Interactive and situated learning in education for sustainability

Altomonte, Sergio; Logan, Brian; Feisst, Markus; Rutherford, Peter; Wilson, Robin

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the opportunities offered by interactive and situated learning (e-learning and m-learning) in support of education for sustainability in disciplines of the built environment.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper illustrates the development of an online portal and a mobile app aimed at promoting students’ motivation and engagement with sustainability in design, and discusses the outcomes of their testing, investigating users’ acceptance, comparing academic results and analysing feedback.

Findings

The findings add empirical evidence to the view that information and communication technology-enhanced pedagogies can substantially contribute to the agenda of sustainability in higher education, primarily due to their affordance of interactive communication and contextualisation of knowledge, while guaranteeing flexible time and pace of learning.

Research limitations/implications

The study solely focused on the development and testing of e-learning and m-learning tools to foster students’ competence of sustainability in design studio work. The tools trialled were mostly at their prototypical stage and their testing included a relatively short-term evaluation and a narrow, self-selected, user base. However, the approach and findings are felt to be applicable to a much wider range of educational contexts.

Originality/value

Interactive and situated pedagogical methods and tools have the potential to prompt a departure from transmissive educational models, encompassing at once theoretical, experiential and analytic learning processes. This is of value to education for sustainability in disciplines of the built environment due to the requirement to holistically consolidate multi-/inter-/trans-disciplinary knowledge into a coherent design whole.

Citation

Altomonte, S., Logan, B., Feisst, M., Rutherford, P., & Wilson, R. (2016). Interactive and situated learning in education for sustainability. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 17(3), https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-01-2015-0003

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 17, 2015
• Publication Date: Mar 29, 2016
• Deposit Date: Jul 26, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 30, 2018
• Journal: International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education
• Print ISSN: 1467-6370
• Electronic ISSN: 1467-6370
• Publisher: Emerald
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 17
• Issue: 3
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-01-2015-0003
• Keywords: Higher education, Sustainability, e-Learning, Student-centred learning, Deep learning, m-Learning
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/778825
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-01-2015-0003
• Contract Date: Jul 26, 2016