Dr. Radhika Iyengar, Haein Shin, and Tara Stafford Ocansey (The CSD Education Team) have developed a free online course published on Udemy. The aim of this course, Science for Everyday Decisions: Education & Environment for Sustainable Development is to translate facts into easily digestible knowledge for the public in all global settings, of various educational levels, so that the everyday implications of our footprint on our environment and society, as well as the need to pressure our communities, businesses, industries and governments for a more sustainable world—are real and felt.
On pedagogy and methodology, the team explains, "We use the Understanding by Design framework (UbD), which has been developed to guide organizations to develop a holistic and aligned course plan. We begin with core learning objectives which we outline into specific knowledge and skills, then formulate key questions, performance tasks and a learning plan. Founded on “situated cognition” and “community of learners”, we aim to make contents both social and contextual, with the idea that activities, culture, and concepts are all interdependent. This also highlights the importance of the community in the learning context."
In light of COVID-19 pandemic and the social unrest stemming from racial, economic, and societal injustices, the team has chosen COVID-19 as the first online module. Dr. Yanis Ben Amor and Dr. Ozge Karadag Caman contributed to this module.
