78
F. Körner et al.
is needed at least to pay the travel costs. Alternatively, it is quite conceivable that the
workshops may be run by the local teaching staff.
Future prospects. So far, the course was held once at the university in Magdeburg.
The authors’ goal is to establish the course as a fixed part of the curriculum in the
long run. Additionally, the authors promote the idea of the course in the context of
Education for Sustainable Development for other educators. Even though the topic
of the course is climate change adaptation, the authors agree that the flexible concept
of the course can be transferred to a wide range of topics. It is particularly suitable
for those topics and problems that require interdisciplinary solutions and have social
relevance, which is true for issues regarding sustainable development.
In the workshops, pundits can represent different aspects and/or perspectives on
the chosen topic. The group work and the discussions in the parliamentary debates
encourage students to elaborate the relevant issues and form an opinion for themselves. The political simulation game in itself can be easily adjusted to different
states or countries. Depending on the constitution of the respective administration
level students might need to take on different roles “to have the right” to propose bills.
No matter what roles students take on and how the legislation process is organized in
the political simulation game it is important to have the reality check so that students
learn about the real political system they are simulating.
As emphasized before the authors consider the course a success and would like
to encourage others to try new unconventional approaches in their teaching as well.
Acknowledgements We would like to acknowledge our colleagues Lars Berker, Prof. Dr. Robert W.
Jahn and Dr. Ulrike Zeigermann (from Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg) who collaborated
with us in conceiving and holding this course successfully.
The project in which this course is developed received funding by the Federal Ministry for
the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety based on a decision of the German
Bundestag.
References
Barth M, Godemann J, Rieckmann M, Stoltenberg U (2007) Developing key competencies for
sustainable development in higher education. Int J Sustain High Educ 8(4):416–430
BMU (2017) Umwelt im Unterricht. Prinzipien der nachhaltigen Fischerei. Retrieved from https://
www.umwelt-im-unterricht.de/unterrichtsvorschlaege/prinzipien-der-nachhaltigen-fischerei/
Dale A, Newman L (2005) Sustainable development, education and literacy. Int J Sustain High
Educ 6(4):351–362
Jucker R (2001) Sustainability? Never heard of it! Some basics we shouldn’t ignore when engaging
in education for sustainability (EfS). Int J Sustain High Educ 3(1):8–18
Livingstone DW (2001) Adults’ informal learning: definitions, findings, gaps and future research.
WALL Working Paper, 21
Schugurensky D (2000) The forms of informal learning: towards a conceptualization of the field.
WALL Working Paper, 19
F. Körner et al.
is needed at least to pay the travel costs. Alternatively, it is quite conceivable that the
workshops may be run by the local teaching staff.
Future prospects. So far, the course was held once at the university in Magdeburg.
The authors’ goal is to establish the course as a fixed part of the curriculum in the
long run. Additionally, the authors promote the idea of the course in the context of
Education for Sustainable Development for other educators. Even though the topic
of the course is climate change adaptation, the authors agree that the flexible concept
of the course can be transferred to a wide range of topics. It is particularly suitable
for those topics and problems that require interdisciplinary solutions and have social
relevance, which is true for issues regarding sustainable development.
In the workshops, pundits can represent different aspects and/or perspectives on
the chosen topic. The group work and the discussions in the parliamentary debates
encourage students to elaborate the relevant issues and form an opinion for themselves. The political simulation game in itself can be easily adjusted to different
states or countries. Depending on the constitution of the respective administration
level students might need to take on different roles “to have the right” to propose bills.
No matter what roles students take on and how the legislation process is organized in
the political simulation game it is important to have the reality check so that students
learn about the real political system they are simulating.
As emphasized before the authors consider the course a success and would like
to encourage others to try new unconventional approaches in their teaching as well.
Acknowledgements We would like to acknowledge our colleagues Lars Berker, Prof. Dr. Robert W.
Jahn and Dr. Ulrike Zeigermann (from Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg) who collaborated
with us in conceiving and holding this course successfully.
The project in which this course is developed received funding by the Federal Ministry for
the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety based on a decision of the German
Bundestag.
References
Barth M, Godemann J, Rieckmann M, Stoltenberg U (2007) Developing key competencies for
sustainable development in higher education. Int J Sustain High Educ 8(4):416–430
BMU (2017) Umwelt im Unterricht. Prinzipien der nachhaltigen Fischerei. Retrieved from https://
www.umwelt-im-unterricht.de/unterrichtsvorschlaege/prinzipien-der-nachhaltigen-fischerei/
Dale A, Newman L (2005) Sustainable development, education and literacy. Int J Sustain High
Educ 6(4):351–362
Jucker R (2001) Sustainability? Never heard of it! Some basics we shouldn’t ignore when engaging
in education for sustainability (EfS). Int J Sustain High Educ 3(1):8–18
Livingstone DW (2001) Adults’ informal learning: definitions, findings, gaps and future research.
WALL Working Paper, 21
Schugurensky D (2000) The forms of informal learning: towards a conceptualization of the field.
WALL Working Paper, 19