouds, sand dunes, sea shores, coastlines,
rivers, valleys and mountains, where systems function in ways that are non-linear,
dynamic, ever changing.
We live in a world that cannot be described adequately using Euclidean geometry and a
mechanistic, reductionist worldview. Many mechanistic models are intra-systemic – they can
be applied only within a single system. They are not inter-systemic - many cannot work
across systems. They do not provide accurate representations of the world when applied to
super-complex systems. Yes, human linear models have value, but they also have serious
limitations. They are inadequate for tackling the ‘wicked’ problems we face. For example,
descriptions of current human models that seek to ‘explain’ how humans can ‘benefit’ from
‘exploiting’ the world are mostly derived from business and economic models that exclude
costs associated with maintaining biodiversity and the environment. Instead these models
limit measures to intra-systemic factors like profitability, sales performance, advertising
penetration and market share. Only by designing these models in ways that ignore most intersystemic measures such as a worldview and environmental impact, can they conjure up the
possibility of endless growth, measured intra-systemically. These models can only work by
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excluding calculations of the carbon footprint of resource acquisition and industrial
exploitation, and the biological, health, environmental and social costs of activity.
Intra-systemic models are the ones most familiar to us. These are within-system models that
limit measurement to carefully selected indicators - often ones that are geared to ‘proving’ the
success of activity described by the models. Because they refer to closed systems (such as
economic exploitation, growth of economic markets, measures of operating costs compared
to investment in new technology) they can make claims for a fantasised predictability in an
increasingly unpredictable world: a world which demands better understanding of supercomplexity and which needs models that show how activity in one system can have farreaching effects in others. (cf Black Swan events)
Those who design and use these linear models actively promote a lack of understanding about
the relationship between prediction and control. Many economic models imply that greater
prediction will improve opportunities for control. We are encouraged to believe that greater
measurability of market forces will help businesses outperform their competitors. However,
many systems are too complex to understand sufficiently well and to be controlled. For
example, we know the weather is difficult to predict, and measuring it with greater accuracy
can help us prepare for extreme weather events but will not automatically help us to control
them.
Survival appears to depend on diversity. Diversity in all forms of life benefits survival and
adaption to new challenges. Survival depends on the continued existence of diverse
environment and habitat, culture, language, and so on. Human intervention in the natural
world is too often at odds with this natural system. Instead of maintaining diversity, human
activity too often involves a convergent approach that leads to decreased diversity, fewer
species, cultures and languages. (Worm, B. et al, 2006; Myers, N. et al, 2000) [See also
Resurgence at http://www.resurgence.org/magazine/article2590-cultural-vitality.html and
http://esd.escalate.ac.uk/1434 ]
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Power in industrial Europe and the US, once had a locus within local and national
geographies. Modernisation through industrial development inaugurated a view of humans as
separate individuals, independent, and with rights established nationally that could protect the
individual’s desires and life choices. According to Touraine (2000) we are at the end of this
period - denoted by order. Instead we are entering an era of change featuring de-socialisation,
de-institutionalisation, and de-modernisation:
whereas “modernisation” meant using the idea of a national society to manage the
duality of rational production and the Subject’s inner freedom, de-modernization
is defined by the breaking of the links that bound together personal freedom and
collective efficacy. (Touraine, 2000:132)
One effect of globalisation is the increasing gap between power – exercised globally rather
than nationally, and which functions in ‘virtual spaces’ rather than within geographical
boundaries and politics, still defined by rules established in Touraine’s ‘era of order’ – and
largely operating within, local, regional and national boundaries. ‘The most conspicuous
distinguishing mark [of globalisation] is the growing separation, nay divorce, between power
and politics.’ (Bauman, 2007:3)
The reality is that we are completely dependent for our existence and wellbeing on other
people, animals, vegetation, fungi, microbes and viruses. No single person can create a
mobile phone, a life-saving drug, fuel for cooking, or a shop that supplies food to the
community. We are dependent on others and the planet as a whole for the air we breathe, the
water we drink, the food we eat, the soil in which we grow most of our food. Where are the
rights of the earth and all non-human life? [See Earth Charter also EarthRights
International and Earth Rights Institute]
“Interdependence – the mutual dependence of all life processes on one another – is the nature
of all ecological relationships.“ (Capra, 1997:20)
Bauman (2007) identifies major problems at the national political level that make the
management of interdependence challenging and lacking any obvious solution at the current
time. Indeed the challenge facing an education for sustainable development is to find ways of
exploring critically the implications for sustainability given the loss of power of sovereign
territories:
There is now no longer any truly sovereign territory. Human rights, dignity of
life, freedom and security can no longer be assured (not in a long run, at any rate)
in any one country – unless on a planet where all these widely coveted values are
universal human possessions. Care for the living standards and integrity of people
around us will not be fully effective, and in the longer term could be shown to be
fraudulent, if it does not rest on a steady concern with the planet as a whole, and
on actions dictated by such concern. (Baumann, 2007:4)
Baumann’s conclusions can be read as suggesting a cyclic approach to the challenges of
globalisation and the privatisation of (or anti-communal acts against) institutions.
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The problem with linear approaches is that they do not tell the whole story, substituting
instead a preferred story that seeks to meet short-term ends. They do not provide a complete
picture, preferring to simplify certain aspects of the relationship between humans and the
natural world, whilst hiding inconvenient truths. They promote a certain view of the world
and our role in it whilst discouraging other views. They favour simplicity and discourage
complexity. In reality linear models of the world are a distortion: natural systems are circular
not linear, they are dynamic with emergent properties such as self-organisation. Ecological
