The IDB has developed a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for teachers (and others who want to join) on how to work with primary and secondary-level students to help them explore climate change topics through interactive and engaging activities. To register, click here.
We know the problem. Scientists from around the world have produced indisputable evidence on fast changes in the climate.
We know the consequences. Already floods, droughts and excessive heat have wreaked havoc on global agriculture and food production, and water has become an increasingly scarce resource in many areas of the world, some of them in Latin America and the Caribbean.
We know the solution is complex. Climate change affects adults and children alike; and to reverse and adapt to it, we need everyone to be on board. Especially those who will inherit the earth—the Region’s children and youth.
That’s why the IDB has developed a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for teachers (and others who want to join) on how to work with primary and secondary-level students to help them explore climate change topics through interactive and engaging activities. This course has been developed within edX, the online learning platform developed by Harvard and MIT.
Instead of teaching science the old-fashioned way and requiring students to memorize the lives and theories of long-gone scientists, the course will help you engage your students in hands-on learning and inquiry. You will inspire your students to make a difference by actively developing and participating in projects and activities that help mitigate the effects of climate change and improve sustainability, both at school and in their communities.
In this course you will learn how to use over 60 ready-to-teach lesson plans (half geared toward students ages 6-13, and half for students ages 13-18), developed specifically for teachers, school administrators and other actors in education community in Latin America and the Caribbean. The lesson plans can easily be inserted into the existing curricula. Each lesson plan contains concepts, ideas, suggestions, hands-on activities and critical thinking questions on topics related to environmental sustainability, all of which can be discussed in class or done at school. You will also learn to use the “Green School Toolkit,” to work with your students to make your school more environmentally friendly, safer, and a healthier place to be.
Since children are more open to learning when they’re having fun, the project also provides engaging activities, including games and videos, among other materials that help students augment their science education while thoroughly enjoying themselves in the process.
At the IDB, we’re excited about this course because we believe that encouraging children and youth to use their creativity and energy to come up with feasible, sustainable, long-term strategies to mitigate and adapt to climate change, is a win-win for everyone. Teaching children to care for the Earth from an early age all but guarantees that subsequent generations will grow up thinking of ways to protect the environment. Conserving water, recycling and cultivating green spaces will become a way of life.
At the same time, involving youth in generating and implementing practical solutions to real-world challenges will enable them to develop productive skills such as teamwork, problem-solving, and project management. Such skills will serve them well as they finish school and enter the workforce, and such experiences may even lead some to start businesses around providing sustainable solutions to environmental challenges.
This course is free and starts on March 14th in Spanish and April 27th in English. To register, click here and enter the World’s most important online classroom and prepare your students for their most challenging project: Saving the Planet!
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact [email protected].
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