Learning Design and Education for Sustainable Development
As stated in the UNESCO Learn for our planet report (2021): “The way we currently live is not sustainable. Urgent change is needed, but lasting change is impossible without education”.
With the mission of supporting higher education teachers in the learning design of their courses, through the development of activities based on online learning with a focus on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and transformative pedagogies, at UNESCO IESALC we are promoting the first Learning Design and Education for Sustainable Development Bootcamp (ESD) #ESDBootcamp 2022.
What is a Bootcamp?
A Bootcamp is a specialized training program designed for multidisciplinary teams to meet and develop new ideas for seeking solutions to specific challenges. By managing a certain set of skills and practical application knowledge, innovative solutions are achieved very quickly.
Who is the Bootcamp aimed at?
The Bootcamp is aimed primarily at teachers from higher education institutions who need to design curricular elements that contribute to incorporating Education for Sustainable Development in their activities using a transformative learning method.
Available in English and Spanish for teachers from any educational institution of higher education around the world, the Bootcamp aims to provide the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to overcome the global challenges of today and the future, including climate change, environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, poverty and inequality.
The Bootcamp is free to all university teams taking part.
Objectives
“The Learning Design and ESD Bootcamp aims to inspire and empower academics, students, learning designers and educational developers from different disciplines to acquire a learning design mind-set, embedding Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Higher Education practices. The Bootcamp also aims to foster communities of practice to aspire for creating value and innovative ESD solutions for Higher Education institutions globally”.
Dr. Maria Toro-Troconis – Bootcamp Founder and Director
At the end of the Bootcamp, participants will be able to:
1. Explain the learning component of their designs.
2. Discuss the concept of sustainability and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
3. Explain what ESD is and the difference it can make to curricula and pedagogy in Higher Education (HE).
4. Identify the learning activities that best adapt to reinforce the Sustainable Development Goals.
5. Discuss the concept of transformative pedagogies and the application of active learning methodology into learning and teaching practice.
6. Describe learning design concepts and approaches as well as the importance of the three pillars of the CoDesignS ESD Toolkit for developing HE curriculum.
7. Put learning designs into practice using online and blended learning activities into the Learning Management System (LMS).
8. Design curriculum elements contributing to embedding education for sustainable development in Higher Education practices using the CoDesignS ESD Toolkit.
9. Evaluate from a critical approach learning designs and learning activity developments.
10. Present final pedagogical designs to a group of experts.
Bootcamp programming
During 3 months, the participants will carry out different activities to obtain in-depth knowledge on Education for Sustainable Development and transformative pedagogies . In addition, they will receive online training and work sessions with their ment@rs who will help them design their program.
When will the programme start?
These are the key dates to keep in mind for the 2022 Call:
| Publication of Call | Monday 4 October 2021 17:00 (GMT) |
| Submission Deadline | Monday 31 January 2022 17:00 (GMT) |
| Teams announced | Monday 28 February 2022 |
| Kick off meeting | Thursday 24 March 2022 |
| Online course | Thursday 24 March to Thursday 14 April |
| 1st Workshop | Thursday 21 April 2022 |
| 2nd Workshop | Thursday 19 May 2022 |
| Teams’ presentations and close | Monday 20 June 2022 |
Phase 1: Training
Selected teams will receive online training with a course available on the Campus IESALC training platform. They will learn to design activities aimed at strengthening the active learning of their students, through the application of transformative pedagogies by incorporating cognitive, emotional, and practical development through the CoDesignS EDS Toolkit. The course will be delivered over a period of 4 weeks at the beginning of the Bootcamp covering 12 notional learning hours. During the rest of the weeks, until the 12 week, work sessions would be held with their respective mentors for the module design that participants have selected in the expression of interest.
At the end of the course, the participants will receive a certificate of completion issued by UNESCO IESALC.
Phase 2: Design and development
Through collaborative work sessions, teams will continue their designs and development process with the remote support of their mentors. Mentors will host a webinar with their teams every two weeks from March 2022 to June 2022.
Mentors will stay in touch with the teams, reviewing their program designs regularly.
