A Critical Reflection on Online Teaching for Sustainability

By practicing the scholarship of teaching the authors examine their own practices in teaching online applied to in-service teacher education and education for sustainable development as part of ongoing quality improvement effort and annual course revision. This study focuses on “Planetary Perspectives: Toward a Culture of Peace, Sustainability, and Well-Being” which is the first in a four-course Online Certificate in Education for Sustainable Development organized by the Earth Charter Education Center and the University for Peace. The course explores principles of sustainability and the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals and then goes deeper into the environmental, social, and economic spheres of sustainability. The course emphasizes pedagogical practices, such as systems thinking and developing a sustainability worldview. The course also invites students to be involved in their communities, talking to neighbors and colleagues about sustainability issues like climate change and poverty. This community focus is important to ground participants in the communities where they live and work and make progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Working in the local community can be transformative to both students and communities.