Successful sustainability education: adapting to the educational habitat

As a matter of survival, we need to educate current and future generations to live sustainably. Education is the way knowledge, ideas and skills are passed on from generation to generation. The learning environment, from the home to institutions, is the habitat that supports education. Effective sustainability education requires a thorough understanding of the habitat in which that education is to take place. Just as organisms are adapted to, and survive best in certain habitats, so too our approach to sustainability education must reflect the learning environment and its learners. This paper outlines research into managing educational environments and provides simple and practical guidelines to enhance the planning and implementation of environmental education programs. The realities of the variety of learning environments are outlined: from institutional structure, functioning and organisational management, to the home front and vagaries of human nature. A simple model for defining and understanding different educational habitats is provided for educators planning sustainability education programs. Despite knowing what to do in order to live sustainably, the majority of people fail to follow sustainable living guidelines. New solutions are not easily found within the old system. One needs to step outside the current system in order to solve the problem. It is appropriate that we take lessons from our natural environment to manage the learning environment in which sustainability education is to take place. Adaptive management principles from natural resource management have been used to develop an Adaptive Management Conceptual Framework to guide decision making in the learning environment. This framework can be used by educators at all levels to implement the NSW Environmental Education Plan and it links the Plan’s pre-determined indicators to their monitoring, with a defined management strategy

Putting ourselves in the big picture: a sustainable approach to project management for e-learning

A case study of an Australian university is used to illustrate good practice in the management of e-learning, or educational technology projects. Firstly, by identifying possible funding sources for institutional projects. Secondly, by looking beyond the project and planning ongoing support for e-learning systems and educational technology. The use of a central project service centre is described as a way of facilitating transformational change in the institution. An integrated, multi-stakeholder approach to project management is described. Finally, the metaphor of panarchy is introduced into the educational discipline as a means of describing and understanding the complex interrelationships of multi-scale institutional projects and the influences of a variety factors on e-learning initiatives. The concept of para-analysis is introduced here as a management strategy. This can be used to map educational technology projects in time and institutional space and to predict the impacts the implementation of these might have on users

Tools for survival in a changing educational technology environment

This conference provides a unique opportunity to capture a snapshot in time of where we are in the educational technology landscape. Landscape denotes static, a snapshot in time. However, the educational technology environment is dynamic and constantly changing. While at times the technological change and demands for technological change can be overwhelming, change needs to become an accepted, integral and well managed part of our educational environment. Concepts presented here have been taken from the environment management discipline and are used as metaphors for understanding change and transformations in technology enhanced learning environments. The strong environmental metaphor and associated language has been deliberately chosen because it helps us to focus on our key role as educators which is to create the best possible learning environment for our students. This paper introduces a social ecological systems analysis approach to understanding changes in organisations and the impact of outside factors on our learning environment. The Adaptive Cycle Framework is introduced as a predictive tool for understanding changes and transformations in our educational technology environment, and to thus determine a pathway to maximise opportunities afforded by change. This paper draws on an ongoing PhD study in which the focus is on managing change in technology enhanced learning environments. The Adaptive Cycle Framework is illustrated within the context of a case study of a regional university’s changing educational technology environment as a means to better manage for the long term

Planning for the future through an interactive board game – a not so trivial pursuit

This poster paper is designed as an interactive tool to get people thinking, talking and interacting around the conference theme. This 'ideas paper' has as its focus a practical outcome – that of providing a way to capture some of the good ideas from the conference that we can use to navigate our path ahead towards 2021. Identifying the challenges and issues is a good start. However, we need to take the opportunity to learn from each other by identifying good practice and some practical solutions that help us in our common goals. Snakes & ladders is a comprehensive, collaborative learning and planning tool that brings evidence based practice to the fore. It draws on reflective learning to get people to analyse their work practices towards improving the situation. It asks people to anticipate issues and makes people aware of those external factors that can impact on them (the 'snakes'). It encourages the identification of positive and successful aspects of the work practice (the 'ladders'). Snakes & ladders stimulates creative, colourful, 'outside the square' thinking and challenges the normal assumptions about how we work together, set and reach goals. Above all, it is designed to make work fun. The origins. At a time of considerable change in the university, with numerous demands on individuals to be involved in new initiatives and to learn new skills, a way was needed to get people to examine their work practices in the light of the many challenges. The snakes & ladders game was created as a professional development tool to get my Educational Design and Media team to think about the issues and challenges we face and how we can work together to achieve the end goals. At this conference a sample of the poster of the educational design and media team’s course level focus poster will be shown. A blank poster will be provided and conference delegates will get the opportunity to help create the game 'Global challenges & perspectives – towards 2021'. Ideas from the conference presentations will be captured into a snakes & ladders game that can give us something of a visual image of our pathway ahead (the challenges and perspective) along with some possible practical solutions

The changing nature of learning and teaching at Charles Sturt University 2008-2011

This essay draws a picture of the changing learning and teaching environment at Charles Sturt University (CSU) as a context for the six case studies that were developed for the larger study. It uses a social-ecological systems approach to describe this environment. From 2007 to 2011 what was life like at CSU? What were the aspirations for learning and teaching, who were the staff and students and what day to day challenges did they face? How did the University vision, infrastructure and processes frame and support learning and teaching? What was happening in the broader higher education environment? Four of the cases are of strategies and activities conducted within the Flexible Learning Institute (the FLI) at CSU. What were the aspirations of the FLI within CSU as an institution? And finally, in the midst of massive change in a number of spheres, what strategies were being used effectively on-ground to develop learning leadership