systems like rain forests have evolved over hundreds of thousands of years to become supercomplex interdependent systems. At a macro level they survive the variability of the climate
though they succumb in part to local weather conditions. At a micro level they stimulate
diversity. They change and adapt in cycles. They follow circular, not linear, functions.
[See Ellen MacArthur Foundation http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org]
In April 2010 the Japanese earthquake and subsequent tsunami severely damaged the
Fukushima nuclear installation1. The design model used to determine the containment of
nuclear material within the reactors shows every sign of linear thinking. In the 1970s the
boiling water reactor design was shown to be inadequate (vulnerable to over-pressurisation)
and venting systems were installed at a post-design stage by making holes ‘vents’ in the
containment structure that surrounds the nuclear core. This modification undermined the
original concept and integrity of containment, which now became a containment that could
not contain. Vents were introduced to ensure that any dangerous over-pressure could be
prevented and damage to the reactor core avoided, by venting radioactive steam and
hydrogen to the outside world – a situation that the original concept of the containment vessel
sought to avoid at all costs. Opening the vents to decrease containment pressure permits the
introduction of pressurised water to cool the core in an emergency, and is intended to prevent
over-pressurisation of the system beyond limits that the containment was not built to
withstand. However, the introduction of the vents did not take account of the possibility that
they might remain locked open following deployment – a situation which appears to have
occurred in the Fukushima accident. The generators that provided power to the safety devices
survived the earthquake but because they were installed underground they succumbed to the
tsunami floodwater. Thus the vents were opened but could not be closed. The pumps that
should have introduced the pressurised water to cool the core failed through a loss of power,
and the subsequent overheating of the core allowed it to melt through the bottom of the
containment. The excessive radioactivity produced huge temperature rises inside the
containment which in turn created over-pressurisation which was released into the
environment through the vents that could not be closed. The excessive heat produced the
worst meltdown and radioactive pollution to the environment in the history of the nuclear
industry. There has been insufficient research into the impact of low levels of radioactivity on
humans and animals, which means the immediate and medium term consequences to Japan
and its inhabitants are hard to assess. Longitudinal research data from Chernobyl and new
data from Fukushima suggests there is still a lot to be learned about the complexity and
interdependence of the interacting living and non-living systems involved in uncontrolled
nuclear spillage. Most importantly, updates on the state of the four reactors and
contamination levels in surrounding areas have been partial, with governments and media
downplaying the seriousness and impact of the worst nuclear disaster the world has
experienced. Social media has proved to be a counter to this approach and human stories are
emerging of social responses to the disaster. Within these human stories are also the realities
1
http://www.fairewinds.com/ update video May 22 2011 – accessed May 28 2011.
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that some governments seek to downplay2.
http://www.youtube.com/user/whitefox601#p/u/13/JlZrD3dzxAk
Direct links to events across the world remind us that promoters of ESDGC have to find ways
of challenging overly simplistic political models that seek to distract attention away from
problems of ecological damage caused by commercial activity. Education for sustainability
needs to stay with complexity and resist over-simplification. ESDGC needs to be considered
at the level of process as well as content. The processes, complex as they are, demonstrate
that interdependence is a key feature of natural systems:
Those that question the value of the concept of sustainable development as a
metaphor or heuristic for a social ideal tend to be thinking about sustainable
development as a ‘product’. Seeing sustainable development as some sort of end
state, Jickling (1992) for example, argues that it is not wise to see sustainable
development as a focus of education because visions of an ideal, sustainable
future are influenced by history and culture and any educational programmes
would, by definition, therefore have to be indoctrination for that kind of future
(Jickling, 1992). Unfortunately, this argument ignores the wide range of
democratic pedagogies that have been discussed in the environmental education
literature for over twenty years (e.g. Huckle, 1980, 1983a, 1983b, 1986, 1988,
1990, 1991; Fien, 1993a, 1997, 1998). In addition, this sort of ‘input’ (i.e. some
sort of educational programme) – ‘product’ (i.e. sustainable development) way of
thinking, and the uni-linear view of social change it implies, is inconsistent with
the holistic, ecological worldview that looks more to process than product, and
recognises the interconnectedness and interdependence of all aspects of human
and non-human nature and the systemic view of change associated with this.
(Fien & Tilbury, 2002)
Following this view, there are three major tasks we can identify for educators:
To understand the dangers of trying to predict, manage and control our relationship
with the natural world in terms of linear models.
2. To learn to challenge linear approaches with increasingly sophisticated cyclic models
that acknowledge a need for sustainability.
3. To educate students and colleagues about the importance of cyclic models of thinking
and acting.
1.
Taking a non-linear approach in teaching poses troublesome questions for educators:
●
●
●
●
can we describe teaching and learning in terms of non-linear approaches?
what kind of pedagogy might result?
what might happen to our worldview?
will non-linear approaches to teaching and learning reveal the non-linear paradigm?
2
Robbie Whitehouse aka whitefox601 left his flat and gave up his job working as a barman in Tokyo, to do
voluntary work in a village devastated by the tsunami in March 2011. Along with many others, Robbie makes
frequent short video accounts of what is happening in communities affected by the disaster. For the time being
at least, many of the social media can operate without censorship to provide a direct connection to events
happening globally in ways that bypass government and commercial controls on information.
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Moving to a non-linear approach to pedagogy will influence our responses to teaching and
learning. [See Tilbury, Ryan in appendix B] It opens up possibilities for creative work in a
range of more interactive activities such as role-play, simulation, concept mapping, braided
learning, problem based learning, unconferences, building a wiki, bridging, cradle to cradle,
circle time, cycles, critical incidents, searching for nested systems and fractals.
[See Gayford in appendix C] [See also, Section 8 ESD Pedagogies in Sterling, Future Fit
Framework in preparation].
Successful approaches include:











