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Students and Eco-Anxiety: Teaching and Learning for Eco-Optimism

Students and Eco-Anxiety: Teaching and Learning for Eco-Optimism

  • Cool+
  • Primary
  • Secondary
  • Environmental
  • Climate Change
  • Sustainability
  • Social
  • Mental Health
  • ...

Course summary

While many countries, schooling systems and schools state commitment to climate change education the outcomes have been found to be not only poor but also counter-productive in terms of students’ actions and dispositions. This course will provide insight into the findings from a global review of climate change education with a focus on eco-anxiety an unanticipated consequence. It will also provide strategies for addressing this in schools and classrooms and provide examples of how this phenomenon is being minimised in different locations in the world.

You will learn:

  • About the growing phenomenon amongst young people of eco-anxiety and how this is leading to pessimism regarding futures and impacting negatively on current behaviours, attitudes and sense of agency;
  • How to address this phenomenon through teaching and learning about climate change in ways that have been found to generate a sense of optimism, agency and action; and
  • What can be done at the classroom, school, system and national levels to support students’ learning and acquisition of capabilities and dispositions conducive to “eco-optimism”.

Course time:

This course is expected to take between 30 to 45 minutes. Perfect for after work or during a spare period. You will have ongoing access via your user dashboard.

Accreditation:

This course is mapped to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.

  • 2.1.2 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
  • 3.2.2 Plan, structure and sequence learning programs
  • 3.3.2 Use teaching strategies
  • 5.1.2 Assess student learning
  • 6.4.2 Apply professional learning and improve student learning
  • 7.4.2 Engage with professional teaching networks and broader communities
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Course Content

Students and Eco-Anxiety: Teaching and Learning for Eco-Optimism

Students and Eco-Anxiety: Teaching and Learning for Eco-Optimism

01.
Introduction
02.
Eco-Anxiety and Young People: A definition
03.
Eco-Anxiety: Indicators and Causes
04.
Climate Change Education: Impact on Learning Outcomes
05.
Implications for Teachers, Schools and Schooling Systems
06.
Teacher-Preparedness: Support and Beliefs
07.
Developing Pro-Environment Behaviours: Eco-Optimism
08.
Supporting Individual Students
09.
Where are the Gaps?
10.
Positive Examples of Genuine Effort across the Globe
11.
What Good Climate Change Education Practice Looks Like
12.
Concluding Comments on Eco-Anxiety and Eco-Optimism
13.
Course References
14.
Reflection
15.
Congratulations

Course Instructor

Dr Phil Lambert PSM is an internationally recognised school education expert. He has extensive experience in education as a principal; inspector; Regional Director (Sydney) and General Manager of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority where he led the development of Australia’s first national curriculum. He has led major reviews and reforms, presented a number of papers and keynotes at national and international conferences, had a number of articles and occasional papers published in journals, and authored three books, the most recent being, ‘The Knowing and Caring Profession’. In 2023 he undertook a major review of Climate Change Education for UNESCO.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I log this PD with my states teaching authority?

Yes! Our courses are mapped to the Australian Professional Teacher Standards (AITSL), and your completion can be logged as elective PD hours with your state's teaching regulatory authority. To do this, grab your certificate of completion from your personal dashboard once the course is complete.

How long will this take to complete?

About 30 to 45 minutes - perfect for after work or during a spare period. You will have ongoing access via your user dashboard.

Will I get proof of completion?

You will get a Cool.org certificate when you finish to prove that you have completed this course. You can access this certificate (and your course progress!) anytime via your personal dashboard.

Is this course accredited?

This course is mapped to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.

  • 2.1.2 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
  • 3.2.2 Plan, structure and sequence learning programs
  • 3.3.2 Use teaching strategies
  • 5.1.2 Assess student learning
  • 6.4.2 Apply professional learning and improve student learning
  • 7.4.2 Engage with professional teaching networks and broader communities

Who are the instructors?

This course is designed in consultation with teachers, principals, psychologists, counsellors, scientists, and all manner of experts in the education field.

Cool.org's curriculum team continually reviews and refines our resources to be in line with changes to the Australian Curriculum and best educational practice, so you can be sure your learning is at the cutting edge of education theory.

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