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The Role of Teamwork in the Creation of Open Educational Resources for Closing SDG-Related Knowledge Gaps Cover

The Role of Teamwork in the Creation of Open Educational Resources for Closing SDG-Related Knowledge Gaps

Open Praxis
Volume 14 (2022): Issue 2
By:  and    
Open Access
|Dec 2022
Figures & tables

Figures & Tables

Table 1

SDG7 interactions with SDG3, SDG8 and SDG13 and the key knowledge gaps (as identified and adapted from the broader ICSU list of SDG7 interactions, 2017, 167–169.

SDG7 INTERACTS I. A. WITH THE FOLLOWING SDGSIDENTIFIED KEY KNOWLEDGE GAPS OF SDG7 WITH THREE OTHER SDGS
SDG3 – Good health and well-being

  • – Distributional impacts of air quality co-benefits of renewables and energy efficiency (for different socio-economic groups in different parts of cities/regions)

  • – Impacts of ‘active travel’ (walking and cycling) on health and well-being; research focusing on observational/empirical studies

SDG8 – Decent work and economic growth

  • – Net employment and competitiveness impact of the energy system transformation on local, regional and national economies, particularly over near-term

  • – Distributional effects of the energy system transformation, within and across countries (who benefits more vs. less)

  • – Welfare metric that goes beyond the strictly economic formulation of GDP

  • – Energy-related curricula’s contribution to science literacy and promotion of better employment and competitiveness

  • – Minimisation of adverse side-effects on those who may lose from the energy system transformation

  • – The role of social innovation in decoupling of energy consumption from economic growth

SDG13 – Climate action

  • – The role of human behaviour in the adoption of energy-efficient, low carbon technologies/consumption patterns

  • – How policies influence consumer preferences toward choices that are beneficial for both individuals and the wider society

  • – How to increase awareness and capacity about solutions to climate change

  • – Potential for the democratisation of the low-carbon energy system (incl. decentralisation, energy cooperatives and other forms of energy initiatives)

Table 2

Key competencies for sustainability (UNESCO, 2017, p. 10).

A KEY COMPETENCY FOR SUSTAINABILITYTHIS COMPETENCY COMPRISES THE ABILITIES TO:
1. Systems thinkingrecognize and understand relationships, analyse complex systems and think of how they are embedded within different domains
2. Anticipatory competencyunderstand and evaluate multiple futures (possible, probable, and desirable) and create one’s own visions for the future
3. Normative competencyunderstand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions and negotiate sustainability values
4. Strategic competencycollectively develop and implement innovative actions that further sustainability
5. Collaborationlearn from others, understand and respect the needs, perspectives and actions of others (empathy); facilitate collaborative and participatory problem solving
6. Critical thinkingquestion norms, practices and opinions and reflect on one’s own values, perceptions and actions
7. Self-awarenessreflect on one’s own role in society and continually evaluate and further motivate one’s actions
8. Integrated problem-solvingapply different problem-solving frameworks to complex sustainability problems and develop viable, inclusive and equitable solutions
Figure 1

Six general benefits of OER (Bliss, Tonks & Patrick, 2013).

Figure 2

Three key benefits of OER, selected from general benefits of OER (Figure 1), which are of central importance from the perspective of key competencies for education for sustainability.

Table 3

Description of the key benefits of OER, relevant for the education for sustainability competencies and terminologically partly adapted from Bliss, Tonks and Patrick (2013).

BENEFIT OF OERBRIEF DESCRIPTION
Collaboration and partnershipsOER can create powerful partnering learning opportunities by enabling stakeholders to see, develop, share, and reuse quality OER to meet the learners’ unique requirements and needs.
Knowledge sharingOER enables knowledge sharing for the benefit of all learners and educators by widening access to high-quality resources; they help bridge the gap between formal and informal learning by widening access to quality material outside the classroom and promoting lifelong learning.
Communications and community engagementOER serve as a model for engaging learners in activities such as development and review and highlight the opportunities through open content.
Table 4

OE4BW’s hub activities and their connection to the key competencies for education for sustainability and the benefits of OER.

OE4BW’S SDG7 HUB & ENERGY, BIODIVERSITY AND SUSTAINABLE LIVING HUB TEAMWORK ACTIVITIESRELATION TO THE KEY COMPETENCIES FOR EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABILITY (UNESCO, 2017)RELATION TO THE OER BENEFITS (BLISS, 2013)
Introductory hub meeting: Joint presentation of the SDG7 and related SDGs, their targets and interactionsSystems thinking competency, strategic competency, integrated problem-solving competencyKnowledge sharing
Regular hub meetings: The motivation of developers to define and present their OER projects from the SDG-interactions perspective, as well as to discuss potential connections to other OER projects in the hubStrategic competency, critical thinking competency, self-awareness competencyCollaboration and partnerships
Presentation of implemented OER at the OE4BW final event and teamwork promotion: Presentation of OER projects in a topically oriented final event and upload of OER materials into the joint iEnergy Open Library; promotion of the hub’s teamwork (events, workshops etc.)Collaboration competency, self-awareness competency, integrated problem-solving competencyCommunications and community engagement
Figure 3

Existing procedure on the general OE4BW level (implemented by the OE4BW organising team).