using simulation and role-play in teaching.
feed-back advice to students following assignments, and feed-forward guidance to
students preparing a thesis. These contain lots of feedback loops, iterated over a
period of time, often resulting in unpredictable and creative work.
master class approaches where a tutor gives individual supervision advice in a tutorial
while a group of students observe, in preparation for their own tutorial at a later date.
five minutes of divergent and lateral thinking once a week for a year. Learning the
power of being able to generate and reshape ideas, using starting points such as:
invent 100 things to do with a piece of string, an empty milk bottle, a tin can, a
newspaper ...; redesign the human hand; make something that stays in the air as long
as possible.[Look online for themes such as Lateral Thinking, Thinking Action and
other work from Edward De Bono.]
visualisation: manipulation of shapes/pictures in the mind, imagining other scenarios,
futurescoping then backcasting.
concept mapping to negotiate meaning, to record and develop connections over time.
[See also Exploring Museum Spaces - one of the three papers offered here.]
leaving resources, a bit of equipment, a computer in a classroom, communal area or
playground to be discovered and explored. [See also Sugata Mitra link]
LinkingThinking WWF 2004 Sterling S et al
[See also Gayford, In appendix C, Tilbury, in appendix B, Capra, In appendix D,
Stibbe, Cloud, Pratchett, model in his paper offered here.]
OSIER project, just launched offers the chance to gather, use and repurpose open
educational resources, Find and share ideas and resources on the teaching of
Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship.
[See http://osier.ac.uk/]
the UEL Virtual Schools project is currently the subject of ongoing research. One of the aims
of the research is to find out whether participation in the virtual schools, as communities of
practice, can promote the creation of individual and communal professional knowledge using
both qualitative and quantitative methodology. [ See TDA report, Local4Global Conference
Paper July 2010, Paper in Research n Secondary Teacher Education April 2011]
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5.
Acknowledging ESDGC within the curriculum
There is much extra-curricular activity already going on across campuses. Many students
volunteer for activities that involve both sustainable development and global views of
citizenship. Many students take time out from studies to volunteer abroad, but on their return
their experience is not always used effectively in university programmes. There are many
approaches ripe for use within as well as outside the formal curriculum. Independent study
modules and work-based learning provide opportunities for incorporation into programmes of
study, though not into the core curriculum. The question we want to tackle is, ‘How should
ESDGC be acknowledged within the formal curriculum?’
There are a number of ways that this could be done. However as curriculum developers
know, some apparently easy ways are in fact difficult to achieve. For example, attempts to
add even small elements of ESDGC to an already over-burdened curriculum are likely to
meet with resistance from some of those given the task. It may be a choice for those who
already want to restructure and re-present the curriculum for students, but for those who do
not have the authority to make curriculum changes, it is not an inviting option.
What we believe curriculum planners need is a set of principles that guide decisions on
engaging students with ESDGC. The technical changes to pedagogy and curriculum can and
should be decided locally, at the level of programme, module and assessment, but the criteria
for making those local decisions can be explored, set out and used by planners to guide local
needs. [See Sterling, Future Fit Framework, in preparation]
[See http://www.cloudinstitute.org/]
We believe that the above discussion together with the examples provided in the Appendices
can be used by curriculum planners to establish general criteria at departmental and faculty
level for developing ESDGC in the curriculum, whilst leaving local decisions about process
and content to programme teams and curriculum developers.
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References
Bauman, Z. 2007 Has the future a left? Soundings
Capra F. 1997 The Web of life. Harper
Fien J & Tilbury, D. 2002 Ch 1 in Education and sustainability: responding to the global
challenge. IUCN
Gayford C. 2010 Learning for Sustainability in Schools:Effective Pedagogy. WWF
Myers, N., et al (2000) Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature Vol 403 24
February 2000 (853-858)
Sterling S. et al 2004 LinkingThinking WWF
