Category Archives: Facilitation

Exploring Drama-based Methods Higher Education for Sustainability – an invitation

Posted on by
Reply
Empatheatre is one example from South Africa showing how drama can educate towards empathy and social and environmental justicehttps://www.empatheatre.com/about

One of the Swedish PhD-Candidates I have been working with over the last few years, Julia Fries, based at Stockholm University, is co-organising two fascinating workshops focusing on drama-based approaches in higher education for sustainability.

Below you find an invitation to participate in two international workshops on new formats for Sustainability teaching, funded by the Swedish Research Council and organised by Stockholm Resilience Center and the Department for Teaching and Learning at Stockholm University.

The project explores how drama-based methods can support reflective, embodied and transformative learning about sustainability amongst higher education students. The research ambition is to further current understanding of the role of experiential learning and how these methods support such learning. The format designed will allow to both support pedagogic development in participants academic teaching practice, and address the research questions.

Two international workshops will bring together drama educators and educators in fields related to sustainability, to share different drama-based, interactive methods and explore what these can bring to education in sustainability sciences or sustainability in other subject areas.

Quote from project description:

This project concerns teaching and learning for Sustainability in Higher Education. The cross-disciplinary field of sustainability can be characterised as extremely unsettled and value-loaded, a challenging academic subject for both teachers and students. Consequently, adequate teaching methods has to be developed in order to tackle sustainability issues in a creative and inclusive way. This has been recognised in relation to primary and secondary education but not so much at university level. Attempts are made to achieve this, by adopting a less traditional teaching approach and relation to the world outside the university. Based on this, we propose two explorative workshops for university teachers/researchers.   The purpose of the first workshop is to introduce and explore a set of highly interactive teaching approaches to a group of university teachers/researchers in Scandinavia and Europe. After the first workshop, these teaching approaches will be applied, tried out and documented, as part of the participants ongoing teaching at their universities. The purpose of the second workshop is to evaluate these interactive approaches, by sharing teaching experiences and learning outcomes among students in higher education. The overarching aim is to explore and compare a set of interactive teaching approaches, in terms of applicability and student impact in Higher Education for Sustainability. Based on the outcome, scientific papers will be presented and/or a book will be published.

Practicalities: The first workshop will be in Stockholm 6-9 Sept. 2022 and the second in May or June 2023. Thanks to a grant from the Swedish Research Council we are able to offer 15 participants free meals and accommodation, but travel expenses are not included in the offer. Participants are expected to take part in both workshops. A detailed program for the first event will be presented later this spring. Questions can be directed to eva.osterlind@su.se or t.wall@ ljmu.ac.uk

Are you interested? Please register here: https://forms.gle/frRFxrbgdoL8mrabA

Short Intro Video – Transforming Education for Sustainable Futures (TESF)

Posted on by
Reply

Wageningen UR is one of the partners in the Transforming Education for Sustainable Futures (TESF) Network. TESF is a GCRF funded Network Plus, co-ordinated out of the University of Bristol, working with partners in India, Rwanda, Somalia/Somaliland, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The network undertakes collaborative research to Transform Education for Sustainable Futures.

TESF just released a short video outlining the mission and way of working of the network. The coming months the four hub countries will launch their innovation grant scheme which will allow local partners to apply for funding to engage in educational reform towards sustainable development at different levels of education.  Please go to the TESF-website for more information.

TESF_LOGO

TESF_Partners

 

 

Overcoming socio-ecological vulnerability through community-based social learning

Posted on by
Reply

LocEnvironment

A new paper was published in the journal Local Environment this month led by one of my recently graduated PhD-students, Daniele Souza. The paper investigates community-based initiatives and collective learning practices in sustainability transition processes. This paper presents the results of a participatory study that investigated a local initiative in the community of Lomba do Pinheiro in south Brazil to examine social learning processes in the context of socio-ecological vulnerability. In this community, a group composed of local residents and members representing the public sector and local educational institutions has promoted several learning-oriented actions aimed at restoring a degraded local watershed and improving residents’ livelihoods.

