Learning for Sustainability Champions Training
Learning for Sustainability Scotland and EAUC Scotland have developed the College Learning for Sustainability Champions programme to help college teaching staff address sustainability in their learning and teaching. As part of the programme, one ‘Learning for Sustainability (LfS) Champion’ from each teaching department at the college is offered a mixture of face-to-face and online professional learning to develop their own practice, test what they have learned with a group of students, then help them to share their learning with their colleagues.
The programme was successfully piloted from January – May 2019 at Dundee and Angus College, and repeated for two colleges in Spring 2020 (but unfortunately disrupted by Covid-19).
What does participation involve?
Download the course information sheet for more details about what the course involves, and what your college will need to commit to in order to participate.
Reflections from Past Participants
Laura Watson, a Lecturer in Dance at Dundee and Angus College, was keen to get students involved in steering their own learning, and looked to co-create something with her HNC Dance class. However, what initially started as a discussion about how to embed an element of sustainability in their classes quickly grew into a much larger project, due to the enthusiasm of the students. They had all recently watched the documentary ‘A Plastic Whale’ and it had affected every student within the class. Collectively they took on the challenge to base their end of year dance show on highlighting the issues around the use of plastic whilst also embracing the wider aspects of sustainability. Given a modest budget for their clothing, the students took a collective decision to obtain their costumes from charity shops, to not only recycle clothing but also support local and national charities. The sets used were recycled from previous productions. One student even spun sugar to look like a plastic bag that could be eaten during the performance. It’s incredibly challenging to portray in a few words the emotions that were felt as the students took the audience on a colourful and thought-provoking journey of sustainability during their performances.
How can I get involved?
If your college would be interested in participating in the Learning for Sustainability Champions programme please make an expression of interest to [email protected].
The programme was successfully piloted from January – May 2019 at Dundee and Angus College, and repeated for two colleges in Spring 2020 (but unfortunately disrupted by Covid-19).
What does participation involve?
Download the course information sheet for more details about what the course involves, and what your college will need to commit to in order to participate.
Reflections from Past Participants
Laura Watson, a Lecturer in Dance at Dundee and Angus College, was keen to get students involved in steering their own learning, and looked to co-create something with her HNC Dance class. However, what initially started as a discussion about how to embed an element of sustainability in their classes quickly grew into a much larger project, due to the enthusiasm of the students. They had all recently watched the documentary ‘A Plastic Whale’ and it had affected every student within the class. Collectively they took on the challenge to base their end of year dance show on highlighting the issues around the use of plastic whilst also embracing the wider aspects of sustainability. Given a modest budget for their clothing, the students took a collective decision to obtain their costumes from charity shops, to not only recycle clothing but also support local and national charities. The sets used were recycled from previous productions. One student even spun sugar to look like a plastic bag that could be eaten during the performance. It’s incredibly challenging to portray in a few words the emotions that were felt as the students took the audience on a colourful and thought-provoking journey of sustainability during their performances.
Environmental and sustainability issues affect us all, and we all have a responsibility to work together collectively to tackle them. The College LfS Champions programme gave us the opportunity, structure and framework to embed the importance of environmental and social sustainability into the Learning & Teaching of all areas of the College in a fun, practical and engaging way.
Simon Hewitt, Vice Principal, D&A College
How can I get involved?
If your college would be interested in participating in the Learning for Sustainability Champions programme please make an expression of interest to [email protected].
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