Sterling S. 2011 Future Fit Framework (in preparation for HEA ESD project)
Tilbury, D. & Wortman, D. (2004), Engaging People in Sustainability, Commission on
Education and Communication, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK
Touraine, A 2000 Can we live together? Equality and difference (trans. David Macey) Polity
Press
Welsh Assembly Government 20008 ESDGC a “Common Understanding” for schools.
http://www.esd-wales.org.uk/english/school_sector/downloads/ESDGCcommon.pdf
Worm, B. et al (2006) Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services. Science
Vol 314 No 5800 (pp. 787-790)
Web based material.
Capra F. ‘Ecological Principles’ http://www.ecoliteracy.org/nature-our-teacher/ecologicalprinciples
Cloud Jaimie 2011..... http://www.jsedimensions.org/wordpress/content/how-our-teachingchanges-our-thinking-and-how-our-thinking-changes-the-world-a-conversation-with-jaimiecloud_2011_05/
Earth Charter http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/content/
Earth Rights International http://www.earthrights.org/
Earth Rights Institute http://www.earthrightsinstitute.org/page/strategy-1
Higher Education Academy’s Professional Standards Framework 2011
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/York/documents/ourwork/rewardandrecog/ProfessionalS
tandardsFramework.pdf
Pratchett S. (Sept 2008) A Curriculum Model to Underpin ESD http://esd.escalate.ac.uk/1916
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Stibbe A.(2011) Contemplating collapse.
http://www.adm.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/features/education-for-sustainability-andbeyond-contemplating-collapse
Sugata Mitra 2010 http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_the_child_driven_education.html
Black Swan events http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_swan_theory accessed 2nd Nov 2011
‘there is no away’ http://esd.escalate.ac.uk/1611 accessed 2nd Nov 2011
‘wicked’ problems http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_problem accessed 2nd Nov 2011
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Appendices and sources of further information
There are the following 5 appendices
A)
Some current and some older references & links.
B)
Pedagogical Principles for ESDGC
C)
Some Pedagogical Approaches being used in schools.
D)
Notes for potential contributors to this discussion.
E)
The Competences for educators in education for sustainable development.
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Appendix A) Some current and some older references & links.
Author
Tilbury D.
Gayford C.
SterlingS et al
Sterling S
Horton P.
Sugata Mitra
Stibbe A. (ed)
Capra F.
Capra F.
Webster K &
Johnson C
Preston C
Title
Pedagogical Approaches
Learning for Sustainability in schools:
Effective Pedagogy
LinkingThinking: New perspectives on
thinking and learning for sustainability
Future Fit Framework
Sustainable Development & Gaia Theory
The Child driven Education
Year
2010
2010
Pub/format
From 2004 pub’n
WWF
Notes/websites
http://esd.escalate.ac.uk/2520
http://esd.escalate.ac.uk/2520
2004
WWF
http://esd.escalate.ac.uk/2526
2010
2010
2010
HEA
Online ESCalate
TED talk
The Handbook of Sustainability Literacy:
Skills for a changing world
The Web of life
Speaking Nature's Language: Principles for
Sustainability’
Sense and Sustainability
2009
2008
Green books
& online
Harper
Ecoliteracy
website
book & online
Still being edited, awaiting publication
http://esd.escalate.ac.uk/juggins
http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_the_child_driven_education.
html.
http://esd.escalate.ac.uk/2135
http://www.sustainability-literacy.org/
Unconferences: from practice to praxis in
informal professional learning contexts
2010
Online paper
1997
http://www.ecoliteracy.org/nature-our-teacher/ecological-principles
http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/education/publications
Mirandanet: Social interaction, braided learning, e-communities of
practice, communal constructivism.
We are also reminded of the following work, which we feel needs refreshing, rewinding and rebooting!
Author
Title
Year format
notes
The Ecologist
Blueprint for Survival’
1972
Penguin
Radical proposals for immediate action. Ah well
De Bono E.
Teaching your child to think
1992
Viking
Encourages divergent non-linear thinking and balances use of more logical
approaches e.g. “6 hat technique”
Ben-Hur M.
On Feuerstein’s Instrumental Enrichment
1994
IRI Skylight
Really made me stop and think about education.
Gardner H.
Intelligence Reframed
1999
Basic
Natural intelligence a more recent addition
Gattegno C
The Science of Education
Inspiration to many a maths teacher and beyond
Novak J. & Gowin D Learning how to learn
1984
Book
Seminal book on concept mapping and the little known Gowin’s V. Mainly
CUP
applied to Science Ed’n.
Taylor J V