The study used social learning as a lens through which the initiative enacted by this group may be understood, and analysed how local conditions, determined by a context of vulnerability, have influenced local processes. We applied a multi-dimensional analytical framework that included individual, collective, and territorial dimensions. The analysis focused on the leading group, the individuals who comprise it, and their actions in the territory, while considering local constraints. Our findings highlight the importance of (1) shared values, mutual trust, and affective bonds for group cohesion as well as concerted action, equalisation of diverse languages within the group, knowledge integration, and initiative persistence; (2) a practical-reflexive approach based on a sequence of actions that catalyses group learning and facilitates advancement within the wider community; and (3) the role of inter-sectoral articulations and the establishment of partnerships to support actions.

This paper raises questions about the limits of an exclusively bottom-up approach to solve complex problems in the context of extremely precarious conditions.

The full reference is: Souza Tubino, D., Wals, A.E.J., Jacobi, P. (2019) Learning-based transformations towards sustainability: a relational approach based on Humberto Maturana and Paulo Freire, Environmental Education Research, 25 (x), 1-15.

A link to the journal here!

A Tribute to Tich Pesanayi (07/12/1965 – 16/04/2019)

Posted on by
Reply

Today I found out that the world lost a great African Environmental and Sustainability Educator: Dr. Victor Tichaona Pesanayia.

Tich

Tich Pesanayi (07/12/1965 – 16/04/2019)

Tich was a gentle, kind and understanding person with Mandela-like qualities. From the first day I met him in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal,  he impressed and inspired me – he radiated calmness and wisdom and proved to be a masterful facilitator when we worked with a group from the University of Zululand with colleagues from Wageningen at WESSA.He later involved me in his PhD work as one of his supervisors, although my role was modest and I sometimes think I learnt more from him than the other way around. Just days before his passing he managed to attend the graduation ceremony at Rhodes University.

TichGraduation.png

Tich at his graduation at Rhodes University with his main supervisor and co-learner Heila Lotz-Sisitka

Life is not fair, we know that, but it hurts every time we witness it. I know he was a very religious man with faith – I am sure this provided him a lot of comfort. How wonderful that he was able to attend the gradation ceremony still.

I wish his family and loved ones lots of strength in coping with this tremendous loss. Rest assured though that he touched so many lives and his impact will travel much further still.

Below I am sharing the tribute to him from Mumsie Gumede, the president of the Environmental Education Association of Southern Africa EESA.

“We are immensely saddened by the passing of Dr Victor Tichaona Pesanayi, fondly known in our sector as Tich; a friend, colleague, teacher, scholar, mentor, leader, researcher, prolific writer, visionary activist for environmental education in the sub-region, and our Secretary General.

This comes a week after we celebrated his graduation with a PhD in Education at Rhodes University, South Africa.

Tich made his debut in our organisation, EEASA, and regional sector at large during the times of the POEM – a schools’ environmental policy programme that was run by Environment Africa, Zimbabwe, under the leadership and mentorship of Innocent Hodzonge. Some will recall his EEASA 2004 remarkable presentation which was fully subscribed to the point that Janet Snow, the Treverton Colleges conference organizer had to make additional slots available in the programme. Others will remember him during the thorough research and feedback workshops at EEASA 2006 in Harare when EEASA and the SADC Regional Environmental Education Programme (SADC-REEP) were paving the way for bottom up participation in the 2005-1014 UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD). The research he did with Prof. Heila Sisitka, Dr Lausanne Olvitt and Mumsie Gumede was subsequently published through Share-Net as a series of written reports. Some UNESCO Commissioners and EE practitioners will remember him for the UNDESD mid-term evaluation research workshops in the SADC sub-region, working with the SADC REEP team and Prof. Overson Chumba, Zambia. He later joined WESSA in Howick to take over the SADC-REEP management baton from Dr Justin Lupele, Mumsie Gumede, Mike Ward and Dr Jim Taylor with amazing fortitude; hitting the ground running, as the programme was just evolving into a different stage.

