Pedagogically Speaking
Conceptualising an Anthropocene Pedagogy: Suggestions for Ways to Adapt Pedagogy to Meet the Needs of Environmental Crisis
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Jodi Evans
The influence of humans on the earth can no longer be ignored – this is the Anthropocene. The Anthropocene is a human-dominated epoch in which people’s increasing impact on the earth has been escalating significantly for many years, the results of which include climate change, contaminated water systems, and a depletion of the ozone layer (Crutzen, 2002). Accepting the terminology of the Anthropocene implores a definitive need to act, which could be the impetus to affect genuine social transformation and environmental action, if approached correctly. In this paper, I draw on the systematic literature review that I have conducted surrounding an Anthropocene pedagogy and unpack the role of the educator in environmental advocacy. As an outdoor educator and general friend-of-the-earth, how can I (the individual) and we (the collective) make significant changes to the long term environmental future of the planet?
Teaching Towards Transgressive Agency Development: Creating the Activist Classroom
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Katja Altpeter
Climate change is arguably one of the greatest challenges currently threatening the global community, global ecosystems, and the planet as a whole. Yet, nobody panics. What is it, I wonder, that might compel people to act? And how do we teach transgressive agency development? “Think we must. We must think,” writes Donna Haraway in “Staying with the Trouble” (34). In my own courses, I seek to expand on this exhortation: “Think we must. We must think. Act we must also. We must act,” is my precept. In my exploration of what an activist classroom might look like, I look not only towards Donna Haraway but also to Jane Bennett who pursues answers to the question of what might “augment the motivational energy needed to move selves from the endorsement of ethical principles to the actual practice of ethical behaviors” (Bennett xi) and to Heila Lotz-Sisitka who posits that we need to provide to students an opportunity “to transgress the boundaries between inner and outer worlds in the human being, as a means of transformation and transgressive agency development” (Lotz-Sisitka 76).
Pedagogies for Sustainability: Greening Making with Pre-Service Teachers and Youth Changemakers
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Paula MacDowell
Where do we put the waste? Despite the growing global problem of electronic waste (e-waste) and waste couture (the environmental impact of the textile industry), a silent majority of students and teachers remain largely uninvolved in discourse or action around sustainable living. Crucially, today’s children and youth will be profoundly affected by environmental pollution; hence they deserve to be better educated on what uncontrolled and unsustainable consumption patterns mean for their future. There is a gap, however, in curriculum, resources, and knowledge of how to effectively teach environmental literacy and responsible citizenship in diverse school contexts and learning environments. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effectiveness of an equity-oriented Makeathon in which pre-service teachers worked collaboratively to develop innovative curriculum and pedagogy for mobilizing youth action on sustainability issues. The central focus of the UBC Girls’ Makeathon emphasized “greening making” (assembling what assembles a world with a focus on sustainable living and shared knowledge). Teams were challenged to make mobile apps related to pro-social and environmental change, upcycle old clothing using augmented reality technologies, and make reusable tote bags from unwanted t-shirts. Participants learned how to identify an environmental problem, create new solutions, and change the world for the better by taking personal initiative and advocating for sustainable living. The lessons learned in this study will be useful for teachers and researchers who are interested in empowering youth with meaningful digital tools and pedagogical practices applied to sustainability education in schools, homes, and across our communities.
