Teacher Training Curriculum on Environmental Issues | Page 17

discussion in the classroom encouraging pupils to participate.
One can work with Green chemistry both as theory and practical lessons 27 thus working with Global
Goal 6, 7, 12 as well as chemical bonding, acid and bases. Topics such as health effect of common
chemicals can be discussed under the title “a small dose of toxicology”, Testing the quality of water
to find out about local toxins in water, etc.
English as a second language (ESL): For example to be able to incorporate teaching of Global
Goal 13 and 14 into the existing course curriculum in English, we can have storytelling in the
classroom. Local traditional tale or an old Native American Indian creation story conveying
sustainability ideas can be used in all levels of the school system. Storytelling is also an excellent
way of preserving oral traditions of folk art. It is “effective ESD pedagogy as the values reflected in
traditional stories often contain the wisdom of the elders or stem from creation stories, which helps
to impart respect for cultural heritage as well as the environment”. (Sourcebook).
Films l ike Erin Brockovich, Waterworld or BBC documentaries such
as State of the Earth by David Attenborough, TED talk videos such
as Yann Arthus-Bertrand captures fragile Earth in wide-angle, Allan
Savory's How to green the world's deserts and reverse climate
change, etc. are a few receptive challenges for the pupils in a ESL
class at secondary levels.
Productive skills can be enhanced by organising debates on topics
like, “We in Sweden, should expand our nuclear power plants” and
let the pupil debate for or against it. Pupils can also prepare a
presentation or speech on different local sustainability topics such as local farmers' market, waste
management in the town they live in, etc.
Classroom discussion can be encouraged using Global Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation, by
putting two glasses of water in front of the class, one clean and one dirty and asking the class which
one they would like to drink and why. This can later be expanded into writing essays on topics like
Clean Water = Life. Receptive skills can be promoted by providing reading materials on cause of
water scarcity in countries like India and China, water pollution crisis in Europe, Asia, etc.
General science: ESD and general science go hand in hand. Topics such as energy, environmental
issues and climate change, impact of the modern life-style on the ecosystem, the viability of the
ecosystem, the allocation of Earth‟s natural resource, the carbon-, the nitrogen-, and the water cycle
are all a part of ESD.
Learners can easily understand these topics if they are focused on local
and national problems. By getting learners to discuss and explore local
societal issues, closer to home, they are given the opportunity to
consolidate, deepen and develop their own knowledge for a life-long
education. Global Goals 6, 7 can be highlighted by making field trips to
the local sewage and water treatment plant, to the green energy plants
such as hydropower plant or the wind power station, solar power plant,
etc. Informal education in the form of field trips can give learners a
better understanding than many text books.
27 http://www.beyondbenign.org/greenchemistry/greenchem.html (assessed 20th of Jan 2016)
https://www.uu.edu/books/GreenChemistryLabs/examplelabs.cfm (assessed 20th of Jan, 2016)

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