Curriculum Development Challenges

As the world evolves, our educational approach must also adapt, inspiring stewardship and understanding of global challenges. I’ve crafted curriculum outcomes that blend primary school subjects with real-world activities, fostering curiosity and a proactive mindset in young learners. 1. The study of rainforests - Let’s build a classroom mini-rainforest to explore biodiversity and promote ecosystem conservation. 2. The study of writing letters - Let’s impact future policies by writing persuasive letters to leaders about environmental or social issues. 3. The study of insects - Let’s create a habitat for beneficial insects to promote local biodiversity. 4. The study of history - What can we learn from historical events to improve community cohesion and peace? 5. The study of the food chain - Let’s adopt a local endangered species and start a campaign to protect it. 6. The study of maps - Let’s explore the impacts of climate change on different continents using interactive map projects. 7. The study of basic plants - Let’s cultivate a garden with plants from around the world, focusing on their roles in sustainable agriculture. 8. The study of local weather - Let’s build weather stations to understand climate patterns and their effects on our environment. 9. The study of simple machines - Let’s engineer solutions to improve water and energy efficiency in our community. 10. The study of counting and numbers - Let’s analyze data on recycling rates and set goals for waste reduction. 11. The study of community helpers - Let’s explore how people around the world help improve community well-being and resilience. 12. The study of basic materials - Let’s investigate how everyday materials can be recycled or reused creatively in art projects. 13. The study of stories and fables - Let’s share stories from various cultures that teach lessons about community and cooperation. 14. The study of water cycles - Let’s design experiments to clean water using natural filters, learning about sustainable living practices. 15. The study of world populations - Let’s look at population distribution and discuss how urban planning can address housing and sustainability challenges. 16. The study of ecosystems - Let’s restore a small section of a local park, linking it to the role ecosystems play in human well-being. 17. The study of cultural studies - Let’s hold a festival to celebrate global cultures and their approaches to sustainable living. 18. The study of physics - Let’s discover renewable energy sources through simple experiments. These projects encourage real-world application, teamwork, and problem-solving, emphasizing the role of education in shaping informed, proactive citizens ready to face global challenges. This approach makes learning relevant and essential for today’s interconnected world. Which one will you try? #education #school #teacher #teaching

Did you know that 75% of teachers feel they haven’t received enough training to teach students about climate change and the environment? Yep, you heard that right. Kids spend most of their time learning in schools, and let's face it, the environment is really our first home, even before the houses we live in. So, why is it that learning about the environment at school is just another boring subject? All students do is learn theoretical concepts without any real-life exposure that connects them to their other home – our planet. This is a huge red flag, especially now when parts of India are scorching at 50 degrees Celsius, others are getting unexpected snowfall, and some are dealing with extreme rainfalls. Just changing the curriculum isn’t enough if our teachers, the true facilitators of learning, are’t properly equipped. So, how can we make the environment our kids' best friend without putting all the pressure on teachers? Here are some ideas: 🌱Get the Community Involved: Let’s bring in parents, local environmentalists, and community leaders. We can organize workshops, nature walks, and community clean-up events. This not only raises awareness but also helps everyone feel responsible for our environment. 🌱Hands-On Learning: How about school gardens, composting projects, and recycling programs? Let’s get the kids' hands dirty so they can see the impact of their actions firsthand. 🌱Integrated Learning: Let’s mix environmental education with other subjects like science, geography, and even art. This way, kids can see how what they’re learning applies in different contexts and is relevant to the real world. 🌱Use Technology: There are so many cool educational apps, virtual reality experiences, and online resources out there. These tools can make learning about the environment interactive and fun. 🌱Support Our Teachers: Let’s make sure teachers have regular training and resources to stay updated on the latest environmental issues and teaching methods. This could be through professional development workshops, access to teaching materials, and collaboration with environmental experts. In the end, the environment is our true home. Teaching kids to love and protect it should be something we all take part in. By working together, we can make environmental education a lively and essential part of every child's learning journey, without overwhelming our amazing teachers. Let’s do this together! 💬How do you think we can facilitate better environmental learning for students? Share your thoughts in the comments! LinkedIn for Nonprofits LinkedIn Guide to Creating LinkedIn News India #WorldEnvironmentDay2024 #Students #Teachers #ClimateAction

How do we make climate communication resonate with the very people it affects the most? 💡 🌎 In my latest essay for Question of Cities, I reflect on this pressing question, drawing on my experience in journalism and storytelling, as well as research and fieldwork in the climate space over the last few years. The article outlines how dominant climate narratives often remain inaccessible, overly technical, and disconnected from everyday lived realities. Some key takeaways: 🔁 1. Translation isn’t enough—localisation matters. Efforts like the UNDP Climate Dictionary are welcome, but we need to go further. People don’t say “Jalvayu Parivartan”—they talk about rain delays, changing festivals, and crop failures. Climate terms must emerge from how people experience change, not how we define it. Climate must be framed as an everyday issue. For most people in India, climate change competes with daily concerns like food, housing, and livelihoods. 📚 2. Storytelling enables agency. We need to shift from policy briefs to bottom-up storytelling, where a fisherwoman in the Sundarbans or a tribal woman in Odisha becomes the knowledge holder. 🎭 3. Embrace diverse media and people’s science. From metaphor-rich language to theatre, dance, and music—creative formats hold emotional and cultural power. Even community-defined terms like “wet drought” offer nuance and should shape climate adaptation strategies. 📰4. Mainstream media must build capacity. At a recent workshop in Maharashtra, we saw how rural reporters struggle to differentiate between climate and weather. There’s little support for them—especially women—to cover these stories. Climate needs to be integrated into all beats, not confined to disaster or weather coverage. 🎯 5. Climate communications is not just outreach—it’s strategy. Too often, communication is underfunded and under-prioritised. But to build inclusive, impact-driven programmes, we must invest in grassroots media literacy, storyteller training, and long-term behavioural change campaigns. 🌏 In the coming years, we will witness a growing wave of efforts to communicate climate change in new and compelling ways as climate becomes centre stage in policy and mainstream narratives. But the real test of these approaches won’t lie in international recognition or polished campaigns. It will lie in how meaningfully they resonate on the ground—in how a coal worker in Jharkhand or a landless labourer in Maharashtra understands, imagines, and navigates a world that is 1.5 degrees C warmer. 🔗 Read the piece here: https://lnkd.in/dGG8ZNZn A big thanks to Smruti Koppikar and Shobha Surin for trusting me with this piece. And of course, this would not be possible without Asar and all the fabulous work that I have got to be a part of in the last 3+ years! #ClimateCommunication #ClimateJustice

🌍 Shaping a Sustainable Future Through Education and Skills Policies 📚🔧 The OECD Education and Skills 2025 report, "Empowered Citizens, Informed Consumers and Skilled Workers," underscores the urgent need for education and training systems to lead in addressing climate change, fostering sustainability, and equipping individuals for the evolving labor market. https://lnkd.in/dRshqdek 🔑 Main Themes: 🌱 Sustainability Across Lifecycles: The report emphasizes a holistic, lifecycle approach to sustainability education—from schools to adult learning. This ensures that individuals of all ages are equipped to respond to climate challenges. 🤝 Agency for Change: Promoting individual and collective agency, supported by sustainability competencies, is vital to empower people for action. 🛠️ Skills for the Green Transition: Labor market transformations demand both technical and transversal skills for emerging green industries. ⚖️ Equity in the Green Transition: Without targeted policies, the green transition risks deepening inequalities, particularly among low-skilled workers. 🛠️ Key Messages for VET and Skills: ▪️Reskilling and Upskilling: Only 40% of adults in OECD countries engage in learning for job-related purposes. Workers in high-emission sectors face the highest risk of being left behind ▪️Role of VET: Vocational Education and Training (VET) must be at the forefront, offering tailored, high-impact programs that address labor market shifts and skills shortages ▪️Green Guidance: Career guidance systems need to align with sustainability goals, enabling individuals to navigate pathways toward green careers ✅ Actionable Recommendations: 📖 Curriculum Adaptation: Integrate sustainability competencies into all levels of education and align qualifications with the green economy 👩🏫 Educator Training: Upskill teachers and trainers to adopt interdisciplinary approaches that reflect sustainability goals 🌍 Place-Based Learning: Scale up local partnerships and experiential learning opportunities that connect learners with real-world environmental challenges 🔗 Bridging Learning Systems: Strengthen links between formal, non-formal, and informal education to foster lifelong learning opportunities 📈 Anticipate Skills Needs: Develop robust systems for forecasting skills demands and aligning training programs with green transition requirements 🗺️ Green Career Guidance: Empower individuals with tools to pursue sustainable careers and transition from emission-intensive industries 🤝 Inclusive Skills Ecosystems: Build collaboration between VET, higher education, industries, and governments to ensure no one is left behind 🚀 A Call to Action: This report is a roadmap for reimagining education and training systems as catalysts for a sustainable, inclusive future #GreenSkills #EducationForChange EU Employment & Skills Cedefop European Training Foundation Andreas SCHLEICHER