Tich contributed to EEASA in many ways. He served in the EEASA Council since 2007 and played a strategic role in keeping EEASA, SADC REEP, and SADC EE Networks together. This work was so strategic that he was co-opted into Council a number of times to support specific areas that enhance the regionalization and scaling of (ESD) through EEASA. Whether he was elected, co-opted or merely volunteering as an ordinary member, his contributions were always profound and insightful. In a way, he was the back-bone of the EEASA Council for many years! He researched and wrote articles on EEASA nodes and networks, and introduced a number of people to the Association as he traversed the region, and indeed the globe, representing the sub-regional ESD voice….”multiple voices, diversity of contributing voices, convergence (solidarity) and divergence of voices, and silent voices…”, in conversation with Tich, Feb 2019.

On Thursday, 11 April 2019 Tich graduated with his PhD from Rhodes University to his and his family’s joy. His PhD was not just written in words, it was realized in the lives of the many people he worked with over the course of his study, including a number of young scholars whom he mentored, some of whom were introduced to EEASA such as Keneilwe Mathaba, Phindi Sithole, Chisala Lupele, and Sarah Durr all of whom have much to offer EEASA in future. Tich would have wanted the next generation to take on the task of carrying EEASA forward where he left it off. His mentorship is aptly captured by the Muxombo Youth Group in Alice who are part of the Amanzi for Food training programme:“The work of Mr. Tich lives through us today at eSixekwe location! Sobonana kwelizayo mnumzana.”

Indeed, Tichaona’s contributions to EEASA are deep and strong, eternally captured in his prolific academic writing and book contributions. His PhD is one that can provide leadership for the SADC sub-region for many years to come. This is the citation that was read on his PhD study on Thursday morning at his PhD graduation:

“African communities have been disconnected from land, and from traditional agro-ecological practices including seed saving and water harvesting. In this study Tichaona recovers African cultures of agriculture. Working generatively with agricultural colleges and farmers in South Africa and Zimbabwe he re-centres the smallholder farmer in agricultural education and learning systems. His expansive, boundary-crossing learning network approach to transformative learning in agricultural learning systems offers a new model for agricultural education and training in Africa with significant theoretical and practical implications”.

Our hearts go out to his dear wife Amanda, his mother and the broader family. We thank them for sharing this kind giant with us at home and away from home. May they be comforted by the knowledge that it was not in vain as accolades keep coming in for Tich from all over the world.

“…I remember him very well from various meetings and I always enjoyed working together. Warmest condolences”Alexander Leicht, UNESCO, Paris, France.

“At SWEDESD we are honored and blessed to have known Dr Victor Tichaona Pesanayi. His passing is a loss for the environment and sustainability community, EEASA, SADC, and the UNESCO Global Action Programme. I cannot say in words what he has done for the sector and those who came to know him. Although we have lost him, his legacy as a model in our professional and personal life – no one can take away….”Dr Shepherd Urenje, SWEDESD, University of Uppsala, Sweden.

“Tichaona has left us a beautiful legacy. He has taught many of us how to live a life of kindness, care and always show the greatest generosity of spirit and mind. He will be sadly missed at the ELRC, in EEASA, in SADC and elsewhere”Prof Heila Lotz-Sisitka, Rhodes University

“I will miss Tich, a humble and dedicated personality who loved to touch everyone with care. I have always enjoyed working with Tich, and every time he spent a weekend in Windhoek he insisted that we go together to the Seventh Day Adventist Church…..” Dr Alex Kanyimba, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia

“Even when his health was failing him, he actively participated in the last EEASA Conference in Zambia with zeal and dedication. He chaired sessions and volunteered to manage some sessions. Tich was a great listener and thoughtful person.”Dr Justin Lupele, Education for Sustainable Development Specialist, Managing Consultant Beehive Associates Limited, Zambia

Much love and honor to a truly great man, a caring friend, a Room 20 study mate, and OUR cherished Comrade in education that translates to sustainability in all practices – in thinking, learning, living and development. He will be missed by many but never will he be forgotten by those who were fortunate enough to have known him”… Dr Presha Ramsarup, Dr Caleb Mandikonza, Dr Dick Kachilonda

Dear Tich, although our words may never tell the full story of the man you were, may we grow with and grow from your legacy – let our appreciation and respect for your contributions be seen in the growth of EEASA and all that you stood for.”

