Climate Change Education Week
Nov 26, 2024 to Nov 28, 2024 — 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The University of Ottawa is committed to being a leader in the fight against climate change. Education is one of the most powerful drivers in helping to mitigate and adapt to a changing climate. Our goal in organizing this Climate Action Week, from 26 to 28 November 2024, is to educate students of all levels as well as scholars. During the event, international speakers will lead lectures and workshops on climate change education in the new INNOVA Space, a venue with the latest educational technologies, located in the Learning Crossroads. The event is the initiative of Professor Liliane Dionne and her team and is a continuation of the Faculty's Climate Action Plan. All are welcome.
Program
Tackling current societal challenges: a perspective onlearning and teaching climate change for fostering future thinking, agency and change making
Speaker: Giulia Tasquier, PhD, University of Bologna, Italy
Date: November 26th, 2024
Time: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Place: INNOVA Center (CRX 604) or Virtual (by Zoom)
The global sustainability crisis is manifesting through environmental problems such as climate change. Despite the growing attention, K-12 science teaching still seems to fail to help develop students' understanding of complex socio-scientific issues. Nearly half of the school’s curricula worldwide don't explicitly address climate change, which reflects the gap between formal education and society. Yet, to tackle these challenges, it is essential to develop knowledge and skills to navigate uncertainty. My research group at the University of Bologna has participated in several projects aimed at promoting climate literacy and developing skills to imagine a better future and to take action for change.
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Bilingual workshops on climate change education
Speaker: Giulia Tasquier, PhD, (Italy), Roslynn McCann, PhD, (USA), and Liliane Dionne, PhD, (Canada)
Date: November 27th, 2024
Time: 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Place: INNOVA Center (CRX 604) or Virtual (by Zoom)
Workshops I and II, consecutively offered in the evening, address the development of two educational activities for teachers. Part of the Tableau STE, "Loss of biodiversity" is an environmental education activity to teach grade-6 students about permaculture and Indigenous perspectives. The second activity called "Clean energy", currently under development, addresses sustainable energies and transportation. Tableau STE is a website of effective practices to support francophone teachers in Canada and elsewhere in science teaching, and to encourage them to teach about environmental and climate literacies. Recently, the website has been enriched with new practices in environmental and climate change education, integrating indigenous knowledges that help connect to the land. Other activities aim to promote a strong link with nature-based education. Some of the Tableau’s practices are currently under development.
Workshop 1 : Biodiversity with a plant guild
A joint project between professors Dionne and McCann, with the collaboration of K. White, professor at University of Toronto and member of the Haudenosaunee community, has resulted in the development of a pedagogical practice in the Tableau STE called ‘Loss of biodiversity'. The workshop aims to present this unique teaching practice, based on the principle of permaculture, guided by Indigenous knowledges. The aim of this practice is to develop students’ skills so that they understand the importance of soil quality for fertility, as well as for water conservation. We will present the process that led to the development of this teaching practice.
Workshop 2 : Clean energy for a better future
Energy is part of mankind's evolution, but capitalist society creates false needs, leading to harmful energy consumption and nature degradation. Could clean energy be the solution? Could it also be that our lifestyles need to be changed for more simple ones? Giulia Tasquier and Liliane Dionne are developing an educational practice for 7th grade teachers to address these issues. Which energy sources are ecologically advantageous? How can we integrate aboriginal perspectives into an educational activity on clean energy. How can teachers encourage children to better connect with the land and with nature, and be aware of their consumption patterns?
Register to attend the workshops.
Community engagement: A tale of building trust, climate resilience and humility
Speaker: Roslynn McCann, PhD, Utah State University, USA
Date: November 28th, 2024
Time: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Place: INNOVA Center (CRX 604) or Virtual (by Zoom)
Engaging communities in sustainable behavior entails building trust, adopting a posture of humility, and developing local climate resilience projects. In this conference, Roslynn McCann will share her experience in building sustainability partnerships and the methods she uses to empower students to engage in fostering sustainable behaviors through community-based social marketing. She will also discuss her research on cultural humility and the creation of a climate change curriculum, co-created with Indigenous communities
Giulia Tasquier
Professor, University of Bologna
Giulia Tasquier is a research fellow in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Bologna. She designed teaching materials on climate change and sustainability, as well as on transforming scientific knowledge into skills like system thinking and agency. As the elected member of the ESERA executive board, she led the ESERA 2019 conference in Bologna. She participates in many EU projects, and currently coordinates a national inter-disciplinary project, ENCOMPASS, focused on climate change and sustainability.
Liliane Dionne
Professor, University of Ottawa
Liliane Dionne is a full professor at the Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa, since 2004. Her main research focuses on teaching practices in science, environmental and climate change educations. Her approaches included qualitative and participatory methods, such as learning communities. She emphasizes the dissemination of research results to practice-based environments. The TableauST.ca website, which she created with her team, reflects these values of sharing and aims to ensure quality education for all learners.
Roslynn Brain McCann
Professor, Utah State University
Roslynn Brain McCann is a Professor in Sustainable Communities in the Department of Environment and Society, College of Natural Resources at Utah State University (USU). She uses conservation theory and social marketing to foster environmental behaviors and teaches the course ”Communicating Sustainability”. She co-leads the National Extension Climate Initiative and coordinates educational camps for children. Outside of the university, Roslynn lives in a passive solar, 100% electric strawbale home that she designed and built in Moab, Utah. where she maintains a sustainable garden. As a mother of two boys, she encourages their gratitude towards the abundance that Mother Earth provides.