scholarly journals Case Study to Analyze the Impact of Multi-Course Project-Based Learning Approach on Education for Sustainable Development

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amith Khandakar ◽  
Muhammad Enamul Hoque Chowdhury ◽  
Antonio Jr. San Pedro Gonzales ◽  
Farid Touati ◽  
Nasser Al Emadi ◽  
...  

This work presents a multi-course project-based learning (MPL) approach implemented using two electrical engineering (EE) interdisciplinary undergraduate courses at Qatar University. Implementing an MPL approach helps in the development of critical thinking and collaborative decision-making skills. The attainment of these skills is also the outcome of education for sustainable development (ESD); the skills help students acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and values necessary to shape a sustainable future. The participating students’ worked on a design project, which was used to assess the fulfillment of a set of student learning outcomes (SLOs), focusing on engineering soft skills and project management skills. The skills include the ability to communicate effectively, to work collaboratively in a team, to think both critically and creatively, and to manage projects efficiently with realistic constraints and standards. The challenges of implementing the MPL method are the organization of pedagogical activities that are planned for each of the courses involved, the coordination of the materials delivered by each course, and the supervision of around 90 students per year performing the MPL method. The experience of MPL deployment in the EE program was rated using student surveys. It was assumed that the MPL approach would be beneficial to the students based on the instructors’ and students’ feedback from the same courses in previous years. This was verified using chi-square statistics of the survey results. The implementation of the MPL also helped in increasing the average marks scored by the students in the design project. Some interesting feedback, statistical analyses, and improvement actions are reported for future upgrades. This work also contributes to the MPL pragmatic body of knowledge by exploring a successful initiative and its outcomes, which can help in attaining the skills needed for ESD.

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Majken Korsager ◽  
Eldri Scheie

AbstractThis article presents a qualitative case study exploring how students’ partici-pation in a project about sustainable development (SD) influences their sustainability consciousness. Sustainability consciousness is a concept that integrates the environmental, economic and social dimensions of SD with knowledge, skills and attitudes. This study follows up the results from a recent quantitative large-scale study conducted in Sweden, investigating the impact of education for sustainable education (ESD) on students’ sustainability consciousness. Results from our study show that the students’ sustainability consciousness is dominated by a mono-dimensional approach from the environmental perspective. However, their motivation to act (Attitudes) was highest within the economic dimension. The skills they expressed they had attained, were mainly practical and mostly within the environmental dimension and to some extent the social dimension. Analysis of the project showed both a lack of collaboration between the teachers and a lack of explicit teaching, which could explain why the holistic approach to SD was under-communicated to the students. The students’ sustainability consciousness seemed improved after a re-design of the ESD project, where the main changes were more explicit teaching and learning goals, and adding Norwegian as a subject. The results are discussed in relation to what should be emphasized in ESD projects in order to empower pupils and students for action competence for SD.Keywords: education for sustainable development, students’ sustainability consciousnessElever og utdanning for bærekraftig utvikling – hva er viktig? En case-studie om elevers bærekraftbevissthet etter deltakelse i et prosjekt om bærekraftig utviklingSammendragDenne artikkelen presenterer en kvalitativ case-studie som utforsker hvordan elevers deltakelse i et prosjekt om bærekraftig utvikling påvirker deres bærekraftbevissthet. Bærekraftbevissthet er et konsept som integrerer den miljømessige, økonomiske og sosiale dimensjonen av bærekraftig utvikling med kunnskap, ferdigheter og holdninger. Denne studien følger opp resultatene fra en nylig kvantitativ storskalaundersøkelse gjennomført i Sverige, der effekten av utdanning for bærekraftig utvikling (UBU) på elevers bærekraftbevissthet er undersøkt. Resultatene fra denne studien viser at elevenes bærekraftbevissthet domineres av en mono-dimensjonal tilnærming fra miljøperspektivet. Men deres motivasjon til å handle (Holdninger) var høyest innenfor den økonomiske dimensjonen. De ferdighetene de uttrykte de hadde oppnådd, var hovedsakelig praktiske og for det meste innenfor miljødimensjonen og noen innen den sosiale dimensjonen. Analyse av prosjektet viste at det var både mangel på samarbeid mellom lærerne og mangel på eksplisitt undervisning, noe som kunne forklare hvorfor den holistiske tilnærmingen til bærekraftig utvikling ble underkommunisert til elevene. Elevenes bærekraftbevissthet ble forbedret noe etter re-design av prosjektet, hvor hovedendringene var mer eksplisitt undervisning og læringsmål samt å inkludere norsk som emne. Resultatene diskuteres med sikte på hva som bør vektlegges i prosjekter i bærekraftig utvikling for å gi elever og studenter handlingskompetanse i bærekraftig utvikling.Nøkkelord: utdanning for bærekraftig utvikling, elevers bærekraftbevissthet