Enough is enough
1975
SCM
A bishop cautions our ruthless, unbridled, unthinking excess.
Illich I
Deschooling Society
1973
Penguin
Maybe we need this now even more than then!
Meadows et al
Limits to Growth’
1972
Recently re-visited
Papert S.
Mindstorms: Children, computers and
1980
Harvester
I found learning LOGO alongside children a liberating experience. This
powerful ideas.
book guided me.
Schumacher E F
Small is beautiful
1973
Abacus
A study of economics as if people mattered.
Pike G & Selby D
Global teacher Global Learner
1988
Hodder
Seminal, influential and still valid
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Appendix B) Pedagogical Principles for ESDGC
 Envisioning the future, then back-casting.
 Dealing with complexity. Critical/creative thinking (challenge). Ethics and conflict
resolution.
 Systems thinking, integrated, interdisciplinary.
 Participation & participatory learning.
 Partnership working, (no one pathway to sustainability. CONTESTED).
 Asking questions about traditions and innovations.
Based on a conversation with Dr Alex Ryan, University of Gloucestershire.
Pedagogical Approaches:
Pedagogic elements and aims and for EfS (Education for Sustainability)
It is crucial to EfS that the learning process fosters key skills that help people to engage
effectively with sustainability. Certain elements are central to EfS pedagogy and these
elements can serve both as strategic principles for institutional plans as well as specific
indicators for curriculum innovation:
Futures thinking
Futures thinking engages people in imagining preferred visions for the future. It involves the
exploration of assumptions and of meaningful understandings and interpretations of
sustainable development. This process of envisioning futures leads people to take ownership
and responsibility for more sustainable futures.
Critical and Creative thinking
Critical and creative thinking enables people to explore new ways of thinking and acting,
make informed decisions and create alternatives to present choices. It involves reflecting on
how people interrelate with one other, understanding cultural differences and creating
alternative ways to live together.
Participation and Participatory learning
The engagement of people is needed to build sustainable futures collectively. Engaging
diverse stakeholders and communities is essential, as they value and include differing
knowledge systems and perspectives. The process of participation is also important for
creating ownership and empowerment.
Systemic thinking
Thinking systemically is essential to sustainable development, as piecemeal approaches have
proved not to work - instead resolving one issue while creating other problems. Sustainable
development requires approaches which go beyond analysis in terms of ‘problem-solving’
and/or ‘cause-effect’.
Partnerships
Partnerships are a motivating force towards change. They empower people and groups to take
action, to take part in decision-making processes and to build capacity for sustainable
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development. Intercultural and multi-sectoral partnerships in particular are often highlighted
as critical in EfS approaches.
Table of pedagogic approaches taken from Tilbury, D. & Wortman, D.
(2004), Engaging People in Sustainability, Commission on Education and Communication,
IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
Key points raised in this document include:
 There is no one definition of ‘sustainability’ – instead EfS prioritises learning
processes, collaboration and debate, critical thinking and strategic change, to promote
constructive educational responses to questions of sustainability.
 The span of EfS includes all subject areas in the formal curriculum, as well as a range
of research and informal learning activities under way across the university.
 EfS can and should serve as a vehicle for critical academic development, across all
disciplines and professional subject areas. The focus of EfS is not merely the
environment but includes the widest range of topics relating to quality of life.
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Appendix C) Some Pedagogical Approaches being used in schools.
Type
Description & examples
Entrepreneur
set-aside time
cross-curric’m.
dept
cross-curric’m
interdisciplinary
re-search
Social, fair-trade café
Carving out specific time for activity
Working across dept’s courses, levels, cross-fertilization. Peer
tutoring
Using tasks, tools, methods from other curric’m areas.
Stimulus
presentation
collaboration
participation
problem solving
role-play
creation
reflection
action
events/projects
campus
gardening
community
local2global
experts
Looking for/gathering material, thinking about, analysis, thesis,
synthesis…new ideas/thinking. Can split up task and re-combine
