On Friday 2nd February 2024 the four Erasmus+ Teacher Academies under the sustainability pillar came together to share their experiences so far and highlight the possibilities for collaboration between the projects. The network meeting was the first of its kinds, but certainly not the last, as presentations and discussions on each project’s unique perspective and innovative methodology on enhancing sustainability education in Europe brought to light opportunities to learn from and work with each other. Of the main points of joint discussion among the project representatives was how best to capitalise on each other’s experiences and successes, as well as possibilities to sustain the outcomes of the projects beyond their individual completions. The meeting was led by Thalia Tsaknia, of Ellinogermaniki Agogi, an Athens-based school with extensive experience in educational training around climate change and sustainable development.
Climademy (https://climademy.eu/)
Climademy aims to enhance the efficacy of climate education by providing a comprehensive training framework for both pre and in-service teachers. The project aims at training teachers understanding of the drivers, impacts, and mitigation options of climate change by incorporating Earth Observation data from satellites, empowering teachers to transform this data into examples within their lessons. The Climademy framework is built through a four-stage process of promoting teachers: Values and Attitudes, Scientific Inquiry competencies, Creativity, and Action in order to achieve this. Through national hubs, already establishing in Greece, Finland, Germany, and Italy, Climademy has opened up its consortium to incorporate small groups of teachers as co-designers. This will then scale up gradually, engaging teachers particularly through informal learning settings, to train approximately 2,000 teachers in total. The Climademy is based around its Climate Auditorium (CLAUDI) platform, launched in June 2023.
GEO-Academy (www.geoacademy.eu)
Up next, Dr. Eleni Tomai, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), introduced GEO-Academy. GEO-Academy introduces a comprehensive teacher training program integrating Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Remote Sensing (RS), Earth Observation (EO), and geospatial storytelling. Working with both pre- and in-service teachers from primary to upper secondary school across seven countries, GEO-Academy will transform climate change education and education for sustainable development. This will be accomplished through establishing national GEO-Hubs within schools, connecting to a national community of best practices. GEO-Academy will also establish the GEOBSERVE Platform, as a central hub hosting GEO-Hubs, training activities, a repository of tools and resources for teachers, as well as a free online training course. Although the project began in mid-2023, GEO-Academy is already on its way to establishing its GEO-Hubs and launching the GEOBSERVE Platform in June 2024.
EduSTAR (https://projects.tuni.fi/edusta/
The EduSTAR Project, presented by Eveliina Asikainen of Tampere University of Applied Sciences in Finland brings an innovative approach to operationalising teachers’ sustainability competencies. EduSTAR responds to the competencies needs created by the European Green Deal by creating Digital Open Badges, a type of microcredential for teachers to earn and acquire. Each badge represents one of the four sustainability competencies identified by the project: Sustainability literacy, Reflexive Practice, Learning Ecosystem Design, and Enabling Action, with 9 sub-badges within each. EduSTAR Project supports teachers to acquire these microcredentials by designing and gathering learning resources and piloting educational design. As well, the project offers different learning pathways for teachers depending on their prior skills and experience. By earning all sub-badges, a teacher will earn the Metabadge, for which EduSTAR expects approximately 300 teachers to acquire this year.
Synapses (https://synapses-academies.eu/)
With a focus on sustainability citizenship education, Synapses was the final project presented by Dr. Sofoklis Sotiriou of Ellinogermaniki Agogi. Synapses targets primarily science teachers, supporting them build their competencies on sustainability citizenship, meaning one’s dedication and self-determined motivation to protect the environment. Synapses accomplishes this through an inquiry-based and experimental project-based approach, highlighting the importance of collaborative learning. The project involves a range of external partners, such as museums and zoos, in supporting teacher training activities. Synapses is currently in the process of selecting training programmes and presenting them on their website, forming the training framework, also enriched by other resources and tools, through which courses will be offered across Europe. Teachers will be encouraged as well to share their own less plans via their online portal. Synapses will host a summer school for teachers in July 2024.
