Training Competencies for Sustainable Thinking Through …
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conditions and opportunities to foster sustainability learning. When designed with
complexity in mind, games are most suitable to promote the development of complex
systems thinking and facilitate a systemic understanding of sustainability.”
Universities can and must play a pioneering role in the development of sustainability competency, as they train the professionals and business leaders of the future.
The topic should be understood as part of the teaching as well as in the context of
“Third Mission” as a transfer service of the universities.
In the following, based on research results on the role of emotion during complex
problem-solving (Starker 2012), a theoretical framework of “sustainability competency” is presented. Building on this, the methodological approach will be used
within a current case study regarding the development of sustainability competency
in the field of “water” by using “game-based learning” as an interactive and participatory didactical concept for understanding the correlations in a complex system
and practice long-term thinking.
2 Competency for Sustainable Management of Complex
Situations
Due to current research (for an overview see Starker 2012), it can be assumed that
managing complex problems successfully means to balance natural emotional modulation with emotional regulation in order to have the ability to adapt to the demands
of a complex situation. Recapitulating research concerning successful complex problem solving behavior, it turned out, that there are certain abilities and strategies which
are connected with success, especially with positive long-term effects. Studies done
by Starker (2012) showed, that an important factor is peoples’ ability to integrate
emotional regulation into the process of problem-solving. According to these studies,
a model was developed to integrate four main factors to explain how people are able
to act emotionally adaptive.
2.1 Main Factors of the Model
Self-confidence, emotional commitment, functional thinking and adaptation of a
strategy are important factors in dealing with complex problems successfully.
Self-confidence is an important pre-condition to engage in problem-solving
(Stäudel 1987). It means to believe at least in a minimum of solvability. The “Expectation of success” (Atkinson 1957; Mc Clelland 1951) plays an important role and
results from earlier experiences with similar situations. This has relevance for “Selfefficacy” (Bandura 1977), respectively “competency” in sense of Dörner (1989),
which turn out to be synonymous constructs. Enduring difficult situations as well as
engagement are related to it. Resources can be activated to find solutions. Recognizing
359
conditions and opportunities to foster sustainability learning. When designed with
complexity in mind, games are most suitable to promote the development of complex
systems thinking and facilitate a systemic understanding of sustainability.”
Universities can and must play a pioneering role in the development of sustainability competency, as they train the professionals and business leaders of the future.
The topic should be understood as part of the teaching as well as in the context of
“Third Mission” as a transfer service of the universities.
In the following, based on research results on the role of emotion during complex
problem-solving (Starker 2012), a theoretical framework of “sustainability competency” is presented. Building on this, the methodological approach will be used
within a current case study regarding the development of sustainability competency
in the field of “water” by using “game-based learning” as an interactive and participatory didactical concept for understanding the correlations in a complex system
and practice long-term thinking.
2 Competency for Sustainable Management of Complex
Situations
Due to current research (for an overview see Starker 2012), it can be assumed that
managing complex problems successfully means to balance natural emotional modulation with emotional regulation in order to have the ability to adapt to the demands
of a complex situation. Recapitulating research concerning successful complex problem solving behavior, it turned out, that there are certain abilities and strategies which
are connected with success, especially with positive long-term effects. Studies done
by Starker (2012) showed, that an important factor is peoples’ ability to integrate
emotional regulation into the process of problem-solving. According to these studies,
a model was developed to integrate four main factors to explain how people are able
to act emotionally adaptive.
2.1 Main Factors of the Model
Self-confidence, emotional commitment, functional thinking and adaptation of a
strategy are important factors in dealing with complex problems successfully.
Self-confidence is an important pre-condition to engage in problem-solving
(Stäudel 1987). It means to believe at least in a minimum of solvability. The “Expectation of success” (Atkinson 1957; Mc Clelland 1951) plays an important role and
results from earlier experiences with similar situations. This has relevance for “Selfefficacy” (Bandura 1977), respectively “competency” in sense of Dörner (1989),
which turn out to be synonymous constructs. Enduring difficult situations as well as
engagement are related to it. Resources can be activated to find solutions. Recognizing