at end
Use a wide variety/range of stimulating material, artefacts,
surprises, visitors, video, DVDs, images, data, graphics, music,
mp3, art , poetry, story/narrative. (VTSD from Sahara project)
Students/pupils present research
findings/information/work/results/artefacts to peers or wider
audience. Maybe into public domain.
Learning sets, group work, peer learning, team work, joint
projects, shared assignments, team teaching, joint presentations
Student voice, encourage meaningful participation
Enquiry based, problem solving approaches
Through other eyes (toe), hot seat, expert mantle. Develop
empathy, compassion, equanimity. Other viewpoints  informed
world view.
Using arts and design to innovate, improvise, create, express
feelings, report action, discussion, thinking or solve problems.
Encouraging learners & teachers to examine and question their
thoughts, feelings & actions in the light of what they have
learned/done. Critical friend, buddy, circle time, journal, critical
incidents/significant events file
Exploring individual or collective action to address issues of
“esdgc”…
Organising special events, projects, days in/out, displays or
exhibitions
Using environment created by buildings & grounds as a tool for
teaching & learning
Growing food, fruit trees/bushes, herbs and other plants. East feast
Involving parents &/or the community in learning for sustainable
acts.
Using links along local to global dimension. Face to face, virtual,
simulated.
Inviting experts in. Using expertise from within the group.
(languages, hobbies, interests, expertise!!) Offers/Needs and
Requests/Strengths.
Based on Dr Chris Gayford 2010 “Learning for Sustainability in Schools: Effective
Pedagogy” WWF.
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Appendix D) Notes for potential contributors to online discussion.
You may be an accomplished writer or a novice. This online publication is expected to
contain a wide range of contributors and styles. You should initially email suggestions and
short pieces or outlines to hliebling@gmail.com
You are free to write whatever you want about your experiences of developing a pedagogy
for teaching ESDGC. Below, we offer some writing frames that you can adopt if you wish.
1. Principles and value judgments as starting points for potential authors
Contributors to this discussion on ESDGC may want to look at the following very diverse
collection of possibilities. We are assuming that writers will already have something they
want to share with others. The following discussion is our attempt to shape the focus - but not
the content of what you write for this publication.
We believe that people who make pedagogical changes are usually committed to professional
values and beliefs within their work
(a) Many people have found the Higher Education Academy’s Professional Standards
Framework a useful way of working on their professional development. Using the PSF, what
work have you done to acknowledge ESDGC? Writing from this perspective will be of
interest to others, both in relation to ESDGC and in using the PSF for your own professional
development.
(b) Frameworks and guiding principles e.g. Stephen Sterling and Daniella Tilbury.
(c) The Welsh Assembly Government approach to ESDGC is to emphasise community. This
could be a starting point for those tutors who see community as a core concept in their
teaching and have used this belief in introducing ESDGC to students. The “Common
Understanding” document provides another starting point.
(d) Student engagement can be moved from the informal to more formal setting of their
course. Students working informally as volunteers, working in and with local and
international contexts. Many tutors take a pragmatic approach. They see many students
already busy with the ESDGC agenda outside their formal studies, and look for ways to bring
students’ existing enthusiasm and commitment into the formal curriculum.
(e) Practical approaches such as those recorded/found by Dr Chris Gayford. Which of these
approaches might be/become non-linear?
In all the above is there a move from content to context?
When looking for simplicities of a non-reductionist kind, in what contexts do they arise?
The purpose is to go beyond reductionism, not replace it.
If you are well versed in matters such as catastrophe, chaos or complexity theory, then just
apply what you know of these to education, your courses, your students, your teaching, your
own mind. What emerges?
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2) “What would happen if we used the principles of living systems as tools for
learning?”
Can we use Capra’s Ecological Principles to explore the ecology of teaching and
learning? So for example using the headings from F Capra.
http://www.ecoliteracy.org/nature-our-teacher/ecological-principles

