Sustainability Education 101 (SE 101)
self-learning course

Transform your teaching with SE101: Dive into innovative, effective strategies for sustainability education and become a pioneer in fostering sustainable futures in higher education.

• The goal of this brand-new self-learning course is to equip you as an university instructor with a solid understanding of sustainability education and empower you to rethink and redesign your own courses in higher education. With Sustainability Education 101 (SE101), we accompany your journey to foster sustainability in teaching and learning.
• This self-paced multimedia web-based training offers you two modules to choose from based on your prior knowledge and goals.
  • Module 1 covers the basics of sustainability (education). You will learn about its relevance and meaning for society and for higher education institutions.
  • Module 2 offers you a hands-on design challenge for embedding sustainability into your teaching. In this module you jump right into action
• Dive into the self-learning course SE101 and harness effective teaching strategies tailored for sustainability education.

register for the application

The participants

• familiarize themselves with basic sustainability-concepts (e.g., Doughnut Economics by Raworth, 2017);
• acquire an overview of different learning objectives respectively competencies (e.g., Bianchi, 2020), learning activities (Rieß et al., 2022), and forms for assessment (Wilhelm et al., 2019) that relate to sustainability education by exploring curated resources
• design a prototype of an educational pattern (consisting of for their purposes adequate and aligned learning objectives, learning activities, and forms for assessment

• The urgency to integrate Sustainability (Education) into higher education
• Background knowledge on basic concepts of (a) sustainability (e.g., sustainable development goals, UN, 2015; doughnut economics, Raworth, 2017; planetary boundaries, Rockström et al., 2009)
• Overview of different learning objectives respectively competencies (e.g., Bianchi, 2020; European Commission, 2022; Unesco, 2017), teaching and learning activities (Rieß et al., 2022), and forms for assessment (Wilhelm et al., 2019) that relate to sustainability education
• Best Practices, Tools and Tips for Fostering Sustainability Education in Higher Education (Interdisciplinary Perspective)

Flexible Learning:

• Learn Anywhere
• Start Anytime (please register here to get the password for the course)
• 8 Hours Total, Self-Paced
• Customizable Learning Path

How can I get a Certificate of Attendance?
Of course, you can simply just audit the course and have access to all course materials, but you will not receive any certificate of completion. If you want a verified certificate of achievement that shows that you have successfully completed SE101, you have to send your materials (see below) in one email to: stefan.siegel@unisg.ch

After completing the online course, you have to…

1. submit a PDF or screenshot of their final quiz result of module 1 (min. 16/20 questions answered correctly)
2. hand in your completed educational design canvas
3. write and submit a short reflection paper (approx. 1-2 pages) on the course (see guiding questions) and the next steps regarding the implementation of your developed course design, on which you will receive feedback from the CEDAR Team members and
4. take part in the evaluation of SE101 (section 5).

For the certified track, the University of St.Gallen covers the course fee for its employees. External participants will be charged CHF 300.

Remark: For participants in the CAS Learning and Teaching in Higher Education at the University of St.Gallen, this course corresponds to a compulsory elective course from the further education program (if a certificate is available). Crediting only one self-learning course in the advanced level and not in the basic level in CAS 2024.

Primarily addressed are active teaching faculty but also to everyone who is interested in fostering responsibility & sustainability in teaching (e.g., Programme manager, PhD Students).