Project-Based-Learning for Global Climate Justice with the University of Pennsylvania: Engaging and Educating Problem-Solving Protesters

• In Event: Poster Group 2
  In Poster Session: Project-Based-Learning for Global Climate Justice with the University of Pennsylvania: Engaging and Educating Problem-Solving Protesters

Proposal

      In the face of climate change, more and more young people are leading the effort to innovate solutions in promising and inspiring ways. Educators must guide these young leaders, but traditional environmental education efforts tend to focus on teaching students about climate change– a passive approach that fails to capitalize on students’ capacity to make a meaningful impact in their communities now while inspiring their commitment to future environmental work. That’s why many education-related groups and thought leaders are now calling for “transformative” approaches to environmental education. Amid such calls, project-based learning (PBL) has emerged as a way to allow students to explore and confront climate-related questions within their communities.
       Our team at the University of Pennsylvania GSE Center for Professional Learning launched the PBL for Global Climate Justice program, which brings together educators from around the world to design project-based learning curricula focused on the problems and questions of global climate change. The program is divided into three parts: During Part I, “Explore,” educators deepen their own understanding of global climate justice issues by exploring resources on our online learning platform and learning about how Penn scholars and practitioners, along with local community experts, authentically engage with such issues while working in different disciplines. In Part II, “Envision,” educators learn about the principles of project-based learning and sketch out project ideas that are relevant and authentic to their local context. During Part III, “Enact,” educators implement their projects with their students, as they participate in monthly live meetings with small teams of colleagues.
      We ran the first, entirely virtual, iteration of the PBL for Global Climate Justice program from September to December 2022. Over 100 educators from more than 20 countries enrolled. We are now measuring the impact of our pilot, and designing our second iteration which will kick-off in September 2023.
      I aspire to represent Penn’s PBL for Global Climate Justice program at CIES 2024 to make my CIES presentation debut as a second year Master’s student in Penn’s International Educational Development program. My goal is to make an engaging presentation which invites conversation, suggestions, and sharing so that more educators, communities, and students get involved in future iterations of our exciting international program. Our poster will demonstrate how PBL is able to create robust learning opportunities that transform students into passionate climate change problem solvers.
      I will also present the initial results of our longitudinal research following our work’s collaboration with educators from different countries and communities, which seeks to understand questions such as: How can we co-construct professional development experiences with participants and local experts from around the world? How can we nurture a community of practice around this work? And how can this sort of professional development be scaled, so that it can reach a wider audience, and sustained, so that its effects last over time?
      By presenting our work and these questions at CIES 2024, I am confident that we will prompt enriching conversation around climate change curriculum, professional development, and international collaboration.

Author

• Jesus L Zuniga, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania