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The world of green career competences

We have been working on finding the best fitting model for green competences that can be developed through outdoor learning. This model needs to show clear links between values and competences, provide clear guidance to students about competence groups they will need to develop in order to participate in a green economy, and be a guide for teachers wanting to support values and competence development through outdoor learning.

Read more about our draft models below and join us on our journey by offering your feedback.

The circular model

One of the ideas on how to present the correlation between values, competences and learning outdoors, can be presented via a circular model. With this model we mainly want to show the interconnection and interdependence between all components.

Ciruclar competencies model

The Land of Green Competencies

In this model - let's call it: The land of the green competences - we pictured the green competences as meeting points – let it be a glade, a bay or a square in the middle of the town – in the world of outdoor learning.

Land of Green Competencies

With thanks to the Dyfi Biosphere for the use of this image. www.biosfferdyfi.org.uk

Let's imagine that the son of Pachamama starts a journey in this land. As he goes along on the paths, he gets connected to the environment, creates interaction with the whole system around him, and reaches out to everything with his head, heart and hands. He meets the trees, steps into the puddles, eats the fruits, meets and talks to the other wanderers. He listens to stories of others about unknown valleys and towns, imagines new ways of living, thinks about their problems and shares his own experiences and ideas. All he sees, encounters or walks with are unique and inspire new understanding and actions in him. As he walks on his way he constructs, evaluates and reconstructs his values, knowledge and actions.

Is this journey familiar to you? Have you ever been there with your fellows, with your students? The land of outdoor learning contains the entire world around us, where teaching and learning happen. All the competences to be developed are equally important as all the paths are equally interesting opportunities for the wanderer. On their way the students develop the green competences that we consider the constructions of certain values, knowledge and actions. The students construct, evaluate and reconstruct their values, knowledge and actions as they find their ways in The land of the green competences.

The Tree of Competencies

Another possible model is also inspired by nature, recalling the shape of a tree. Our roots are tightly anchored to our values, to what we do every day, to what we have learned / learn / will learn. Through experiences, practice, meetings, in a word through our way of life these roots allow us to grow up and develop. As a tree, strong roots generate branches that grow and reach upwards. In the same way we imagined green competences. Strong branches develop following different paths (which we defined as "categories"), belonging to the same tree. As a tree, we need new energy to grow and strengthen, developing our branches (competences, of course).  What is the best energy to feed green competences? Outdoor learning, obviously!

Tree of competencies

Please join us in our thinking and exploration of this fundamental element to Real World outdoor science learning.

Many thanks for your time.

 

Bostjan, Hanna, Kati, Romana, Tom and Valeria – Working Group 4

 

 

Thursday, September 18, 2014