Subject: Education and Environmental Sustainability

Scientific Area:

Life Sciences

Workload:

23 Hours

Number of ECTS:

5 ECTS

Language:

Portuguese

Overall objectives:

1 - Know and understand the main global environmental imbalances with a focus on their causes, consequences and solutions, and evaluate their implications on sustainability;
2 - Know and understand the most effective mechanisms for teaching and learning environmental literacy in communities;
3 - Develop educational approaches in the community associated with minimizing specific problems of sustainability and environmental quality;
4 - Plan, implement and manage education projects / programs for the promotion of environmental culture and sustainability, in real and intergenerational socio-cultural contexts, in a perspective of lifelong education.

Syllabus:

1 - Human societies and environmental imbalances. The relationship between societies and the environment. The evolution of environmental problems. Global environmental imbalances.
2 - The vision of a sustainable community. Sustainability in waste management. Sustainability in the use of water resources. Sustainability in energy consumption. Sustainability in protecting biodiversity.
3 - The promotion of environmental literacy. Environmental education. Environmental literacy. The environmental culture. Strategies and approaches for environmental education practices.
4 - Planning of environmental education projects. Framework, strategy and context. Definition of specific objectives. Activity planning. Evaluation methodologies.

Literature/Sources:

Hollweg, K. S., Taylor, J. R., Bybee, R. W., Marcinkowski, T. J., McBeth, W. C. & Zoido, P. , 2011 , Developing a framework for assessing environmental literacy , North American Association for Environmental Education
Pereira, C. D., Soares, C., Cavaco, C., Saldanha, F., Santos, S., Marques, T. & Oliveira, T. , 2022 , Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável: Livro 1, 2 e 3 , Plátano Editora
Pinto, J. R. , 2006 , De uma política pública de Ambiente e Educação Ambiental em Portugal a uma Estratégia Nacional de Educação Ambiental: sucessos e fracassos. in AmbientalMente Sustentable: junho-dezembro ,
Spínola, H. , 2016 , Literacia Ambiental: um desafio à didática e à matética. In F. Gouveia & G. Pereira (Orgs.) , CIE-UMa

Assesssment methods and criteria:

Classification Type: Quantitativa (0-20)

Evaluation Methodology:
Teaching in the curricular unit will choose a first theoretical framework, through expository and reflective methodologies, using presentation, reflection and debate on concrete cases around the challenge of sustainability. Associated with this context, different concepts and visions in the scope of sustainability will also be addressed. The theoretical framework will be followed, in an interspersed manner, by practical approaches, with the development of contextualized exercises, culminating in the planning and application of education projects and strategies for the promotion of sustainability and environmental literacy. The evaluation will be based on two elements, a frequency, which will be worth 50% of the final evaluation and will focus on questions of knowledge, understanding and skills of analysis and reflection, and, corresponding to the remaining 50% of the final evaluation, an environmental education project.