Transdisciplinarity

Students identify a social justice issue (e.g. gender, ethnic or LGBT+ discrimination, homelessness, destruction of valued environments). Identify actors/stakeholders involved in this issue from different backgrounds or areas of expertise (e.g. sociologists, ecologists, economists) as well as the people who are subject to discrimination. Develop a role-play exercise, for a specified age range, in which these actors come together to discuss and attempt to resolve a particular scenario caused by this social justice issue. Create role cards for the different actors in the role-play.
Conduct the role-play (either with fellow students or a group of a given age range) and report on the outcome.

Conduct a fieldtrip to a nearby rural community. Visit the community and talk with local residents and authorities about the impact of the transformation of the community (e.g. rural tourism, abandoning of cultivation, abandoning of local varieties, reduction of farm land, etc.). Research alternative practices. Learners also meet with local and non-local activists and authorities and gather secondary data on the region and the main problems. Each group prepare a report of findings and conclusions drawn.

Role-play method

Form four groups of students. Each group has a selection of people:

  1. Representatives of an environmental NGO
  2. Representatives of political authorities (State or regional)
  3. Representatives of a fishermen’s association
  4. Representatives of consumers
  5. Representatives of the scientific world (biologists, geographers, historians)
  6. Observer.

Activities

  1. Everyone prepares the arguments to defend their interests in particular area of sea.
  2. Role-play a meeting between the representative from each group.
  3. Observer summarise main arguments and points made from their group meeting
  4. In plenary make a list of arguments and points made by each set of representatives
  5. In plenary discuss ways of finding a sustainable compromise between the various stakeholders.

In groups, students allocate as many of these roles as possible, (starting from the top):

This makes up the governing body of a local educational institution.
Government policy is to take the institution out of local authority control and make it a ‘free’ school, meaning you are able to decide for yourselves its future direction.

Task A

Group: Discuss what should be the focus/vision from your perspective. Try to win the others around to your idea
Facilitator: Listen and take notes. Decide who makes the most compelling argument/who ‘wins’

Task B

Facilitator: stage another discussion.
This time try to find a focus/vision that can satisfy all members of the group.
A win-win?
Plenary reflect on the different experiences.

School project. Set up a development partnership with another school from the Global South. Exchange with other students from the partner school and create a project where you develop new forms of sustainable lifestyles.

Invite older persons to discuss with students about the changes in the local community over the years. Students prepare questions to collect information about their life in the community in the past, the changes in their community, their relationship with the land and other species etc. Students use also history, arts, literature to collect information about their community and city and its changes. Students prepare a display showing key changes and the implications of these changes on the environment.

General ideas: approach to the topic requires cooperation with local law enforcement organizations.

Game-example: Go Goals!

The aim of the UN Regional Information Centre for Western Europe (UNRIC) is to help people understand their role in the future of the planet as individuals, team players and responsible global citizens. Especially younger generations need to be key players for a brighter future. For this purpose, the UNRIC has created the “Go-Goals!” game for children aged 8-10. Designed to be fun and engaging, this game informs children while motivating them to actively pursue the SDGs.

Divide the group into five subgroups. Taking a perspective each from social, political, economic, cultural and ecological, groups research their neighbourhood. Groups aim to interview experts in the field. Each group produce a report about developments during the last 20 (or more) years, supported by at least five pictures.

Compare the reports and describe relations between the developments.

Students make a plan for improvement, focussing on each of the five perspectives and discuss the plan with the experts they met before.

In small groups choose a job role. If possible, visit, shadow and interview someone working within that role. Produce a poster that shows the extent to which the job is impacted by, or influences, wider social and/or environmental issues.

Collectively design a semi-structured interview on energy use and energy poverty (e.g., how do you understand energy poverty? What are the main causes and implications?). Divide the class into groups. Each group locate a local expert on energy poverty from a different discipline: economics, sociology, health, etc. (the teacher can identify these experts in advanced or it can be part of the task) and conduct the interview. Groups then produce a ppt summarising the findings. Groups present ppts and learners discuss the different responses and compare and contrast. Class then discuss the benefits and challenges of multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary work.