Title: 'The lived experience of climate change': creating open educational resources and virtual mobility for an innovative, integrative and competence-based track at Masters level

Authors: Gordon Wilson, Dina Abbott, Joop De Kraker, Paquita Salgado Perez, Catharien Terwisscha Van Scheltinga, Patrick Willems

Addresses: Faculty of Mathematics, Computing and Technology, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK. ' Geographical, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Derby, Kedleston Road, Derby DE22 1GB, UK. ' School of Science, Open Universiteit Nederland, P.O. Box 2960, 6401 DL Heerlen, The Netherlands. ' School of Science, Open Universiteit Nederland, P.O. Box 2960, 6401 DL Heerlen, The Netherlands ' Earth System Science – Climate Change Group, Wageningen University and Research Centre, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands. ' Department of Civil Engineering – Hydraulics Section, and Leuven Sustainable Earth (LSUE) Research Center, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 40, BE-3001 Leuven, Belgium

Abstract: This paper explores a new integrative approach to climate change education at Masters level. Drawing on the authors| involvement in a European Union Erasmus project, it is argued that the diversity of knowledge(s) on climate change are a source of active/social learning. The wide variety of disciplinary, sectoral and lived experiential (both individual and collective) knowledge(s) are all considered legitimate in this exercise, the aim of which is to construct new interdisciplinary knowledge from their boundary interfaces. We further argue for a corresponding pedagogy based on developing transboundary competences – the ability to engage in social learning and action through communicative engagement across knowledge boundaries. We acknowledge that the challenges for enacting transboundary competence are considerable when it requires mobility across epistemological, even ontological, boundaries. The challenges are further compounded when the communicative engagement across space and time requires virtual mobility which is ICT-enabled. Nevertheless, meeting them is a normative goal, not only for this expanded, integrative approach to climate change education, but also for a global resolution of climate change itself.

Keywords: climate change education; interdisciplinary knowledge; lived experience; communicative engagement; transboundary competence; intervention competence; virtual mobility; open educational resources; social learning; action; ICT; e-learning; electronic learning; online learning.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTEL.2011.039396

International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning, 2011 Vol.3 No.2, pp.111 - 123

Published online: 26 Feb 2015 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article