TY  - JOUR
A1  - Fiedler, Sonja T.
A1  - Heyne, Thomas
A1  - Bogner, Franz X.
T1  - Closing the gap: potentials of ESE distance teaching
JF  - Sustainability
N2  - Environmental and sustainability education (ESE) traditionally relies on green teaching environments and active participation. Thus, during the lockdown phase, a gap between curricular goals and learning outcomes appeared. This study investigates the impact of ESE distance teaching on 288 Bavarian fifth-graders and learning factors that could bridge this gap. The influence of digital preferences on learning progress is examined and compared with the influence of fascination levels. A negative correlation between spending time outside in nature and spending time inside in front of a digital device is expected. A control group completed a learning unit about biological topics such as plant identification and environmental factors, as well as ESE topics such as characteristics of sustainable agriculture, at an out-of-school ESE center. The experimental group completed the same learning unit in distance teaching. Fascination with Biology (FBio) and Digital Nativity Assessment Scale (DNAS) were applied in addition to a customized knowledge test. Both values seem to have a positive impact on learning outcomes. There were no significant differences between the control and experimental group. Surprisingly, Fascination and Digital Nativity show a low, if not negligible, relationship. Implications for digital ESE, especially between outdoor learning centers and schools, are discussed.
KW  - distance learning
KW  - sustainability teaching
KW  - digital nativity
KW  - fascination with biology
Y1  - 2022
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-281893
SN  - 2071-1050
VL  - 14
IS  - 14
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Fiedler, Sonja T.
A1  - Heyne, Thomas
A1  - Bogner, Franz X.
T1  - COVID-19 and lockdown schooling: how digital learning environments influence semantic structures and sustainability knowledge
JF  - Discover Sustainability
N2  - Promoting sustainable lifestyles through Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is part of the UN’s Agenda 2030. Earlier empirical studies proved direct interactions with and in natural environments to be effective ESD methods. Pandemic-related lockdowns rendered such courses nearly impossible, which raised concerns about achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in general. To evaluate what young learners know about the concept sustainability so far and how it can be taught effectively online, we designed an online learning module tackling sustainability issues and compared it with data from an on-site intervention module for Bavarian 5th graders (~ 10 years old). Cognitive learning as well as attitudinal preferences of 288 learners were monitored in a pretest–posttest design. The learning module comprised two sections: One about botany, plant characteristics, and plant families; the other about the advantages and disadvantages of traditional as well as sustainable farming methods. The customized cognitive test and semantic differentials for sustainability and environmental protection produced three major findings: (1) A digital learning environment successfully and significantly increased sustainability knowledge (2) Learners clearly distinguished the concepts Sustainability and Environmental Protection (3) There is no direct correlation between semantic differential scores and learning outcome.
KW  - education for sustainable development
KW  - digital learning
KW  - lockdown schooling
KW  - sustainability
KW  - semantic differential
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-261572
VL  - 2
ER  -