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Mosaic

Education for Climate Change Awareness and Sustainable Development

Course Vision

To create a collaborative learning space where students from different countries explore, share, and integrate their national perspectives and educational practices to promote climate change awareness and sustainable development through teaching.

Course Duration

13 weeks (1 semester) which include lectures, collaborative activities, fieldwork/virtual visits, and reflective practice.

Objectives

By the end of this course, preservice teachers will be able to:

  • Understand the scientific and human dimensions of climate change.

  • Recognize the role of education in addressing environmental challenges.

    Integrate climate change concepts into curriculum and classroom practice.

    Develop teaching strategies that foster environmental stewardship and sustainable behavior.

    Reflect on personal and professional responsibilities in promoting climate resilience.

  • Foster intercultural understanding and cooperation among diverse contexts.

  • Compare climate change impacts, policies, and educational responses across participating countries.

  • Create collaborative, transnational teaching resources and action plans that reflect both global and local realities.

Expected Outcomes

Students will:

  • Demonstrate understanding of climate change causes, effects, and mitigation.

  • Design cross-curricular lesson plans incorporating sustainability.

  • Exhibit awareness of local and global environmental issues.

  • Apply reflective practice to promote sustainable education.

  • Advocate for climate education initiatives in schools and communities.

  • Exchange and adapt teaching strategies from diverse cultural contexts.

  • Collaboratively develop educational projects promoting shared responsibility for the planet.

  • Cultivate intercultural competence and empathy through cross-national dialogue.

13-Week Course Schedule

Reflection Activities

  • Weekly reflective journal: respond to guiding prompts after each class.

  • Midterm reflection: lessons learned from intercultural interactions.

  • Final reflection essay: “My role as an educator in shaping a sustainable future.”

Guiding questions for the reflection

  • How do my teaching beliefs align with sustainability principles?

  • How can I empower students to take meaningful climate action?

  • What can my country’s experience teach others?

  • How can I merge global and local insights in my teaching?

  • What does global citizenship mean to me as an educator?

Assessment Overview

References

  • UNESCO (2019). Education for Sustainable Development: A Roadmap.

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (2023). Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report.

  • Sterling, S. (2010). Learning for Resilience: Sustainable Education in a Changing World.

  • UNESCO (2017). Getting Climate-Ready: A Guide for Schools on Climate Action.

  • Filho, W. L. (Ed.). (2020). Handbook of Climate Change Communication.

  • Orr, D. W. (2004). Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect.

  • UNESCO (2021). Mediterranean Strategy for Education for Sustainable Development.

Outcomes

Strengthened academic cohesion and student mobility in the region; the creation of a regional higher education identity rooted in shared culture and modern pedagogy.

  • Introducing cultural matters

  • Adding multiculturalism to our language learning courses

  • Cultural understanding and acceptance - overcoming cultural, religious, and linguistic barriers

  • Overcoming fragmentation/ disconnect among the education systems in the region

  • Scalability & replicability

  • Sharing of good practices

  • Teacher evaluation

  • Technological know-how & exchange of good practices in the implementation of technology including recent technological advancements such as AI and education, assessment, teaching practices, ethical challenges (e.g., AI)

  • Scsel: social-cultural-emotional learning with advanced technology as a medium

Geopolitical and Educational Reasons

  • Regional collaboration on Curricula is imperative - it is a political, educational and cultural necessity… also in terms of research and innovation 

Due to the differences in the set curricula in the various countries and the difficulty to make national changes, we propose forming study modules on the topics we feel need to be included in the curriculum 

Topics to be discussed in the course

  • Cultural knowledge, awareness and the skills to teach in diverse classrooms (Traditions and main values of each faith without using the word "religion" )
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