Networks of relationships
How can we encourage networks of relationships? With learning sets, critical friends,
circle-time style activity, an environment where sharing is encouraged…, support
groups, See also the school/college as a community.

Diversity
Encourage diversity in topics covered, in how tutors and students respond to tasks and
assignments, celebrate diversity and difference rather than try to flatten everything to
make grading assignments and evaluating student performance easier. Allowing
students to set their own agendas, choose their own assignment titles. This gives a
greater range and diversity of material to feedback to their peers and future groups.

Nested systems
Acknowledge the nature of learning as complex with systems and procedures each
with their own rules. Try to help students come to terms with and question these
…such as referencing, structuring, presentation, participation, planning. Consider
schema theory, each schema is a sort of mini system, schema are built up nested
within one another. E.g. getting up, washed, dressed, fed and to work/school! Or
gathering, preparing, cooking and eating food. This appears linear, and indeed some
actions have to be sequenced in a particular way for good reason, but in other ways
the schema are nested.

Cycles
Resources are exchanged and moved around in cycles, one organisms waste is another
organisms food. How can we relate this to teaching and learning? Analysis of
misconceptions, making good use of our errors and misunderstandings. Seasons,
sense of place over time, life cycles, rise and fall in populations...

Flow of energy
Reminds me of Sylvia Aston-Warner in “The Teacher” describing organic teaching
and learning. The teacher breathers out and the learner breathes in, then the teacher
breathes in and the learners breathe out. There is a rhythm and balance to the day, and
within each session, as well as within each dialogue. Is the continuous flow of new
students part of the energy flow? The leavers and freshers. What of the flow of new
ideas and innovation?
Where can/does/should the learner and the teacher each get their energy from?

Development, change over time
This is learning itself I think. Adaptation, evolution, Piagetian stages, schema, NLP.

Dynamic Balance
The resilience of the combined community, the ethos of the school/ learning
community where each is valued and useful and all are still learning.
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Appendix E The Competences for educators in education for sustainable development
United Nations Economic Commission for
Europe Steering Committee on Education
for Sustainable Development
ECE/CEP/AC.13/2011/6
The Competences for educators in education for sustainable development
HOLISTIC APPROACH
Learning to know
ENVISIONING CHANGE
Past, present and future
ACHIEVING TRANSFORMATION
People, pedagogy and education systems

the basics of systems thinking



ways in which natural, social and
economic systems function and how they
may be interrelated
the root causes of unsustainable
development

that sustainable development is
an evolving concept
why there is a need to
transform the education
systems that support
learning
the interdependent nature of
relationships within the present
generation and between generations, as
well as those between rich and poor and
between humans and nature

the urgent need for change from
unsustainable practices towards
advancing quality of life, equity,
solidarity, and environmental
sustainability

why there is a need to
transform the way we
educate/learn

their personal world view and cultural
assumptions and seek to understand
those of others

why it is important to
prepare learners to meet
new challenges

the importance of building
on the experience of
learners as a basis for
transformation

how engagement in realworld issues enhances
learning outcomes and
helps learners to make a
difference in practice
The educator understands….
18




Exploring non-linear pedagogical approaches
the connection between sustainable
futures and the way we think, live and
work

their own thinking and action in relation
to sustainable development

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the importance of problem setting,
critical reflection, visioning and
creative thinking in planning the
future and effecting change
the importance of preparedness
for the unforeseen and a
precautionary approach
the importance of scientific
evidence in supporting
sustainable development
ECE/CEP/AC.13/2011/6
Integrative thinking and practice
Learning to do
HOLISTIC APPROACH
Integrative thinking and practice
ENVISIONING CHANGE
Past, present and future
ACHIEVING TRANSFORMATION
People, pedagogy and education systems

create opportunities for sharing ideas and
experiences from different
disciplines/places/cultures/generations
without prejudice and preconceptions

critically assess processes of
change in society and envision
sustainable futures



work with different perspectives on
dilemmas, issues, tensions and conflicts
communicate a sense of urgency
for change and inspire hope
facilitate participatory and
learner-centred education
that develops critical
thinking and active
citizenship

facilitate the evaluation of
potential consequences of
different decisions and actions


assess learning outcomes in
terms of changes and
achievements in relation to
sustainable development
use the natural, social and built
environment, including their own
institution, as a context and
source of learning
The educator is able to.…

connect the learner to their local and
global spheres of influence
19
ECE/CEP/AC.13/2011/6
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Learning to live together
HOLISTIC APPROACH
Integrative thinking and practice
ENVISIONING CHANGE
Past, present and future
ACHIEVING TRANSFORMATION
People, pedagogy and education systems


facilitate the emergence of new
worldviews that address
sustainable development


encourage negotiation of
alternative futures
challenge unsustainable
practices across educational
systems, including at the
institutional level

help learners clarify their
own and others worldviews
through dialogue, and
recognize that alternative
frameworks exist

is willing to challenge
assumptions underlying
unsustainable practice

is a facilitator and
participant in the learning
process

is a critically reflective
practitioner

inspires creativity and
innovation

engages with learners in
ways that build positive
relationships
actively engage different groups across
generations, cultures, places and
disciplines
The educator works with others in
ways that….
Learning to be
The educator is someone who….