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yael Teff-Seker ◽  
Michelle Eva Portman ◽  
Keren Kaplan-Mintz

Urban planning can serve a vital role in meeting the goals of education for sustainable development (ESD); it could potentially provide future planners with the environmental considerations necessary to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This article presents findings from a quantitative study of planning students’ experiences with Project- and Problem-Based Learning (PPBL). Graduate planning students in an environmental planning class were divided into two groups according to their course assignment, PPBL or non-PPBL, and given pre- and post-questionnaires, with questions to grade statements on environmental attitudes and behaviors. PPBL students reported a statistically significant change in environmental behavior involving others, while neither behavior nor attitudes changed significantly for students in the control group. Then, semi-open interviews were conducted with 11 of the students 3 years later. The interviews indicate that PPBL students remembered more content related to their assignments and felt they received more types of planning experiences and tools than those in the control group.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 8733
Author(s):  
Gisela Cebrián ◽  
Mercè Junyent ◽  
Ingrid Mulà

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development reflects the urgency to embed the principles of education for sustainable development (ESD) into all levels of education. ESD, understood as an integral part of quality education and where all educational institutions, from preschool to higher education and in non-formal and informal education, can and should foster the development of sustainability competencies. This Special Issue entitled “Competencies in Education for Sustainable Development II” responds to this urgency and the papers presented deliver recent developments in the field of sustainability and ESD competencies. They focus on various perspectives: systematic literature reviews and conceptual contributions; curriculum developments and pedagogical approaches to explore competencies’ development, such as action research, serious games, augmented reality, multi-course project-based learning and group model building processes; testing and validation of assessment tools and processes for linking sustainability competencies to employability and quality assurance processes. The contributions show how the field of sustainability and ESD competencies has become a major focus in recent years and present emerging research developments. Further research efforts need to be put into operationalizing sustainability competencies and developing tools that help measure and assess students’ and educators’ competencies development.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3465
Author(s):  
Jordi Colomer ◽  
Dolors Cañabate ◽  
Brigita Stanikūnienė ◽  
Remigijus Bubnys

In the face of today’s global challenges, the practice and theory of contemporary education inevitably focuses on developing the competences that help individuals to find meaningfulness in their societal and professional life, to understand the impact of local actions on global processes and to enable them to solve real-life problems [...]


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meagan Lacy ◽  
Alexandra Hamlett

PurposeIn most higher education institutions, information literacy (IL) instruction is usually considered the purview of librarians, not disciplinary faculty. However, a small but growing body of research indicates that students learn the research process best when these skills are taught in the context of a course or a discipline. For this reason, teaching faculty should share ownership of IL instruction — but how? In this case study, community college librarians explain how they successfully trained faculty to integrate IL into their English Composition courses and teach IL independently.Design/methodology/approachUsing a multimethods approach, the investigators draw on faculty interviews, student surveys, and content analysis of student essays to evaluate the impact of faculty-led IL instruction on student learning after one semester.FindingsFaculty reported that their instruction of IL was improved, and students work better as a result of their collaboration with the librarians. Compared to previous semesters, faculty perceived gains in terms of students’ ability to synthesize and cite evidence in their writing. Student survey results indicate perceived gains in their IL skills, but an assessment of their written work reveals a discrepancy between this perception and the actual application of these skills.Research limitations/implicationsBecause there is no control group, no conclusions can be drawn as to whether faculty-led IL instruction is as effective as librarian-led IL instruction or whether students’ academic performance improves due to faculty teaching IL. However, the purpose of this study is primarily descriptive. It addresses how other libraries may create a culture of shared ownership of IL instruction on their campuses.Practical implicationsThis study offers an alternative model to library instruction and suggests ways instruction librarians can prioritize their outreach and instructional efforts to maximize impact on student learning.Originality/valueWhile much has been written about how librarians can improve IL instruction, few studies mention the role of faculty. This case study starts the conversation.


