Volume 6, No. 2, Fall 2002

Contents | PDF Version

Education for a Sustainable Future (ESF)

Technology-based Curriculum Encourages Global Thinking

By Janet Hadingham

Five years ago, when teachers in Cobb County, Georgia, first began developing curricula for the ESF project, they were taking on one of the biggest challenges facing educators today - getting students to understand the future consequences of their behavior. Sustainability studies require thinking about the needs of future generations as well as our own. Even most adults have trouble with that.

Fortunately, the new field of sustainability science has grown up alongside the technology tools that can help us envision future scenarios: modeling tools for seeing trends and making predictions; decision-making tools for role-playing; the Internet for gathering and sharing information. The Cobb County teachers knew that if they built a curriculum around these technologies, their students would become more actively engaged in learning the concepts of sustainability.

ESF became an ambitious five-year effort to develop and field test a wide range of materials. The teachers created more than 60 curriculum units with activities for all grade levels and subject areas. For example, first graders collect trash, sort it and graph their results; seventh graders develop a survey of citizens' perception of local air quality; high school students model global population growth.

Evaluation results from 400 classrooms throughout Georgia and nationwide have shown a dramatic improvement in technology skills and an improved classroom environment. One teacher documented 100% attendance among her "at risk" students on the days designated for ESF. Another teacher reported that the project gave her a reason to stay in the teaching profession.

Sue Brown, ESF co-director, worked closely with the teachers as the project took shape and grew. "Sustainability creates a context for learning, a connection between the classroom and the real world," comments Brown. "The students are learning the core curriculum objectives, yet they are engaged in these projects because they are student centered."

Among the tools used are special software developed for the project by the Concord Consortium: Ecological Footprint Calculator, What-If Builder, and Community Planner. All are available to the public on the ESF Web site, along with the curriculum units and resources for professional development.

The ESF project demonstrates the Concord Consortium's commitment to expanding the curriculum with technology to address important topics.

Building Bridges for Sustainability Education

A Global Network for Change

The global importance of ESF became clear when the teachers were invited to share their work with educators in Eastern and Central Europe. Earlier this year, Sue Brown and Randall Crump, a language arts teacher from Harrison High School, joined a CSF team on a visit to Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.

"The issues that these teachers in Cobb County, Georgia, are facing are very similar to those faced by teachers in different parts of the world," says Keith Wheeler, CSF Director. "Although the cultural context is different, the concerns are the same."

The project, Building Bridges for Sustainability Education, grew out of a long-time collaboration between CSF principals and educators and environmentalists in Eastern and Central Europe.

In January 2002 the Building Bridges team began traveling to Central Europe to meet with a group that included educators and representatives from government ministries, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the UN development program. The purpose of the meetings was to compare notes on each country's efforts toward sustainability education and to identify exemplary programs. Ultimately, this network will extend worldwide.

Janet Hadingham is Managing Editor
of @concord

Article Links & Notes

Education for a Sustainable Future (ESF) - http://csf.concord.org/esf

Center for a Sustainable Future (CSF) - http://csf.concord.org

Cobb County School District's ESF Web site - http://www.cobb.k12.ga.us/%7EGrants/

Ecological Footprint Calculator, What-If Builder, and Community Planner - http://csf.concord.org/esf/Software.cfm

ESF Curriculum units - http://csf.concord.org/esf/CurrViewByTopic.cfm

ESF is funded through a U.S. Department of Education grant (#R303A70182) awarded to the Concord Consortium's Center for a Sustainable Future (CSF) in partnership with the Cobb County School District, the Marietta City Schools, and the Fulton County Schools.

Building Bridges for Sustainability Education is supported by a grant from the Trust for Mutual Understanding.

The projects described in this newsletter are supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, the Noyce Foundation and others. All opinions, findings, and recommendations expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agencies. Mention of trade names, commercial products or organizations does not imply endorsement.

All Contents Copyright © 2002 The Concord Consortium. All rights reserved.