Phase 3: Pitch
At the end of the Bootcamp, teams will attend a closing day (June 2022) in which they will present their final designs based on the CoDesignS EDS Toolkit, as well as on the last module developed in the LMS of their university or in the LMS that we will provide them. At least one team member will have to commit to being available to present their designs during the final presentation.
What is CoDesign EDS?
The CoDesignS ESD Toolkit is based on UNESCO’s key competencies for sustainability (UNESCO, 2017), the recent ESD guidelines published in the UK by QAA and Advance HE (2021) and the original CoDesignS Learning Design framework (Toro-Troconis et al., 2019; Lewis, 2020).
CoDesignS ESD Toolkit identified three pillars for work with teachers and mentors:
- Key Competencies for Sustainability that are relevant to all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (UNESCO, 2017) and have been classified under: Ways of Thinking, Ways of Practicing and Ways of Being in the recent ESD guidelines published by the QAA and Advance HE (2021).
- Specific Learning Objectives for the SDGs targeting the cognitive, socio-emotional and cognitive domains to engage students in a transformative educational experience (Sipos et al., 2008; Cotton & Winter, 2010).
- Transformative Pedagogies and Teaching Methods delivered online or in a blended learning fashion that supports participation and collaboration, problem-orientation, inter and transdisciplinarity and the linking of formal and informal learning (UNESCO, 2017
How many will we be?
The teams will consist of at least one academic, one student and one learning designer or educational developer from the same institution. A maximum of 20 teams (10 Spanish-speaking and 10 English-speaking) of university professors and technicians (up to three people each) may participate in the Bootcamp. Teams will have specific training in Spanish and English through an online course available on the Campus IESALC training platform. With a three-month mentor’s guidance, they will develop their activities using the CoDesignS ESD Toolkit. They will strengthen strategies to promote the active learning of their students through transformative pedagogies aimed at promoting a model of Education for Sustainable Development.
When will the call to apply to the Bootcamp be available?
The call to apply to the Bootcamp 2022 will be available in this section from October 4, 2021 to Monday 31 January, 2022.
Application Process
The application form includes the following sections:
- Team information
1.1 Name of your university.
1.2 Lead Academic.
1.3 Lead Learning Designer or Educational Developer.
1.4 Lead student. - Justification and motivation
2.1 Your objectives and goals.
2.2 Why is the Learning Design and ESD Bootcamp relevant to your team and your institution?
2.3 Letter of endorsement from the Head of the School/Faculty or a more senior member of staff within the institution. - Module information
3.1 Module title
3.2 Why have you chosen this module for the Bootcamp?
3.3 Credit value
3.4 Level: Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Doctorate
3.5 Responsible School/Faculty
3.6 Student profile: Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Doctorate
3.7 Module aims
3.8 Expected learning outcomes
3.9 Assessment profile that you use for this content in your subject
If you have any questions regarding this Call, please contact Maria Toro-Troconis at: mtoro@codesignsesd.org or Débora Ramos at: d.ramos-torres@unesco.org.
Evaluation Process
All applications must pass the eligibility criteria outlined below. An external review panel will score each proposal based on the evaluation criteria. The results of the evaluation and selection will be informed to the teams by the end of February 2022.
Eligibility Criteria
In order to be eligible for evaluation, all the Bootcamp proposals must:
- Be completed and submitted via the application form before the deadline Monday 31 January 2022 17:00
- Be submitted by a Higher Education institution.
- Involve at least an academic, a learning designer or educational developer and a student from the same institution. A team must be maximum 3 participants.
- Commit to spend the time required during the 12 weeks of the programme to engage in all the activities specified above.
Evaluation Criteria
The review panel will evaluate proposals according to the following criteria:
- Clear commitment from the team to work on the project to a successful completion.
- Viability of the proposal.
- Clarity of the proposal, its aims and expected outputs.
- Pedagogic underpinning of the proposal.
- Learning & Teaching focus of the proposal.
For further information and questions on preparing your application, please contact:
Maria Toro-Troconis: mtoro@codesignsesd.org
Débora Ramos: d.ramos-torres@unesco.org.
Organizers
The American University of Sharjah is co-hosting the Bootcamp in English with The Open University and Anglia Ruskin University. In parallel UNESCO IESALC will host its Spanish version.
The 2022 Bootcamp Committee will offer leadership and continuous support in the development of the Bootcamp.
