Sustainable Futures in a Changing Climate: A new Open Educational Resource
Birkbeck’s Environmental Education Team have created a new Open Education Resource Syllabus titled Sustainable Futures in a Changing Climate. The syllabus uses different disciplinary perspectives to explore climate change and was created in partnership with Bard College through the Open Society University Network, supported by a grant from the Open Society Foundation.
The syllabus is available online, and was created by Dr Dale Mineshima-Lowe and Dr Aideen Foley, with the assistance of Resource Associate to the project, Sara Rodrigues.
Placing accessibility at the centre
As part of the Environmental Education team's mission for accessible sustainable thinking and education, this resource is openly available with the hope that each user will find their value within the contents and take it further. The syllabus is adaptable to suit the broad variety of intended users – including schoolteachers, university lecturers looking to weave climate change into their courses, or facilitators leading staff workshops on this important topic. The contents can be used in a modular way, building a bespoke lesson plan with the most relevant content for their objectives. It can also be used in its entirety to facilitate an engaging and informative week-long foundational course on climate change.
Each topic includes a list of open access resources including open academic texts alongside relevant websites, infographics and videos. It provides introductory questions to spark discussions, and recommends a range of student-centred classroom activities such as creating a climate emotions playlist. It also shares tips for teaching through the use of collaborative games.
Learning about climate change from different disciplinary perspectives
The syllabus is organised around five topics that provide connections between climate change and different academic disciplines.
Climate change through deep time introduces the environmental processes giving rise to climate change in the (geological) past and present, and how our climate has changed and continues to change as a result of human actions.
Climate emotions and motivations explores the tools and techniques that help us process our thoughts and feelings in relation to climate change and foster a capacity for ‘active hope’.
Climate change policy and politics develops an understanding of the geopolitical contexts that have created and sustain the climate change challenge, and the mechanisms, including legal approaches, through which it can be addressed.
Climate solutions and seeds of change invites students to examine a range of potential solutions to climate change, including innovative technology, nature-based solutions, economic instruments and sustainable business models, to understand who benefits and who might be left behind when they are put into action.
Tools to engage and catalyse change explores creative and participatory methodologies to engage communities and promote civic activism.
We are keen to hear about how other educators use the syllabus, which is openly available online. Get in touch with Dr Aideen Foley to share your experiences with this resource, or to explore potential collaboration opportunities.