Mission: To foster a culture of eco-sustainability in UAE schools.
Who: Emirates Wildlife Society, in association with the World Wildlife Fund (EWS-WWF).
What: A three-day Green Teacher Diploma workshop from October 8-10 for five teachers who were shortlisted from 60 Eco schools across the UAE.
Why: This programme is part of EWS-WWF efforts to inculcate good eco-conservation principles into all UAE schools.
Part of an 8-month long programme offered in a blended mode - part of it face-to-face and partly through distance learning, the current programme is a pilot and this batch of Green Teachers will continue to be a part of the Green Teacher UAE network, torch bearers for a number of activities of this programme in the future. During the workshop, these teachers were trained in all manners of eco-conservation and sustainability by trainers from the Centre of Environment Education (CEE), India, so that they could create a culture of sustainability at their respective schools.
What are Eco schools?
Eco-Schools is an international award programme that guides schools on a journey of sustainability. Created by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), Eco school is operated by EWS-WWF in the UAE. It is recognised by the United Nations Environment Programme as a model initiative on education for sustainable development and implemented by more than 50 FEE representatives in countries worldwide, providing opportunities for like-minded schools to collaborate with each other internationally
Ajita Nayar, the Education Manager at EWS-WWF was very upbeat about the Green Teacher Diploma: “The three-day introductory session with the five Eco-Schools coordinators selected for the Green Teacher Diploma programme has set the ball rolling for an exciting journey within the Eco-Schools these teachers belong to. Equipped with the necessary tools and skills, and support, we believe these teachers will be able to guide their students through more meaningful experiences as they progress through the Eco-Schools programme.
“In the years to come, we hope that teachers empowered with these skills and tools are able to guide and lead their colleagues in a way that the Eco-Schools programme is no longer seen by schools as an independent environmental programme, but rather a regular process within the DNA of every school in the UAE.”
What the trainers felt about teaching the UAE teachers:
Shivani Jain, programme director and Carol D’souza, programme officer, from the Centre of Environment Education (CEE) India, spearheaded the training.
Jain emphasised the need of such training for teachers.
“We truly believe that the Eco-Schools Green Teacher Programme is an effort to work with a small team of dedicated and passionate teachers of the UAE. The programme is built on the premise that teachers genuinely want to bring about a change in the way classrooms and schools operate today. For any school programme, it is the teacher who constitutes the ‘point of action’ and also acts as the ‘change agent’. Strengthening teachers’ capacity and ingenuity in leading such school-level initiatives thus becomes a crucial need. It is this need that the Green Teacher Programme of CEE India hopes to meet, in partnership with the EWS-WWF and the Ministry of Education, UAE.
“The Eco Schools Programme provides the opportunity to schools and teachers to engage children innovatively and also provide them with a larger canvas to experiment and address pertinent problems in their immediate environment. Teachers are the key drivers of such a learning process. They need to be guided in how to design such interventions in a child-centred manner, which would eventually produce young thinking citizens and leaders who would help the national, UAE, take lead in solving national and global sustainable issues.
Carole D’souza seconded the significance of the Green Teacher Diploma Progamme.
“The Eco-Schools Green Teacher-Programme addresses the rapidly growing need for continuing education and professional development in the field of education for sustainability and is geared to build capacity of teachers and educators. The Programme offers in-service teachers an opportunity to empower themselves with the requisite knowledge and skills for effective transaction of concepts in environment and development in the classroom situation within the school set up.”
The structure
The three-day training programme focused on enhancing the quality of education; which included making schools focus on ‘learning’ rather than ‘education’ only. The Programme also discussed revolutionary but practical ways in which teachers can convert several opportunities of school competitions and awards, into great learning platforms and opportunities for the students, encouraging them to become responsible global citizens
A set of two modules comprise the Programme Learning Material.
Module 1: Education for Sustainability addresses some of the relevant issues such as energy, water, waste. Providing the UAE context for each of these themes, this Module also contains practical teaching-learning ideas for UAE classrooms.
Module 2: Working with Children, provides a brief overview of how children learn, where do we as adults, make very common errors in working with children and how can opportunities like the Micro-Project of the Eco Schools Programme, help teachers facilitate quality learning processes for their students.
UAE teachers who attended the workshop:
1) Jabeen Sulthana, English and Social Studies teacher, The Central School Dubai
2. Momina Ahmad, Coordinator- Educational Activities, Environmental Club, Community Service, Al Ittihad Private School, Mamzar, Dubai.
3. Anjum Hassan, Environment Coordinator The Delhi Private School, Sharjah.
4. Bushra Esmaeil Al Yammahi, Mathematics teacher, Umm Al Moumneen Secondary school for girls, Fujairah.
5) Mary Catherine Rebello, Coordinator, Eco Club, Our Own English High School, Girls, Sharjah.
How difficult was it for you to get a place in this workshop and what special efforts did you have to put in?
JS: It was very competitive since there are 60 Eco-schools (in the UAE) and only 5 teachers were selected. We have been working on the Eco-Schools programme for two years now. No doubt we have put in our sincere efforts to run the programme in our schools. We trust the programmme as it gives the satisfaction of serving the environment and join hands to fight environmental issues.
MA: It was extremely challenging to get a place in this workshop and to be nominated as one of the 5 Best Teachers of the Eco Schools in UAE (which helped build on our achievements such as being recognised as taking on green initiatives, participating in several eco challenges held by external agencies and being awarded the Best Conservation Team award by DEWA).