Developing a blueprint for resilience in educational systems management

In all educational sectors there is pressure for innovation, organisational change and increased accountability for complying with policy-driven sector standards. As the speed of change continues to increase, traditional educational and organisational management processes do not adequately address how to understand and manage the learning environment in the face of constant change in technology and other institutional demands. This paper draws on doctoral and subsequent research that explored new heuristics for understanding and managing changing learning environments. Resilience thinking was explored as a holistic way of approaching management problems in educational environments. From its origins in environmental systems management, resilience thinking supports building a capacity to work with change, as opposed to being a victim of it (Walker & Salt, 2006). Over a number of years through the practical application in tertiary and secondary sectors and ongoing synthesis of the findings from her research the author has developed a six-step Blueprint for Resilience in educational systems management. The Blueprint consists of a set of tools, strategies and processes for developing institutional resilience and buffering the change. The Blueprint for Resilience can be applied by educational leaders and managers to a variety of institutional systems ranging from high level strategic planning to learning spaces management or the institution-wide implementation of new ICT systems or alternative curriculum approaches

Sustaining new approaches to learning and teaching with technology: more than just a Wicked Problem

The basic premise of the 2012 Ascilite Conference theme is that; 'what happened in the past is no longer a reliable guide to the future'. However, if we do not learn from what happened in the past, it may well be a reliable guide to an unsustainable future. In the face of constant change, in order for higher education institutions to achieve the goal of creating sustainable approaches to new models and learning and teaching with technology a fundamental paradigm shift in management approaches is required. To address this, an interdisciplinary focus is introduced and two key concepts from environmental management: Wicked Problems and adaptive management are applied to the higher education environment. Using evidence-based practice these aspects have been researched in-depth in a large, mixed-mode university

Developing a blueprint for resilience in educational systems management

In all educational sectors there is pressure for innovation, organisational change and increased accountability for complying with policy-driven sector standards. As the speed of change continues to increase, traditional educational and organisational management processes do not adequately address how to understand and manage the learning environment in the face of constant change in technology and other institutional demands. This paper draws on doctoral and subsequent research that explored new heuristics for understanding and managing changing learning environments. Resilience thinking was explored as a holistic way of approaching management problems in educational environments. From its origins in environmental systems management, resilience thinking supports building a capacity to work with change, as opposed to being a victim of it (Walker & Salt, 2006). Over a number of years through the practical application in tertiary and secondary sectors and ongoing synthesis of the findings from her research the author has developed a six-step Blueprint for Resilience in educational systems management. The Blueprint consists of a set of tools, strategies and processes for developing institutional resilience and buffering the change. The Blueprint for Resilience can be applied by educational leaders and managers to a variety of institutional systems ranging from high level strategic planning to learning spaces management or the institution-wide implementation of new ICT systems or alternative curriculum approaches

Adaptable or expendable? Preparing staff for a changing future through innovative approaches to staff professional learning: a case study

What attributes and qualities are needed by your staff to navigate an uncertain professional future? How do we keep up with the pace of technological change and prepare our teachers for educating the students of tomorrow? A case study is described that illustrates how one school is in investing in staff professional learning, including the building of a new state-of-the-art Centre for professional learning, as key to a future-focussed, adaptable staff. The model of the Osmosis of Innovation (Buchan, 2014) is presented that moves innovation beyond just a buzz word. It provides a simple but practical foundation to ground strategic planning and staff professional learning programs in research and evidence-based practice. This presentation targets leaders, change agents, teachers, educators and trainers (in primary, secondary & tertiary sectors), who are tasked with professional development and ensuring that their staff and colleagues meet teaching standards, but are adaptable into the future

Challenges in Australian policy processes for disinvestment from existing, ineffective health care practices

Background Internationally, many health care interventions were diffused prior to the standard use of assessments of safety, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. Disinvestment from ineffective or inappropriately applied practices is a growing priority for health care systems for reasons of improved quality of care and sustainability of resource allocation. In this paper we examine key challenges for disinvestment from these interventions and explore potential policy-related avenues to advance a disinvestment agenda. Results We examine five key challenges in the area of policy driven disinvestment: 1) lack of resources to support disinvestment policy mechanisms; 2) lack of reliable administrative mechanisms to identify and prioritise technologies and/or practices with uncertain clinical and cost-effectiveness; 3) political, clinical and social challenges to removing an established technology or practice; 4) lack of published studies with evidence demonstrating that existing technologies/practices provide little or no benefit (highlighting complexity of design) and; 5) inadequate resources to support a research agenda to advance disinvestment methods. Partnerships are required to involve government, professional colleges and relevant stakeholder groups to put disinvestment on the agenda. Such partnerships could foster awareness raising, collaboration and improved health outcome data generation and reporting. Dedicated funds and distinct processes could be established within the Medical Services Advisory Committee and Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee to, a) identify technologies and practices for which there is relative uncertainty that could be the basis for disinvestment analysis, and b) conduct disinvestment assessments of selected item(s) to address existing practices in an analogous manner to the current focus on new and emerging technology. Finally, dedicated funding and cross-disciplinary collaboration is necessary to build health services and policy research capacity, with a focus on advancing disinvestment research methodologies and decision support tools. Conclusion The potential over-utilisation of less than effective clinical practices and the potential under-utilisation of effective clinical practices not only result in less than optimal care but also fragmented, inefficient and unsustainable resource allocation. Systematic policy approaches to disinvestment will improve equity, efficiency, quality and safety of care, as well as sustainability of resource allocation.Adam G Elshaug, Janet E Hiller, Sean R Tunis and John R Mos