Cultivating Leaders in Sustainability and Environmental Education - Teacher Education
The Faculty of Education at Lakehead University recognizes that sustainability is one of the biggest challenges of our times. By including sustainability content in the curriculum, futurestudents will have access to teachers who are literate and knowledgeable in this field. Lakehead University is providing leadership in this area by being one of the first universities in Canada to offer a Climate Change Pedagogy course to teacher candidates.
In 2013/2014 Lakehead University began offering Climate Change Pedagogy as a course in the Faculty of Education at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Climate Change Pedagogy is a special topics course. It explores climate change as a defining issue for educators, students, and citizens. It inquires into how humans – including teachers – can effectively engage with climate change as an environmental, economic, political, and social justice issue.
This course is meant to develop our capacities as engaging and effective climate change educators. Bringing together theory and practice, the course will consider questions such as: What responsibility do educators have to engage with climate change? Do we hope our students will change private-sphere behaviours or become active politically as a response to climate change? How do we balance teaching about the negative impacts of climate change with the opportunities responding to climate change presents? How can teachers teach about issues of politics, science, and ethics in our classrooms? Which is most important? What role can educators play in shaping a living future?