SDG Week Virtual Gallery

As part of their academic work and study, Bachelor of Education preservice teachers are connecting theory and practice as they observe and facilitate Environment and Sustainability Education in a community school (Grande Prairie, AB) during this winter term (January – April). 

As special guest science teachers in a local school, this experience helps them understand the complex ways that science is explored in classrooms, schools, and broader communities!

To showcase the Bachelor of Education community-based project in Grande Prairie, Alberta.

Experiential Learning in Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE): Whole-School Project on Plants and Food Insecurity 

 

  • Bachelor of Education students from the University of Alberta and Northwestern Polytechnic’s collaborative Teacher Education North program
  • Partner School: Derek Taylor Public School, Grande Prairie Public School Division
EDEL 330 Curriculum & Pedagogy in Elementary School Science
Garden Box Design, Construction and Implementation

As part of their STEM education, Grade 7 and 8 students have designed wooden garden boxes that are currently being built in their Construction shop at the school. In January, BEd students assisted grades 7 and 8 with the garden box construction.

Once this phase of the project is completed, there will be enough garden boxes built so that every class in the school will have designated garden boxes. Elementary students will be using the garden boxes for planting and growing food, soil exploration, science inquiry, and engaging in other cross-curricular activities connected to plants and gardening. 

Teaching & Learning with Elementary Students (Kindergarten - Grade 8)

Pre-service teachers plan and facilitate activities for their assigned class related to topics of plants, gardening, SDGs, and food insecurity themes (e.g. global environments/habitats, weather & climate, global citizenship, water, soil,  transportation, population, etc.). 

Working in pairs or small groups, they collaborate in advance on concept-based activities that are appropriate for the grade level and connected to the science curriculum. During January and February, BEd students have engaged in Teaching & Learning with Elementary Students.

BEd students will be in the school during SDG Week, and hope to be assisting with the garden box planting and related inquiry activities by the end of March.

Literacy Week
During Literacy Week, preservice teachers mixed Science & Literacy! They shared literacy activities directly linked to Science concepts.  Stories, traditional books and digital books were shared with elementary classes related to the topics of plants, gardening, growing food, and food insecurity themes.

 

Quotes

“I have really enjoyed the immersive learning experiences that have been provided in this program. Practical experience is invaluable to me as a future educator—to gain confidence in a classroom, learn from other teachers, and remember why I am in the Education program.”  Erika, Bachelor of Education Student

“As future educators, the university students need to see firsthand how teachers can foster a sense of wonder about the world, its creatures and living things, and our human experiences living and learning on planet Earth.” Chantel Lussier, Assistant Lecturer, Faculty of Education, and NWP Teacher Education North Coordinator

“This initiative is just one example of how children, youth, educators, and community partners can work together on a real-world project that directly contributes to the collective impact of SDG efforts.” Chantel Lussier, Assistant Lecturer, Faculty of Education, and NWP Teacher Education North Coordinator

Sustainable Development Goals embedded within this project

In the coming decades, we are tasked with the challenge of utilizing collective impact to achieve the world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a plan developed by the United Nations for a better world and a road map to help us get there. 

Preservice teachers engage in authentic teaching and learning that connects to a whole-school project on Plants and Food Insecurity. As they experience this together, they encounter some of the ways that authentic learning provides optimal learning opportunities for meaningful and impactful learning. By partaking in SDG Week Canada, they are connecting their experiential learning, and that of the school community, to the greater collective impact of national and international SDG efforts.  

The key SDGs that this event targets include:

  • SDG 4: Quality Education. 
  • SDG 16: Life on Land.
  • SDG 2: Zero Hunger.
  • SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.

This initiative is just one example of how children, youth, educators, and community partners can work together on a real-world project that directly contributes to the collective impact of SDG efforts.