Environmental Humanities in the (Second-Language) Classroom: Teaching Sustainability With a German Accent
Start Date
8-17-2022 12:00 AM
Description
My presentation shares ideas, approaches, and experiences related to my attempts to integrate Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into the physical as well as the digital classroom. Becoming discontent with some of our traditional curricula, I have explored teaching methods and materials that engage students in meaningful learning experiences that center language learning around theme-based, culture-driven environmental discourses. Moving to online teaching formats required new adjustments, both with respect to authentic materials and methodological underpinnings. Drawing on developments in the Environmental Humanities and working with a wide range of online materials—from learning tools developed by conservationist organizations to the Netflix series Dark to upcycling tips from the German National Geographic—I have designed activities, units, and courses that are holistic, informed by literacies pedagogy, and allow for immersed, process-oriented and project-based learning. While restructuring my learning contexts for online environments, I came across many lessons I intend to keep for the future, regardless of the format of instruction. These include lessons on how to create a more equitable, fair, and supportive classroom and how to define different pathways to success for my students. Although texts, topics, and terminology of my presentation happen to come primarily from the German language arena (intermediate and advanced courses), they translate well into different educational contexts and could be adopted for different levels of linguistic proficiency.
Environmental Humanities in the (Second-Language) Classroom: Teaching Sustainability With a German Accent
My presentation shares ideas, approaches, and experiences related to my attempts to integrate Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into the physical as well as the digital classroom. Becoming discontent with some of our traditional curricula, I have explored teaching methods and materials that engage students in meaningful learning experiences that center language learning around theme-based, culture-driven environmental discourses. Moving to online teaching formats required new adjustments, both with respect to authentic materials and methodological underpinnings. Drawing on developments in the Environmental Humanities and working with a wide range of online materials—from learning tools developed by conservationist organizations to the Netflix series Dark to upcycling tips from the German National Geographic—I have designed activities, units, and courses that are holistic, informed by literacies pedagogy, and allow for immersed, process-oriented and project-based learning. While restructuring my learning contexts for online environments, I came across many lessons I intend to keep for the future, regardless of the format of instruction. These include lessons on how to create a more equitable, fair, and supportive classroom and how to define different pathways to success for my students. Although texts, topics, and terminology of my presentation happen to come primarily from the German language arena (intermediate and advanced courses), they translate well into different educational contexts and could be adopted for different levels of linguistic proficiency.