Engineering students at Umeå University have taken part in the sustainability competence mindset map this week. I caught up with Associate Professor Linda Pommer to discuss how the work has come along since we last checked in with her class this spring term. Linda is a teacher and a study director at the Department of Applied Physics and Electronics at Umeå University. She also works as a coordinator at the Industrial Doctoral School. We found out about a wonderful pedagogical support group she is a part of at the department that meets to discuss literature about pedagogical approaches. Would you like to join an online space where inspirational pedagogical literature can be discussed?
We listened to Linda’s ideas and activities that she has provided the students with during their course in sustainability in engineering. Linda recommends a book called Creating Wicked Students: Designing Courses for a Complex World, By Paul Hanstedt, which has practical hands-on examples about how to integrate sustainability in lessons through pedagogical approaches and activities with students. Thank you, Linda, for your support in this work. The creative ideas that have emerged from our ongoing collaborations have created a wonderful inspiration.
I also met with PhD Candidate Tina Sugunthi Felicien at the Department of Teacher Education at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). The university is in Trondheim, where the students can take part in the local sustainability challenges of plastic pollution. Tina is developing activities to increase interest, engagement, and agency with such challenges. The local organizations that work with this challenge have cooperated to create a real-life experiential learning environment for these science education pre-service teachers.
Tina and her colleagues would like to better understand how the changes in activities help to build capacity in sustainability competencies. It was great to hear about all the work that is taking place at NTNU and the plans for transformations at the education department. Thank you, Tina, for taking part in the project and we look forward to hearing more about the great work your team is doing soon.
I have also gotten news about a project called Pedaling Through Sustainability that student Lars Jacob, a member of the IN4RF, has implemented in collaboration with different student groups in Europe. His work to engage communities in the benefits of cycling shows a great active mindset, taking the work outdoors. Well done Lars, your passion for cycling shines through!
Would you like to join a space to have a dialogue about pedagogical literature in sustainability education? Would you like to share ideas about how to apply sustainability in your education? Would you like to hear about which activities work well in different disciplines? Would you like to take part in a podcast series on pedagogical literature in sustainability education? Get in touch!
Leave a Reply