AH:. To be selected from among the 60 Eco-Schools was a great honour and a true recognition of the efforts my colleagues, students, and I have put in at our school to raise environmental awareness and sustainability practices.
BE: I am experienced in the field of environmental education and encouraged by our school management, so it was a happy moment to be included.
MR: What helped me was my evolution from being an Eco Club representative in the initial years to heading the team at my school as the Eco Club Coordinator from 2009 to date.
Why was it important to get into this course? How close are eco issues to your heart?
JS: Though we are teachers, I believe that we are always learners. It is important to know what is going on around us. Are we on right track? Can we do our programme in a different way? Any new methodologies that will make us work better? In order to find answers to all these questions and run our programme in an effective way, it was important for me to get into this course.
MA: Raising Environmental awareness among the students and to sensitise them towards burning environmental and global issues concerning our day-to-day life is one of the biggest and difficult challenges that we as facilitators face in today’s world. This programme has played a vital role in streamlining or channelising the whole process within the framework defined by Eco Schools Programme. It has provided a clear insight of the seven steps of the Eco-Schools process.
AH: I believe that the Green Teacher Diploma will take me one step closer to my goal of becoming an effective communicator as well practitioner of sustainability. By linking the curriculum to everyday life, this course helps us work towards a fun and action-oriented learning while engaging with our students, instead of relying on text-books or a theory-driven approach. Eco-issues have always been close to my heart. While devising activities to spread environmental awareness among students, I have tried to ensure that ‘life-long learning’ is an integral part of the activity. Environmental education is a vital tool. As a teacher and a parent, I believe that I have a role to play in making our youngsters understand these challenges and develop their capability to take the right action.
BE: Since childhood, I was interested in wildlife and environment. So this was a great opportunity for me to improve myself and the people I interact with everyday, that is my students, colleagues, family and friends.
MR: It was important for me as a leader to guide my team not just to achieve greater heights but to put it in a nutshell to inculcate innovative initiatives thereby instilling environmental education in students. The knowledge acquired, the information imparted, the ideas gathered from this course will further rejuvenate students as well as the staff representatives to add on to the current initiatives of the Eco Club.
What did you learn during the training?
JS: I have learned that although we are already doing many things, we need to streamline them towards a common goal. I learned how to integrate my eco schools programme to the curriculum and make it interesting for students. I also learned that the programme needs no extra time but it can be blended with the existing curriculum without disturbing it. I learned that we need to analyse the work that we have done and have a goal for our work. Through the program, I learned to design our environmental calendar and also how to do the energy audit effectively.
MA: The workshop provided the teachers an opportunity to empower themselves with the requisite knowledge and skills for effective transaction of concepts in environment and their integration into various subjects showcasing co- curricular linkage. For example, the significance of water - and it’s uneven percentage distribution on earth - was very well demonstrated by the presenters using beakers and jars. This provided a clear understanding of the necessity to conserve it
AH: Planning, Organising, Presenting and Justifying – this was a key learning. Learning by Doing - the Pedagogy of Life, was beautifully presented by the speakers. Life Cycle Analysis, where the journey of an ‘Orange’ and ‘Tomato’ from the soil to supermarkets to our plates was analysed, was truly an eye-opener. It helped me understand the environmental impact of the food we eat – in this case 3.2 per cent of UAE’s carbon emissions –something that never crossed my mind till I attended this workshop.
BE: : I have learned a lot of things like how to simplify information to my pupils. I’ve also learned how to engage them in many useful experiences and games to convince them of issues related to our environment.
MC: The Eco-Schools Green Teacher Programme facilitates Sustainability in Education. The training has elevated me as an animator to facilitate sustainable development, to link the curriculum with green learning, the focus of the CBSE, New Delhi, India, which the school has been incorporating in the teaching and learning.
The Course spells out initiatives like implementing the environmental review, reaching out to the wider community, which has already been in practice at the Club; to introspect the ups and downs, realistic targets set/achieved, what would one look for in the long run. I was inspired by the team initiatives, team effort, above all, the syllabus – linking to green values, a healthy debate on this issue, the difference between the educational aspect and learning aspect.
How will this help you spread the message of sustainability among your students and colleagues?
JS: This training will not only help in spreading the message of sustainability but also help us to work in a systematic way.
MA: Since the Eco Schools Programme empowers the students and instils leadership skills, the Green Teacher Diploma has helped enhance our understanding of the different methodologies that can be adopted in environmental education. Thus students will be encouraged to form eco-committees, conduct internal audits, make action plans, ensure effective implementation of their plans and eventually master the art of organizing small scale projects on issues of environment and sustainability in their schools. Thus, it ensures whole school participation to integrate environment and sustainability education within the process of teaching-learning in their school.
AH: Relating day-to-day activities to environmental impact and sustainability was a valuable learning in itself. I hope to adapt this to all the environmental awareness programmes and activities in our school as students learn faster by relating to real-life situations. Good Education does not need policies… iIt requires a change in attitude, a vision.
MC: A workshop will be conducted in the school on similar lines, the focus being greening our teaching and students learning incorporating the themes, ideas, knowledge, understanding, and the games introduced so as to make the session interesting rather than monotonous. The Eco Club will introduce innovative initiatives - a platform to showcase student’s inherent potential and capacity.
