In an increasingly complex world, undergraduate students must achieve a set of necessary cognitive, skill-based, and affective learning outcomes to become change makers and enhance sustainability behavior and attitudes. To that end, there is a growing need for institutions, teachers, and curricula to adopt multidisciplinary approaches that reinforce education for sustainable development. This study presents a pilot project consisting of the application of the Power Grid boardgame to tackle the economic, social, environmental, and political challenges of the Policy. Using several extensions of the boardgame, Global Studies majors developed energy networks in different regions in Brazil, China, South Africa, and the Middle East. After these networks were developed, the students were required to discuss the economic rationale behind them (associated industries, working conditions, role in global supply chains, sustainability in production processes), the political scenario in the countries, the environmental challenges faced to produce energy, and the environmental and social consequences. At the same time, the students developed a set of crucial soft skills related to sustainability. The results suggest that activity was successful and proved to be an effective way to help students understand the characteristics of the real world. The students declared that they perceived that the activity was helpful to comprehend sustainability concepts, to better understand the complexities of key economic sectors in the Policy, and the challenges that these sector face to improve sustainability.

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Active Learning in Higher Education to Raise Sustainability Awareness

  • Javier Sierra,
  • Ángela Suárez-Collado

摘要

In an increasingly complex world, undergraduate students must achieve a set of necessary cognitive, skill-based, and affective learning outcomes to become change makers and enhance sustainability behavior and attitudes. To that end, there is a growing need for institutions, teachers, and curricula to adopt multidisciplinary approaches that reinforce education for sustainable development. This study presents a pilot project consisting of the application of the Power Grid boardgame to tackle the economic, social, environmental, and political challenges of the Policy. Using several extensions of the boardgame, Global Studies majors developed energy networks in different regions in Brazil, China, South Africa, and the Middle East. After these networks were developed, the students were required to discuss the economic rationale behind them (associated industries, working conditions, role in global supply chains, sustainability in production processes), the political scenario in the countries, the environmental challenges faced to produce energy, and the environmental and social consequences. At the same time, the students developed a set of crucial soft skills related to sustainability. The results suggest that activity was successful and proved to be an effective way to help students understand the characteristics of the real world. The students declared that they perceived that the activity was helpful to comprehend sustainability concepts, to better understand the complexities of key economic sectors in the Policy, and the challenges that these sector face to improve sustainability.