Author(s):  
Vladimir V. Okrepilov ◽  
Alexander V. Babkin ◽  
Natalia V. Zlobina ◽  
Svetlana N. Kuzmina ◽  
Tatiana A. Salimova

The article examines the objectively existing in modern conditions of economic agents' activity the need to introduce and apply approaches based on the use of quality management methods in internal corporate management. The authors noted that one of the global trends of the XXI century. Is the structural transformation of the world economy associated with the active development and implementation of information and telecommunication (digital) technologies in the real economic processes of both society and business. The authors assess the approach widespread in Russia based on quality management methods in the formation of control systems for the activities of economic agents of the national economy in the context of digital transformation in order to ensure their sustainable development; the analysis of the formation of promising directions for the development of communities, declared by UNESCO, in conditions of instability, complexity and uncertainty was carried out; the toolkit for digitalization of quality management of the education system is considered, in particular, the use of project-based learning to improve the quality of knowledge obtained and assess the impact on the sustainable development of universities, the education sector in general and economic agents of the national economy, taking into account digitalization and global risks. The authors see further areas of research in modeling risks and assessing their impact on ensuring sustainable development of economic agents, socio-economic processes of the national economy and society as a whole by quality management methods in the context of digitalization of the economy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 8973
Author(s):  
Douglas Bourn ◽  
Nese Soysal

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a feature of academic and policy debates within initial teacher education around the world. A theme within these debates is the extent to which ESD is more than just a body of knowledge, and if it suggests different pedagogical approaches which may be prevalent in most countries. Another feature of these debates is whether ESD can be seen as suggesting a transformative approach as opposed to a transmissive approach. As a qualitative study, using examples from research and evidence gathered in England and Turkey through document analysis, this article identifies both the opportunities and challenges for teacher education courses using ESD as a means for promoting a distinctive pedagogical approach and whether they can be seen as posing transformative learning.


Author(s):  
Naseer Babangida Muazu ◽  
Abubakar Abdullahi

Nigeria is facing profound social, economic and environmental impact of population growth, development and environmental constraints. It is apparent that government alone has limited capacity to deal with all these problems. NGOs being one of the most effective partners have been playing supportive roles with the government, in some cases, they are considered more effective to get attached with the grass root level developmental initiatives. However, despite the role NGOs played, their presence and impact is not fully evaluated, recognized and appreciated by many governments and community members. It is for this reason this article attempts to examine whether projects executed by NGOs have any impact on sustainable development in Katsina Metropolis, given special emphasis on projects that dealt with environmental protection, poverty alleviation and health care services. The study further look at whether efficiency of NGOs officials has any impact on success of sustainable development projects execution.  A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 150 NGOs beneficiaries in five (5) selected political wards of twelve (12) in Katsina metropolis. Interviews was used to collect relevant data using a structured questionnaire from NGOs officials which include; development officers and facilitators in five (5) selected NGO offices operating in Katsina Metropolis namely; Save the Children, Service to Humanity Foundation, Murna Foundation, Katsina Friends of Environment and Makudawa Skills Acquisition. Frequency and chi-square analysis was used to present the results. The findings revealed that NGOs are complementing government efforts towards achieving sustainable development through their projects, and efficiency of NGOs officials has significant impact on success of sustainable development projects executed in the area. The findings of the study can benefit government and NGOs in creating more areas of collaboration in order to achieve sustainable development.


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