Elementary Education for Sustainability: A model for lesson development with preservice and inservice teachers

• In Event: Reframing Educational Studies: Personalized Learning, Sustainability, and Pessimist's Guide

Abstract

Our environment is facing unprecedented manmade and natural ecological and humanitarian disasters. Education for Sustainability (EFS) has the potential to address the challenges posed by socio-environmental issues. This interactive workshop presents a model for preservice teachers to develop the skills and orientations needed to teach EFS by engaging in a critical place-based participatory research learning experience. This model brings together critical place based pedagogy and participatory action research (PAR) by including (1) a critical place-based participatory research experience; (2) collaborative lesson development with in-service teachers; (3) testing and refining lessons in the classroom. We present an enactment of the model with pre-service educators in Lesvos, Greece investigating the refugee crisis including our findings and lessons developed.

Authors

• Marissa E. Bellino, The College of New Jersey

• Greer C. Burroughs, The College of New Jersey