Significant Learning in ESD guidelines for the use of fieldwork strategies

to promote Critical Spatial Thinking

Experience-based Geography Learning2012 Symposium, 22-25 August

Freiburg, Germany

Vânia Carlos (University of Aveiro) | vania.carlos@ua.ptHerculano Cachinho (University of Lisbon) | hc@campus.ul.pt

Significant learning experiences? Critical Spatial Thinking? Education for Sustainable Development?

Introduction

What are the main principles to implement ESD? What characterizes reference teacher and learning

strategies, on the scope for ESD? What defines significant learning? What are the existent significant learning taxonomies? What are the Critical Spatial Thinking (CST) skills? Which concepts and reasoning processes are essential in

CST? What are the main difficulties to promote CST skills? Which student´s CST skills are most relevant to promote, on

the scope for ESD?

Research Questions

Literature Review

Focus Group

Methodology

ESD principles- collaboration and dialogue- engaging the ‘whole system’- developing innovate curriculum as well as teaching and learning

experiences- improving active and participatory learning (Unesco, 2009)

Lucerne Declaration- Geographical interdisciplinary competences in SD- Criteria for the selection of geographical themes- Criteria for the selection of geographical areas (Lucerne

Declaration, 2007)

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Guidelines

- “to focus on problems, to evaluate alternatives, to calculate risks- to perceive complex cause-effect relations and dynamics- to reflect about side effects and consequences that are to be expected from an action- to think in systems and complex networks- to find, evaluate, process and use information with appropriate methods- to respect other views and opinions- to think about and evaluate one’s own personal motives- to give one’s own life sense and an ethical basis- to contribute to common tasks with one’s own competencies- to commit to environmental planning and projects- to evaluate one’s own actions and their results- to perceive life-long learning as an enrichment of one’s quality of life- to perceive problems and phenomena from different perspectives- to flexibly apply different methods to solve problems- to relate local and regional experiences to global phenomena”

Lucerne Declaration: Interdisciplinary competencies

to enhance SD

Lucerne Declaration, 2007, pp. 245-246

Students’ experiences, interests and preconceptionsSignificance for the individual, people, culture and the environmentIllustrative examplesBalance Selection of Geographic Themes- Major issues in the contemporary world- Geographical perception of space, place and environment- Geographical ways of looking at spatial organization Selection of Geographic Areas- Variety in spatial extent- Topographical coverage (Lucerne Declaration, 2007)

Lucerne Declaration: geographical themes and areas

Significant Learning Taxonomy (Fink, 2003)

- Application - Integration- Human Dimension- Caring

Significant Learning

Ennis Taxonomy of Critical Thinking (1985)

Critical Thinking

http://pegiflynt.com/images/criticalThinkingSkills.png

Spatial Thinking

National Research Council (2006)

http://www.teachspatial.org/finding-spatial/6485&docid

Jo, I. & Bednarz, S. (2009)

Spatial Thinking

http://www.teachspatial.org/finding-spatial/6486&docid

Spatial Thinking

Janelle, D. G. and M. F. Goodchild (2011)

- Primary concept- Subsidiary concepts- Problems- Tools and

measurements- Key references

http://www.teachspatial.org/finding-spatial/449&docid

Fieldwork

Issue-based fieldwork using the route to enquiry (Job, 1999)

(factual and values enquiry)- Observation and perception- Definition and description- Analysis and explanation- Prediction and evaluation- Decision-makingPersonal evaluation and judgementPersonal response

Questions/challenge Geographical competences , CST and ESD?

Focus Group

Difficulties of teaching CST- Purpose of education (content / skills, competences,

values)- CT is not explicitly worked in schools- Lack of teacher training- “Do ‘we’ want students to think?”- Takes time and effort/practice- Inferiority of ST

Focus Group

CT dispositions- Try to be well informed- Having an open mind- Take a position (and

change) CT abilities- Focusing on one issue- Analyze arguments - Make and evaluate

inferences (generalizing, …)

ST concepts- scale, space, territory, place- distance and routes- location- spatial dependence- “thirdspace” or lived places

ST reasoning processes- scaling and levels of

conceptualization - generalization and

relativization, - spatial perception- summarizing

Focus Group

Geographical competences- The development of the ability to think geographically- The correct use of graphic and cartographic techniques - The predisposition to be geographically well informed - The relativization of the importance of the place where the individual

lives Geographical learning goals- The student develops fieldwork for the collection of data needed to

understand places and physical and human phenomena- The student identifies and uses arguments based on the discussion of

environmental and social issues- The student evaluates alternative views on interventions in the territory

Characterization of Pedagogical Practice towards CST in ESD

Characterization of Pedagogical Practice towards CST in ESD

A Taxonomy of Critical Spatial Thinking…

Further development

Thanks, Danke, Obrigada!