UNEVOC Network Coaction Initiative 2021-22: Capacity building for addressing sustainable development goals through curriculum and pedagogy innovation in TVET
Between January and June 2022 the UNEVOC Center (Hong Kong) has partnered with the UNESCO-UNEVOC International Center, Bonn, for a new UNEVOC Network Coaction Initiative. The project was designed to build the capacity of TVET practitioners and TVET leaders (including government officials) about the issue of greening TVET and, in particular, the curriculum. The team, led by Dr Pavlova, provided training for TVET educators from Shenzhen and Hangzhou, China, Mongolia, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria using online resources from this website that promoted problem-oriented, project-based pedagogy that is learner-centered. A total of 166 participants took part in the online training.
This project was developed to strengthen TVET educators’ and leaders’ knowledge and understanding about the issues relevant to greening industries, and how these issues can be used in curriculum development. The focus was on greening TVET, and supporting participants' capacity to green the curriculum and implement innovation in pedagogy for the purposes of developing students’ generic green skills.
The participants took part in three workshops with different kinds of group work, as well as interactive learning activities specifically designed to support participant learning. Before each workshop, participants read the selected materials (publications on greening industry, greening TVET, green skills, and ESD pedagogy) and examined the teaching and learning resources from the website that illustrate green concepts, as well as case studies relevant to sustainable development goals (SDGs). They then discussed questions related to the forthcoming workshop themes, based on detailed instructions provided. In each of the three-hour workshops, two themes were addressed through knowledge-based lectures and interactive learning activities that facilitated participants' reflection and understanding. For instance, the “Poll Everywhere” platform was used, which supports real-time interaction, and involved live online polling, surveys, Q&As and quizzes. This helped participants visualize their perceptions of different issues and identify similarities and differences between their thinking and other participants' understanding. After each workshop, trainees were required to work again in groups on homework to ensure they achieved the learning outcomes by applying discussed approaches and concepts to their own practices. In addition, a number of local case studies about greening industries have been developed by each country to provide context to the resources. These will be uploaded to this website.
Participants’ presentations of their group work demonstrated a solid understanding of the latest trends and industrial practices in greening, as well as green concepts relevant to SDGs, green economics, environmental regulations and green skills. They were also able to use the resources provided to design lessons and develop a follow-up plan for greening their curriculum further by focusing on the development of generic green skills. In addition, the case studies developed by the participants demonstrated their understanding of how to design ESD resources that integrate student-center pedagogy with real-world learning opportunities.
We are looking forward to staying in touch with the participants through the Edmodo platform that was set up especially for this group. We will share relevant, interesting references and resources and will be answering questions regarding greening TVET practices.