How many ways of knowing can we use to inform a lesson on the climate crisis and what action to take?

How can we educate students about the climate crisis in ways that give them the tools they need to move toward hopeful visions of the future?

A new type of climate course has emerged from our collaboration at McGill University in the fields of environmental studies, biology, geosciences and science communication, as we partner to explore this question.

The Climate Crisis and Climate Actions course is an interdisciplinary and “global” introduction to the climate crisis that emphasizes individual and collective actions.

Design a different type of course

Designing the course required reaching across disciplinary boundaries to address the multifaceted nature of the climate crisis. For more than two years, we consulted with researchers and educators on campus and beyond.

The value of a holistic approach was inspired by discussions about Indigenous knowledge and pedagogy. We received early advice and consultation on this from Kevin Deer, Faith Keeper of the Kanien’kehá:ka Ka’nahsohon of Kahnawake, and Stryker Calvez, Michif researcher and educator and Director of Reconciliation, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at the City of Saskatoon.

We wove threads of Indigenous perspectives and resources into course materials, lectures, and assignments. For example, the importance of physical, emotional, and spiritual learning, in addition to intellectual learning, which is central to Deer and Calvez’s teachings, was central to our course through the keeping of a weekly reflective journal to help students engage at these levels. Deer continued to participate in the course as a guest speaker and advisor.

Here are some of our guiding principles for the course.

1. Collaboration and multiple ways of knowing

We asked ourselves: Should we start with the science of carbon in the Earth system or with the roots of colonialism? Should we focus on Indigenous knowledge, science, or the socioeconomics of climate change? The problem or the possible solutions? What role should the empowerment of our intellect play versus our emotions? Many educators are grappling with these questions as we collectively consider how to prepare future generations for the challenges ahead.

For us, the solution was to value and welcome a diversity of disciplines, perspectives and approaches to understanding the climate crisis and taking action to combat climate change.

We had lectures from academics in a wide variety of fields, including Earth system science, political science, biology, English literature, environmental studies, education, sustainable development, and many more. The lectures also included musical performances and poetry readings.

We were visited by people working on climate solutions. Speakers shared their expertise and lived experiences related to the climate crisis, including classroom visits from Lisa Qiluqqi Koperqualuk, President of the Inuit Circumpolar Council of Canada, young Indigenous activists on the front lines, and others from around the world. We heard from a national expert on carbon emissions policy, a leader in the solar industry, a national journalist, Senator Rosa Galvez, and former NHL goaltender Ken Dryden, also a former Member of Parliament.

Weekly course materials ranged from sections of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report to Potawatomi botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer’s writings on repairing our relationship with the Earth in Greta Thunberg’s book. Book on climatebased on a film made by indigenous islanders from Greenland and the Marshall Islands.

In small workshops, led by teaching assistants, students learn from peers by analyzing topics or working together on assignments. Toward the end of the course, students collaborate to write a proposal for climate action on campus. With support from McGill’s $1 million Sustainable Projects Fund, students can apply for seed funding and eventually see their climate project come to fruition.

2. Bring your whole self

Academics are accustomed to approaching problems based solely on their formal expertise. But as researchers and educators, we are learning that if we bring all of who we are—talents, skills, passions, lived experiences, positions of power and privilege—to the table, we can accomplish much more.

It can help build a strong community, support learners experiencing anxiety, fear or grief, and better engage with multidisciplinary course materials.

It can also help teachers and students find our place in the climate crisis and better understand the possible actions that each of us can take.

After a lecture on the scientific evidence of human-caused climate change that could have left students feeling despair about the magnitude and severity of the impacts, we planned an interactive activity to move the class to a place of hopeful action.

Inspired by marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson’s Venn diagram on climate action, and using games to foster authentic relationships, students worked in small groups, supporting each other in a playful way to share strengths and brainstorm possible actions.

Each said they could take a step forward by building on one of the proposed ideas.

3. Start where you are

…and not where you think you “should” be. The climate crisis is an unprecedented, alarming, complex, and multifaceted challenge. Knowing how to talk about it can be daunting. There are multiple valid ways to approach the problem, and real obstacles surround many of the solutions people have identified. But as climate scientist Katherine Hayhoe points out, the most important step in solving the climate crisis is talking about it.

Students who join the course come from diverse disciplines and backgrounds. Each year, we begin the course by asking students to take up pen to visualize and share their personal journey of engagement with climate crises that led them to join the course as a “River of Experience.”

We ask students to represent experiences, people, events, and other influential elements in their rivers, and in doing so, we acknowledge that we all come from different places. We then create a group model to help students imagine their own learning journey during and after the course.

Powerful Hope and Community

While the course was designed for undergraduate students, these guiding principles work just as well outside of the university classroom. As instructors and climate experts, we have found powerful hope, community, and new pathways for climate action by applying them in our own lives.

We invite readers to draw inspiration from these principles and consider how they can collaborate across their differences and contribute to climate action. How has your experience of the climate crisis shaped you and where do you hope it will lead?

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.