New open access paper just out: A framework for climate change curriculum redevelopment within built environment professional degrees. access here: https://lnkd.in/g7ugeBis Many urban planning degrees are not adequately addressing climate change. We developed an evidence-based curriculum redevelopment framework for embedding climate change competencies in built environment degrees. The framework was applied to the Master of Urban Planning program at the University of Melbourne then refined. One outcome was the development of a set of intended learning outcomes and generic skills for the program (seen in the picture with this post). The framework could be applied to other built environment professional degrees, to facilitate necessary curriculum change to address the climate crisis. With Dr. Naima Iftikhar and Jinlong Liu Thanks to colleagues for their collaboration.

#VISION OF EDUCATION FOR MY SON & HIS GENERATION ✍🏽 My kid and his peers will grow up in a world riddled with #climatechange challenges! It's evident that our education system needs a radical transformation. Here's a blueprint for revolutionizing education for a sustainable future for all: 1. #EcologicalLiteracy: It is not sufficient for our kids to ace language and STEM! They need education on nature and climate resilience. 2. #SustainableMindset: Responsible, sustainable consumption and production should be natural ways of existing for our future generation. 3. #CircularEconomy Education: Our curriculum, pedagogy and assessments should prioritise resource conservation, waste reduction, and innovative recycling practices. 4. #CommunityEngagement: Education should embrace community gardens, collaborative projects, and service-learning opportunities so that our kids live while learn and not really wait for a certificate to enter community living. 5. #ClimateEducation: It is high time we make our children informed decision makers about their future by integrating climate education into curricula (climate change, impact and solutions). 6. #CollectiveAction: Equip students with the skills and knowledge to engage in policy advocacy and activism. 7. #Entrepreneurship and #Innovation: Create real life sandboxes to allow children to develop and implement solutions to environmental challenges. 8. #LifelongLearning: Promote lifelong learning and continuous skill development, emphasizing adaptability and resilience that the future generation will inevitably require in the face of dire climate consequences. 9. #InclusiveEducation: Ensure that education is accessible and inclusive for all, regardless of background or circumstance since we never know how the living conditions around us would change. 10. #CollaborativeAction: Foster collaboration between educational institutions, governments, NGOs, businesses, and communities to drive collective action towards sustainability.

The #climate movement has come a long way, but it’s time to acknowledge a critical gap. Too often, we focus on #decarbonization without even talking about #climaterisk, #resilience, and #adaptation as if reducing carbon were some esoteric goal. The reality is just as important as the goal to reduce carbon, we need to prepare for and mitigate the risks that are already here and those that are coming. Presenting the two goals together actually creates the most compelling narrative. Most importantly, if we want a chance at a sustainable future, we have to start early. That means teaching high school students not only about climate science but also about the practical realities of resilience and adaptation. Educating the next generation on the full spectrum of climate action—decarbonization, risk management, and adaptation—is vital. Not only will it empower them to contribute to carbon reduction, but it will also give them the tools to help their communities reduce human suffering as climate impacts intensify. Decarbonization and adaptation aren’t separate goals; they’re two sides of the same coin. If we truly want a resilient future, we must ensure that young people understand not just how to address and adapt to climate change, but how to think outside the box with different tools suited to address the challenges of the future. No one understands this more than high school students themselves who are demanding a climate curriculum that prepares them for the future. https://lnkd.in/gCKWHRCD #ClimateAction #ClimateResilience #ClimateEducation #AdaptationMatters #Decarbonize #ClimateRisk #YouthForClimate #SustainableFuture #ClimateScience #TeachTheFuture #ClimateAwareness #BuildResilience