Development and Delivery of a Sustainable Development …
479
these issues, the unit adopted a pedagogical approach informed by the concepts of
“blended learning” and “flipped classroom” to provide the necessary materials to
many students, drawn from diverse disciplinary backgrounds.
Students can pause, revisit and review with ease, aided by the provision of highquality closed captions. This is useful for students with accessibility needs, nonnative English-speaking students, and those who need clarity on particular words or
terminology used. Such an approach of blended learning allows for the creation of a
multi-modal, post-disciplinary content that captures contributions from a variety of
agents and constituencies present in discussions of SD and the SDGs.
The post-disciplinary character of this unit, its content and its delivery are evident
in the disciplinary make-up of the teaching team. Chemists worked with historians,
engineers with human geographers: all to demonstrate to students that voices from
other disciplines can contribute to shared discussions on SDGs. The goal was to illuminate how no discipline has supremacy in understanding climate change, its drivers
and potential solutions. Instead, a holistic vision is necessary: a vision that transcends and subverts traditional disciplines, epistemologies and ontologies, to provide
students with a comprehensive view of what SD is that maintains relevance long
after the assignments are submitted, and the marks bestowed. This post-disciplinary
teaching did not take the form of disciplinary blindness – instead, students were
encouraged to turn to different disciplines to understand the challenges faced (Stentoft
2017). On a personal note, we were particularly struck by how such a process forced
us all to reflect on our respective disciplinary backgrounds, and its strengths and
blindspots in teaching topics of environmental science and policy. It showed us that,
more than ever, in teaching these topics HE must embrace not only the diversity of
the classroom but also the difference within its teaching staff.
In an era where more and more HEIs across the globe are embedding climate
change education into their curricula, we see the SDU as an exemplar of postdisciplinary engagement, creative and critical thinking, and the use of digital materials to increase accessibility and reach. However, we also see the unit as a work in
progress. We will continue to respond to the feedback of both successive cohorts and
groups of staff involved in delivery to improve this unit. We will continue to seek
inspiration from all disciplines, and we will strive to provide students with a holistic
vision of how to address challenges in an era of climate emergency.
References
Abeysekera L, Dawson P (2015) Motivation and cognitive load in the flipped classroom: definition,
rationale and a call for research. High Educ Res Dev 34(1):1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/072
94360.2014.934336
BBC (2020) Australia fires: a visual guide to the bushfire crisis, BBC News, 21 Jan. https://www.
bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-50951043. Accessed 27 Jan 2020
BBC (2019) Bristol university declares climate emergency. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-eng
land-bristol-47962554
479
these issues, the unit adopted a pedagogical approach informed by the concepts of
“blended learning” and “flipped classroom” to provide the necessary materials to
many students, drawn from diverse disciplinary backgrounds.
Students can pause, revisit and review with ease, aided by the provision of highquality closed captions. This is useful for students with accessibility needs, nonnative English-speaking students, and those who need clarity on particular words or
terminology used. Such an approach of blended learning allows for the creation of a
multi-modal, post-disciplinary content that captures contributions from a variety of
agents and constituencies present in discussions of SD and the SDGs.
The post-disciplinary character of this unit, its content and its delivery are evident
in the disciplinary make-up of the teaching team. Chemists worked with historians,
engineers with human geographers: all to demonstrate to students that voices from
other disciplines can contribute to shared discussions on SDGs. The goal was to illuminate how no discipline has supremacy in understanding climate change, its drivers
and potential solutions. Instead, a holistic vision is necessary: a vision that transcends and subverts traditional disciplines, epistemologies and ontologies, to provide
students with a comprehensive view of what SD is that maintains relevance long
after the assignments are submitted, and the marks bestowed. This post-disciplinary
teaching did not take the form of disciplinary blindness – instead, students were
encouraged to turn to different disciplines to understand the challenges faced (Stentoft
2017). On a personal note, we were particularly struck by how such a process forced
us all to reflect on our respective disciplinary backgrounds, and its strengths and
blindspots in teaching topics of environmental science and policy. It showed us that,
more than ever, in teaching these topics HE must embrace not only the diversity of
the classroom but also the difference within its teaching staff.
In an era where more and more HEIs across the globe are embedding climate
change education into their curricula, we see the SDU as an exemplar of postdisciplinary engagement, creative and critical thinking, and the use of digital materials to increase accessibility and reach. However, we also see the unit as a work in
progress. We will continue to respond to the feedback of both successive cohorts and
groups of staff involved in delivery to improve this unit. We will continue to seek
inspiration from all disciplines, and we will strive to provide students with a holistic
vision of how to address challenges in an era of climate emergency.
References
Abeysekera L, Dawson P (2015) Motivation and cognitive load in the flipped classroom: definition,
rationale and a call for research. High Educ Res Dev 34(1):1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/072
94360.2014.934336
BBC (2020) Australia fires: a visual guide to the bushfire crisis, BBC News, 21 Jan. https://www.
bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-50951043. Accessed 27 Jan 2020
BBC (2019) Bristol university declares climate emergency. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-eng
land-bristol-47962554