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Board games in secondary/higher education

For sustainable development to improve teaching efficiency and interdisciplinary collaboration

Published Apr 25, 2018

The project examines the use of board games in teaching sustainable development in secondary schools and university, with the aim of producing a plan to promote teaching for sustainable development in the future.

Info

Research area: Sustainable development, teaching efficiency, interdisciplinary collaboration

Duration: XXXX - 

Participants:

Difficulties with teaching interdisciplinary knowledge

Depending on weather you are scientist in chemistry, physics, social sciences or engineering you will choose different angles to discuss and teach about sustainable development. To be prepared for the future students must be encouraged to learn interdisciplinary and take part in different views in the debate.

In higher education the teachers are often experts in a specific scientific area, and thus they may feel uncomfortable in teaching sustainable development in an interdisciplinary way. Nor are they comfortable with the opposing views of questions that will arise in a classroom debate. Secondary school teachers are expected to teach about sustainable development, but may have no training in the area. They may also lack time to develop interdisciplinary activities for the students.

Board games as teaching tool

The use of board games as teaching tools are an effective way of improving efficiency, demonstrating opposing views and encouraging an element of collaboration in a non-threatening environment. Interdisciplinary topics are naturally invoked during the playing.

Project outcome

We report experiences from students and teachers from playing the games in secondary schools and university classes, as well as a plan to promote teaching for sustainable development in the future.

Activities

A poster presentation at the 12th conference of the International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN)  hosted by KTH Royal Institute of Technology on June 11-13, 2018.