is inclusive of different disciplines,
cultures and perspectives, including
indigenous knowledge and worldviews
20

is motivated to make a positive
contribution to other people and
their social and natural
environment, locally and globally

is willing to take considered
action even in situations of
uncertainty
ECE/CEP/AC.13/2011/6
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A.
Holistic approach
43. The holistic approach includes three interrelated components:
(a)
Integrative thinking;
(b)
Inclusivity;
(c)
Dealing with complexities.
44. Integrative thinking responds to the challenges of sustainable development that are
simultaneously global and local and require an awareness of how change in one part of
the world can impact upon other parts, as well as an awareness of how choices today can
impact tomorrow’s world. These challenges are complex and require inputs from a range
of disciplines to address them, including perspectives on natural, social and economic
systems. Different cultures and world-views can provide valuable insights; at its most
fundamental, sustainable development connects individuals and groups to other people,
locally and globally, and to their natural environment. Integrative thinking implies ways
of thinking and acting that reflect these interrelationships and the creative possibilities
that they engender. Systems thinking is a valuable tool in achieving such an integrative
approach.
45. Inclusivity refers to a willingness to incorporate a range of perspectives critical to
negotiating a sustainable future. Sustainable development issues are often characterized
by contradictions and dilemmas; different perspectives can both underpin and provide
solutions to these issues. While embracing different perspectives, it is important for
educators to be open about their own world-views so that these are not hidden from
learners nor imposed upon them.
46. Dealing with complexities enables educators for ESD to provide opportunities to
learners for engaging with and creating bridges across a range of concepts and ideas.
While it would be impractical to list the entire knowledge base of ESD, the UNECE
Strategy for ESD and the UNESCO International Implementation Scheme for the United
Nations Decade for Education for Sustainable Development (2005–2014) suggest a
broad range of concepts and topics that can serve as entry points, including: peace
studies; ethics and philosophy; citizenship, democracy and governance; human rights;
poverty alleviation; cultural diversity; biological and landscape diversity; environmental
protection; ecological principles and an ecosystem approach; natural resource
management; climate change; personal and family health (e.g., HIV/AIDS, drug abuse);
environmental health (e.g., food; water quality; pollution); corporate social
responsibility; indigenous knowledge; production and/or consumption patterns;
economics; rural/urban development, environmental technology; and sustainability
assessment. Connections can be supported through engaging learners in active
citizenship projects.
B.
Envisioning change: past, present and future
47. Envisioning change covers competences relating to three dimensions:
(a)
Learning from the past;
(b)
Inspiring engagement in the present;
(c)
Exploring alternative futures.
48. Learning from the past includes critical analysis and thorough understanding of past
developments, including the root causes of those developments. It draws lessons through
understanding both successes and failures in cultural, social, economic and
environmental spheres.
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49. Active engagement in the present is crucial because of the urgency of the
contemporary issues that face us. For example, our world is characterized by massive
inequality, with millions living in poverty while others engage in unsustainable use of
the planet’s resources exceeding the carrying capacity of natural systems and hence
compromising their regenerative capacities. ESD should address the needs of all people
in the present as well as those of future generations.
50. Exploring alternative futures leads to the identification of new pathways as an
important step towards sustainable development. This process draws upon scientific
evidence, uncovers current beliefs and assumptions that underlie our choices and
encourages creative thinking about a wide range of possibilities. Involving learners in
creating visions for the future will highlight ways in which actions taken today
contribute to or detract from preferred futures. This offers ownership, creativity,
direction and energy that can motivate people to make more sustainable choices in the
present. ESD should emphasize approaches that are intended to lead to positive futures
for people and nature, rather than those that simply do less harm.
C.
Achieving transformation: people, pedagogy and education systems
51. Achieving transformation covers competences that operate at three levels:
(a)
Transformation of what it means to be an educator;
(b)
Transformation of pedagogy, i.e., transformative approaches to teaching
and learning;
(c)
Transformation of the education system as a whole.
52. Transformation of what it means to be an educator is necessary because education
systems are composed of the people who work within them and a key to changing these
systems will be educators who are able to change their own practice as critical reflective
practitioners. The building of positive relationships between educators and learners is
essential. This will require educators to present themselves as fallible human beings
rather than people with all the answers. It also requires the ability to empathize with the
views and situations of those they educate.
53. Transformative pedagogy draws on the experience of learners and creates
opportunities for participation and for the development of creativity, innovation and the
capacity to imagine alternative ways of living. It encourages learners to reflect on the
impact of their everyday choices in terms of sustainable development.
54. Transformation of education systems is essential because our current systems have
not supported sustainable models of development. While the role of formal education is
clearly valued by society, change is needed to ensure that the system provides education
that predisposes learners to consider sustainability across their life choices. Such change
cannot be achieved by educators, schools, Governments or others working alone.
Educators are well placed to contribute to transforming the systems within which they
work, but they will need critical competences such as understanding the need for
transformation, an openness to change and a range of collaborative skills.
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