Hernández-Barco, M.; Sánchez-Martín, J.; Blanco-Salas, J.; Ruiz-Téllez, T. Teaching Down to Earth—Service-Learning Methodology for Science Education and Sustainability at the University Level: A Practical Approach. Sustainability2020, 12, 542.
Hernández-Barco, M.; Sánchez-Martín, J.; Blanco-Salas, J.; Ruiz-Téllez, T. Teaching Down to Earth—Service-Learning Methodology for Science Education and Sustainability at the University Level: A Practical Approach. Sustainability 2020, 12, 542.
Hernández-Barco, M.; Sánchez-Martín, J.; Blanco-Salas, J.; Ruiz-Téllez, T. Teaching Down to Earth—Service-Learning Methodology for Science Education and Sustainability at the University Level: A Practical Approach. Sustainability2020, 12, 542.
Hernández-Barco, M.; Sánchez-Martín, J.; Blanco-Salas, J.; Ruiz-Téllez, T. Teaching Down to Earth—Service-Learning Methodology for Science Education and Sustainability at the University Level: A Practical Approach. Sustainability 2020, 12, 542.
Abstract
The Bologna Process and the European Higher Education area require the application of new active methodologies in the classroom that place the student at the center of his or her learning process. In the present work we analyze the application of a Service-Learning methodology in the context of a Final Degree Dissertation (FDD) in the degree in Environmental Sciences at the University of Extremadura (Spain). The project deals with an isolated Kichwa community in Ecuador and involves the development of alternative science education materials for the capacitation of in-service science teachers. This paper evaluates how an FDD carried out according to self-learning (SL) principles can help in the acquisition of so-called soft skills and how these can be focused in the promotion of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) knowledge and achievement. To this end, a qualitative study of the experience and a deep evaluation, followed by a final reflection, were carried out. According to the preliminary results, we can conclude that Higher Education should include SDGs in its teaching praxis and could do this successfully using the SL methodology.
Keywords
service-learning methodology; environmental sciences; higher education; sustainable development goals; rubric
Subject
Social Sciences, Education
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.