Mumsie Gumede

(EEASA PRESIDENT)

17 April 2019

TichCollage

Grassroots to Global Broader Impacts of Civic Ecology

Posted on by
Reply

GrassrootsToGlobal

Together with my former PhD-student, friend and colleague in the T-Learning project (www.transgressivelearning.org)  Martha Chaves I co-authored a chapter on the Nature of Transformative Learning for Social-Ecological Sustainability for this new book edited by Cornell University colleague Marianne Krasny. The vignette from the publisher’s webpage featuring the book states:

Addressing participatory, transdisciplinary approaches to local stewardship of the environment, Grassroots to Global features scholars and stewards exploring the broad impacts of civic engagement with the environment.

Chapters focus on questions that include: How might faith-based institutions in Chicago expand the work of church-community gardens? How do volunteer “nature cleaners” in Tehran attempt to change Iranian social norms? How does an international community in Baltimore engage local people in nature restoration while fostering social equity? How does a child in an impoverished coal mining region become a local and national leader in abandoned mine restoration? And can a loose coalition that transforms blighted areas in Indian cities into pocket parks become a social movement? From the findings of the authors’ diverse case studies, editor Marianne Krasny provides a way to help readers understand the greater implications of civic ecology practices through the lens of multiple disciplines.

Contributors:
Aniruddha Abhyankar, Martha Chaves, Louise Chawla, Dennis Chestnut, Nancy Chikaraishi, Zahra Golshani, Lance Gunderson, Keith E. Hedges, Robert E. Hughes, Rebecca Jordan, Karim-Aly Kassam, Laurel Kearns, Marianne E. Krasny, Veronica Kyle, David Maddox, Mila Kellen Marshall, Elizabeth Whiting Pierce, Rosalba Lopez Ramirez, Michael Sarbanes, Philip Silva, Traci Sooter, Erika S. Svendsen, Keith G. Tidball, Arjen E. J. Wals, Rebecca Salminen Witt, Jill Wrigley

Here’s a link to Grassroots to Local

Reflection methods: tools to make learning more meaningful – new open access guide

Posted on by
Reply

CoverReflectionLearning

This guide for trainers, educators and facilitators, compiled/written by Femke Gordijn, Natalia Eernstman, Jan Helder, Herman Brouwer and published by Wageningen UR’s Centre for Development Innovation (CDI), summarises methods that can be used to facilitate the process of reflection on the knowledge and experiences people acquire during a capacity development trajectory or training event. The authors believe that by explicitly integrating reflection in the learning process the learning will become clearer and better articulated and will contribute more strongly to meaningful change. They advise facilitators to deliberately include reflective learning sessions in their process design and implementation. This handbook can inspire you to do so and provides many methods which help to facilitate this. I was asked to write a Preface in which where I suggest that dealing with complex and even ’wicked’ sustainability challenges, above all, calls for learning individuals, learning organisations, learning networks and even a learning society.

“But not just any kind of learning, the kind of learning that is able to make explicit and question our assumptions, values and ways of seeing the world, learning that invites us to continuously reflect on the tensions and contradictions between them, learning that reveals the powers and inequities that tend to keep things the way they are or force us in directions we may not want to go. In other words, learning that questions the taken for granted, the normalised, the hegemonic and the routine. But also learning that enables us to make change and to transform others, and ourselves while learning from trying to do so.” (From the Preface, p6)

The book which can be downloaded here:

Link to the Open Access PDF is accompanied by 7 online videos of reflection methods.

You will find them here: Videos and other resources

CDI