Education for Sustainable Development: A Norwegian learning experience

Together with Prof P. Pace and Dr M. Musumeci, four students (C.A. Cuschieri, E. Nikolopoulou, L. Sajan and D. Degiorgio) with a keen interest in pedagogy and science communication have participated in an Erasmus project called Shape2Gether. Shape2Gether is a European project which intended to raise awareness about environmental as well as climate change challenges by applying innovative technologies and techniques.

The group consisted of students and lecturers from six European universities. The participants spent five days in Trondheim (Norway) undertaking various types of activities. The main objective of the latter was to redesign as well as develop both learning and teaching tools. In particular, the students were exposed to new skills relating to the use of innovative technologies and applications geared towards investing in educational pedagogies. The students were involved in fieldwork tasks and workshops; these were both hands-on as well as interactive. These entailed the collection of raw data from Tautra Island. Once collected, this data was processed to generate new platforms whereby different age groups could learn through alternative means (augmented reality, virtual reality, interactive teamwork games and reflective practices, to name a few).

Figure 1: Fieldwork site on Tautra Island, Norway

Figure 2: Students from different nationalities working on their tasks

Beyond the geoscientific activities, the group participated in an enriching cultural experience, participating in Norway's Constitution Day and learning about Norwegian traditions like the bunad (traditional clothing). The participants also visited Nidaros Cathedral in central Trondheim.

The Norwegian experience represented the first of three summer school programs forming part of Shape2Gether project. The second and third programs were held at a later stage in Gozo (Malta) and in Bochum (Germany), respectively.