Innovative educational strategies in environmental education and education for sustainable development

Abstract

In this publication we are introducing a research by the UNESCO Chair in Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development at the UNED (Spain) team in the framework of the university reform promoted by the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). This reform will help in the organization of the curricula of the university degree programs and establish equality between the EU countries. The research is aimed to improve the teaching-learning processes in the subject of Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development, intensifying the use of participative techniques and the collaborative learning on the net. In this publication we are presenting the results of the pilot survey that took place during the 2006-2007 academic years with a small group of students who voluntarily took part in the research. Activities related to two thematic cores of the subject (currently being taught as part of the Pedagogy University Degree) have been designed and implemented, and the results have been evaluated later. In the same line, tools to collect the participant students’ points of view have been developed and applied on the groups. The study has allowed us to explore how the students’ participation in the collaborative learning groups has influenced their performance. It has also allowed us to confirm the time allowance for teaching and learning in the proposed activities; this information has proved to be capital for the future planning of the new educational program’s design.

Keywords

• aprendizaje colaborativo en red, innovación docente, educación superior a distancia, metodologías socioeducativas.