Building your ESD learning and practice
For the past three years, WWF has been developing and running online ESD courses for anyone involved in learning and teaching about sustainability. The following courses are available/under development:
ESD: an online introductory course
This participatory course provides an introduction to online learning for novices. It's an opportunity for you to find out more about ESD and to share experiences and good practice with your peers.
Course elements:
*Resources - online materials, readings and links to other websites, provide core content.
*Activities - designed to help you understand what you learn, apply it to your own experience and prepare for participatory activities.
*Discussions – opportunities each week to be involved in online group work, networking and debate on ESD issues.
*Take action – create your own Action Plan, relevant to your area of work, to be discussed with your tutors and peers.
The next course is planned to start in January 2006.
Leadership and ESD
What has become clear is that there is now a need for schools to identify ESD champions, to initiate and drive the concept. Such a person need not have a deep understanding of sustainability, nor will they be the one person fighting to see ESD implemented within a school. Their role is to manage the programme and drive it through. Such a person is almost certainly going to come from the middle tier of teachers - such as heads of year or heads of subject.
To help such champions, WWF has been piloting a new course specifically aimed at middle tier teachers as part of the wider ‘Leading from the middle’ programme run by the National College for School Leadership (NCSL).
If you have already participated in the NCSL ‘Learning from the middle’ programme and are interesting in taking part in the 'live' course in 2006, contact Liz Jackson - see below.
Want to know more?
If you would like more information about our professional development ESD courses, contact:
Liz Jackson
WWF-UK
Panda House, Weyside Park
Godalming, Surrey, GU7 1XR
Email: ljackson@wwf.org.uk
For information on other professional development opportunities, visit the ‘ESD courses’ section of the wwflearning Staffroom.