For the 4th year, trainee Secondary teachers co-designed and ran a vibrant and challenging conference at Manchester Institute of Education in the University of Manchester, together with university staff, other students and NGO allies. The conference was called: “Climate and Environmental Justice in Education: What’s at Stake?”
A report on the conference is available here.
Days after the Los Angeles fires broke out, Friday 10th January 2025 saw over 150 trainees from 4 different disciplines starting the morning with a small group interactive learning event. This was based on a toolkit for sustainability thinking and learning developed from University of Manchester research, and led by Dr Joanne Tippett called “The RoundView.”
In the afternoon, with encouragement from alumni from previous PGCE cohorts, we constructed a choice of practical activities, indoors and out. Some food was left over from lunch, so the Greener Cooking workshop that followed in the same room, had plenty of resources to talk about and work with as soup and pancakes were prepared and cooked on an induction hob. Other groups headed outside to explore Nature Metaphors in the grounds and another group to identify and study trees in the local park. The message – what difference does it make to do some practical activity – what kind of broader discussion is made possible over a saucepan or by a living tree, with squirrels! What is the potential of an Outdoor Classroom? How can After-school clubs be shown to be a vital part of consolidating learning? What can we learn from each other? What is our role as teacher educators and role models in tackling climate crisis?
Two other indoor workshops continued as part of this practical activity-based learning. In the trainee-led ‘Making Hidden Costs Visible’ activity, other trainees were introduced to some of the secondary and tertiary impacts of everyday goods and services. The “Power and Influence: Getting things DONE” workshop looked at the hidden power structures within schools and outside them. Participants shared their experiences of school settings, as teachers, teaching assistants and school governors.
In the plenary session at the end of the day, trainees were asked to find a climate buddy, to check in with as the PGCE year continued – to encourage each other in following through on the two commitments they made:
How will what you’ve learned today affect your practice in your next school or college placement?
Outside of school, what’s one thing you’ll go away and immediately change / do?
A report on the conference is available here.