Sustainability
One Planet
Why this programme matters
Sustainability is part of every sector and almost every career path. At its heart, it asks one question: How do we meet human needs today while creating a world that remains healthy, resilient and liveable tomorrow?
As educators, we have a duty to prepare learners for that world. Sustainability education is increasingly built into teaching standards worldwide and championed by UNESCO, making it a professional responsibility as well as a moral one.
In order to guide and empower learners, educators themselves need to be empowered and equipped with the knowledge, skills, values and behaviours that are required for this transition.
UNESCO
How this programme works
The programme has 12 sessions and a final project. You can teach the sessions in order as a full course, or dip in and out and use any session on its own. Each one works as a stand-alone lesson.
Each session is designed to be run without prior expertise. You introduce, learners explore on ITZA, and you facilitate what comes back. Nothing here assumes you have taught the subject before.
By the end of the programme, learners will understand what keeps our planet healthy, how humans have changed it, and what can be done through Sir David Attenborough’s four imperatives. Inspired by real changemakers, they’ll finish by putting their learning into action in a final project, and see themselves as people who can make a difference.
Learning for sustainability in practice
Scotland is one of the countries leading the way. Here, Learning for Sustainability is an entitlement for every learner, across every subject and stage. This programme is designed to help you deliver it, and to help learners make sense of the challenges facing our world and the choices available to tackle them.
Don't just take our word for it...
Key Skills Learners Will Develop
Systems thinking: recognising the connections between people, places and environments- Critical thinking: evaluating competing solutions rather than assuming there is one simple answer
- Decision-making: weighing up environmental, social and economic consequences
- Futures thinking: considering what different choices might mean in 10, 20 or 50 years
- Agency: recognising that individuals, communities, businesses and governments can all influence outcomes
- Hope and possibility: understanding that environmental challenges can be tackled through innovation, restoration, adaptation and collective action
The Deep Dive
In this programme, you will explore four core themes, based on Sir David Attenborough's four imperatives for a healthier planet. For each one, you can complete an ITZA pathway built for you that teaches the content the same way your students will learn it. You'll then move into Real World, which shows where the theme touches everyday life, local communities and global events, and where it could lead in careers and further study.
Ready to move on to the next step?
View the sessionsHow the programme builds
Ten big ideas run throughout the programme. Most are introduced in the ‘foundation’ sessions, then revisited and developed as learners progress through the four imperatives.
Read across a row to follow an idea through the sessions. A dark dot marks where it is first introduced, while a light dot shows where it is revisited and taken further. If you’re teaching an individual session, the chart shows what learners may already know and where the idea will be developed next.
