What contribution can we make so that teachers integrate sustainability more in the classroom?
Rebecca, Mathea and Victoria asked themselves this question when they were looking for a suitable handprint challenge as part of their #climatechallenge seminar.
But let's start from the beginning...
Rebecca and Mathea study teaching, Victoria psychology at the University of Constance. The three met in the online meetings of the #climatechallenge seminars and liked each other right from the start. So it was only natural to develop a handprint challenge together.
The idea
Mathea and Rebecca report that the #climatechallenge seminar, which is offered at the University of Konstanz and elsewhere, is in hot demand and only a few places are available. Therefore, in collaboration with Ilmari Binder, the SQ Center and the Green Office, they have developed the idea of offering a separate #climatechallenge seminar especially for student teachers.
The goal of this seminar is to develop teaching materials that can be used in various ways in schools in the classroom and prepare topics related to climate protection and the climate crisis.
Different "packages" will be designed, varying in scope and duration. From three project days to regular input over the school year, everything should be included. In this way, teachers will be able to choose a package tailored to their individual needs and bring sustainability closer to their students.
Reports from everyday school life
Rebecca reports that she has noticed in her insights at various schools that the topic of climate protection often ends with double-sided printing and the use of environmental protection paper. There is often no time to develop new teaching materials. According to Rebecca, the pandemic and other problems, such as social inequality and disciplinary difficulties, play a more important role in everyday school life than climate protection.
That's why the students decided to develop variable packages that can be adapted to the individual needs of the schools. However, Mathea agrees that "there needs to be teachers who are committed to this."
Read more
The seminar will take place in the summer semester of 2022 at the University of Konstanz. We are excited to see what results the seminar will present at the end.
Rebecca, Mathea and Victoria are looking forward to opportunities to see the finished material in use at schools in the school year 2022/23. If you are interested, please feel free to write to climatechallenge@htwg-konstanz.de.