Climate change awareness and taking action: education for global citizens

Description

Climate change is now, it is not going anywhere, and it is reshaping the world we know in a detrimental way. This course equips participants with meaningful tools, resources and solutions that will raise their students’ awareness on this topic. It will help them become responsible global citizens ready to battle the biggest threat in human history.

Before taking action, there is a need for thorough understanding of the processes that are warming the planet. The participants will explore the concepts of climate change through different backgrounds coming from subjects like biology, chemistry and geography but the course is aimed at all educators no matter the subject they teach.

This action-oriented course will guide the participants through a series of workshops, games and fun activities. We will be using various ICT tools and deeply explore the terms like “Anthropocene”, and “Infodemia”, adding political and social science background. Participants will discover what action we can take, and what kind of changes we can introduce to make an impact that matters.

By the end of the course participants will learn how to implement interactive, engaging activities, how to successfully raise awareness, and act on climate change. Most importantly, the participants will be equipped with a collection of ideas, tools, relevant resources, and solutions that will help them create and develop a sustainable practice and lifestyle in their own school and local environment.

Check out this course on European School Education Platform a meeting point for the school education community:
https://school-education.ec.europa.eu/en/professional-development/courses/climate-change-awareness-and-taking-action-education-global-citizens

Learning outcomes

The course will help participants to:

• Introduce students to key climate change terminology and processes
• Connect climate change with personal actions
• Develop interdisciplinary approach to the topic
• Guide students in using ICT for finding relevant sources and battle climate change misinformation
• Use learner-centered activities and group work
• Devise political literacy in approaching climate change
• Develop climate change action in classrooms and schools by nurturing democracy potential

Tentative schedule

Day 1 – Welcome ceremony, introduction to the course

• Introduction to the course and key concepts related to climate change;
• Icebreaker activities;
• Group bonding activities.

Day 2 – Climate change basics

• Identifying climate change as a natural and human inducted process;
• Introducing the term ‘Anthropocene’ and developing student’s knowledge of personal responsibilities related to the term;
• Developing students’ understanding of carbon footprint
• Pollution: Plastic crisis and fast fashion

Day 3 – Chemistry, biology and geography background

• Developing student’s understanding of chemical interactions in the atmosphere
• Developing student’s competence to read, analyse and synthesize important data;
• Engaging in experiential learning process to gain deeper understanding of the topic

Day 4 – ICT and misinformation background

• Exploring the term ‘Infodemia’ and developing student’s understanding of the term in the context of climate change;
• Developing competencies of climate change fact-checking;
• Using reliable tools and resources to gain knowledge behind climate change science

Day 5 – Political background

• Exploring climate change as a political and social crisis;
• The importance of democracy in fight over climate change

Day 6 – Project-based learning, act on climate change

• Environmental education and sustainable development
• Project-based learning for students

Day 7 – Course closure and evaluation

• Reflecting on the course and what we have learned from the past week
• Course evaluation
• Erasmus+ Certificate award ceremony