Figure 4

Existing procedure on the topical hub level (implemented by the topical hub coordinators).

Table 5

OE4BW program’s OER projects, involved in the SDG7 Hub (the year 2019/20) and the Energy, Biodiversity and Sustainable Living Hub (the year 2020/21), and their connections to the SDGs.

PROJECT TITLEDEVELOPERCOUNTRYCONNECTION(S) TO THE SDG(S)
2020 OE4BW projects (SDG7 Hub)
History of transportSatwant BalseIndiaSDG7, SDG9, SDG13
Understanding sustainable energyBasil DmelloIndiaSDG7, SDG13
Meet the World of energyMelita Lenošek KavcicSloveniaSDG7, SDG11, SDG13
Inquiry and concept-based pedagogy in education for sustainable developmentSumit NairSwedenSDG4, SDG7, SDG13
Climate change educationPradnya WakpainjanIndiaSDG13, SDG11, SDG7
iEnergy Open LibraryMojca DrevensekSloveniaSDG7, SDG4, SDG11, SDG13
2021 OE4BW projects (Energy, Biodiversity and Sustainable Living Hub)
Towards clean energySatwant BalseIndiaSDG3, SDG7, SDG8, SDG9, SDG11, SDG12 and SDG14
NEWCOMERS project: OER for new clean energy communitiesMojca DrevensekSloveniaSDG7, SDG11, SDG13
Make a dream to stay greenDibyayoti BhattacharyjaIndiaSDG15
URBiNAT: Healthy corridors as drivers of social housing neighbourhoodsSaša DobricicSloveniaSDG11
GIS and spatial analysis for biodiversity conservationLucy TallentsUKSDG15
Plant Tissue CultureDidwana VinodkumarIndiaSDG8
Basics of Angiosperm TaxonomyHensal RodrigesIndiaSDG15
Inclusive Growth & Sustainable LivingSingh RohitIndiaSDG8
Energy @ WikipediaIva TajnšekSloveniaSDG7, SDG4

[i] Note: Please note that these connections were defined in hub meetings during the development of OER and are subject to change in the project’s finalisation phase or its future development.

Figure 5

OE4BW projects, developed in the SDG7 Hub (the year 2019/20) and the Energy, Biodiversity and Sustainable Living Hub (the year 2020/21), and their connections to one or more SDGs.

Figure 6

The front page of the iEnergy Open Library.

Figure 7

Suggested modified procedure on the general OE4BW level (implemented by the OE4BW organising team).

Figure 8

Suggested modified procedure on the topical hub level (implemented by the topical hub coordinators).

Table 6

An exemplary list of ten possible topics, derived from the knowledge gaps, as identified in interaction of the SDG7 with three other SDGs.

  • – Energy and air quality: the role of low-carbon energy sources and energy efficiency

  • – Energy and mobility: the positive impacts of walking and cycling

  • – Energy and economy: how does the energy system impact employment and competitiveness (locally, regionally, nationally)?

  • – Energy and justice: who benefits (and how) from possible energy transitions?

  • – Energy and well-being: How can well-being be measured beyond GDP and what is the role of energy in this?

  • – Energy literacy and science literacy: how do they impact better employment and competitiveness?

  • – Decoupling energy consumption from economic growth: the role of social innovation

  • – Low-carbon technologies for a low-carbon energy future: the role of human behaviour in their adoption

  • – Energy and climate change: how to increase awareness and capacity about possible solutions?

  • – Democratisation of the low-carbon energy system: what options are out there?

DOI: https://doi.org/10.55982/openpraxis.14.2.266 | Journal eISSN: 2304-070X
Journal RSS Feed
Language: English
Page range: 148 - 161
Submitted on: Oct 12, 2021
Accepted on: Feb 12, 2022
Published on: Dec 9, 2022
Published by: International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE)
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Keywords:
Open Educational Resources (OER),
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
Education for Sustainability,
Teamwork,
SDG7 – Affordable and clean energy,
SDG13 – Climate action,
Collaboration,
International Mentoring

© 2022 Mojca Drevensek, Tanja Urbancic, published by International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE)
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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