Throughout the 7-day Field Course students attended daily sessions given by tutors specialising in different fields of study, hence gaining a variety of skills to use in an educational setting. These included lectures on Gamification, geo-participation, place-based education, awareness-raising activities through NGOs. Educational design, assessment of/for learning, applications such as Seppo, Survey123, StoryMap Builders, and virtual reality learning (through Google Cardboard) were introduced. This unique experience gave students the chance to work with their European peers, encouraging them to collaborate together to think of different and innovative teaching methods.
For the preparation of the study exchange, each country's student group prepared a study which relates to the issue of climate change in relation to their own country. A poster of the study was then produced and a short presentation session was given to all participants. This not only provided the students with experience in presenting, but also sparked a discussion on how climate change affects different countries in a variety of ways. First hand experience examples were given and discussed. Giving young adults a chance to work with other young adults with different backgrounds, led to insightful, engaging and informative conversations. These discussions were meaningful, significant, and multi-faceted, and thus challenged us to think differently and seek innovative solutions.
This experience has equipped us with many useful tools and insights which relate to our academic goals. Hence we can only recommend this programme to anyone who has an interest in alternative learning contexts specifically associated with climate change and other wicked environmental problems. Despite coming from different countries, with different cultures and languages, despite whatever backgrounds we have, and whatever experiences we have lived through, this passion for learning and understanding unites us.
By Julia Salerno, Amy Sciberras, James Gabarretta and Matthew Grech
The project is supported by the Erasmus+ Programme: 2020-1-CZ01-KA203-078349
