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, together with the Association for Learning Design and Education for Sustainable Development (ALDESD), we are promoting a new edition of the Learning Design and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Bootcamp #EDSBootcamp.
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.
What is the Pedagogical Design and ESD Bootcamp?
The ESD Bootcamp is an innovative activity that aims to inspire and empower teams of academics, instructional designers, educational developers and students to acquire a learning design mindset focused on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).
Bootcamp 2023 will focus on supporting university teams in designing curricular activities for incorporating Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into their curricula, supported by the CoDesignS ESD toolkit.
Teams will design curriculum activities that contribute to integrating ESD into higher education practices in a module of their choice.
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.
Bootcamp fees
The Bootcamp 2023 (Autumn) is offered at $2,950 per team. Teams from low income and
lower-middle income economies receive 25% discount. Participants from Africa and the
Caribbean are encouraged to apply.
A team is based on (one academic lead, an educational developer/learning designer or
second academic and a student).
Payment will be made directly to the Association for Learning Design and Education for Sustainable Development (ALDESD).
For any question please contact: support@aldesd.org
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:
- Explain ESD and the difference it can make to higher education (HE) curricula and pedagogical strategies.
- Identify the learning activities that best fit the expected learning outcomes in their subject, focusing on a vision that reinforces the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- Discuss the concept of transformative pedagogies and the application of active learning methodology in teaching and learning practices.
- Design curricular content that contributes to incorporating Education for Sustainable Development in higher education practices, using the CoDesignS ESD tool.
Bootcamp Programming
During 2 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 mentors who will help them design their program.
When will the programme start?
These are the key dates to keep in mind for the 2023 Call:
| Publication of Call | Monday 24 July 2023 17:00h (GMT) |
| Submission Deadline | Monday 18 September 2023 17:00h (GMT) |
| Teams announced | Monday 25 September 2023 |
| Kick off meeting | Monday 09 October 2023 |
| Networking event | Friday 10 November 2023 |
| Teams’ presentations and close | Monday 04 December 2023 |
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 taught over 8 weeks and will cover 56 hours of theory and practice. During the remaining 8 weeks, the teams will have working sessions with their respective mentors to design activities to implement ESD in their subjects.
At the end of the course, participants will receive a certificate of completion issued by UNESCO IESALC and ALDESD.
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.
Mentors will stay in touch with the teams, reviewing their program designs regularly.
At the end of the Bootcamp, teams will attend a closing day (December 2023) 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. Team presentations will be evaluated by a panel of experts.
The team judged to have produced the highest quality result will receive recognition.
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)
The teams will consist of at least one academic, one student and one learningdesigner or educational developer from the same institution (10 Spanish-speaking and 10 English-speaking) composed of university professors and technicians (up to three people each). 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 2023 will be available in this section until Monday 18 September 2023 – 17:00h (GMT).
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. - Information on the module that the team will work on during the Bootcamp
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
The deadline to apply is Monday 18 September 2023 at 17:00 (-4 GMT). If you have any questions regarding this call for applications, please contact support@aldesd.org or soporte@campusiesalc.org.
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 September 2023.
In order to be eligible for evaluation, all the Bootcamp proposals must:
- Be completed and submitted via the application form before the deadline Monday 18 September 2023, 17:00h
- 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 8 weeks of the programme to engage in all the activities specified above.
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:
support@aldesd.org or soporte@campusiesalc.org
Organizers
Association for Learning Design and Education for Sustainable Development (ALDESD), American University of Sharjah, The Open University, the University of Glasgow, the Manchester Metropolitan University and UNESCO IESALC.
