that it is possible to integrate Biodiversity concepts in the subjects taught in secondary schools as well as across the five years of secondary schools. Teachers’ Professional Program to Develop Awareness and Knowledge on Biodiversity The quality of teachers in teaching biodiversity in long run will contribute to produce students with skills in dealing with issues related to biodiversity in particular as well as sustainable development in general. To improve the quality of teachers, especially those related to biodiversity, teacher professional development program in the form of training should be held.The training of teachers is one of the important strategies of education for sustainable development. Teachers’ professional program that was carried out aim to clarify concepts, themes and principles associated with biodiversity and how they can be integrated in all subject areas across the curriculum. The module proposes a transformative view of education in order to align the current curriculum with education movements such as environmental education, global citizenship education, health education or development education. The transformative view promote the concept of the teacher as an “expert” or “instructor” to a learning facilitator that engages students in critical and values reflection and challenges their own learning experience. See Figure 1 below: From Passing on knowledge Teaching attitudes and values Seeing people as the problem Sending messages Behaving as expert - formal & authoritarian Raising awareness and Changing behaviour To Understanding and getting to the root of issues Encouraging values clarification Seeing people as facilitators of change Dialogue, negotiation and action Fig.1 Educational shifts proposed by sustainability education Changing the mental models which influence decisions & actions More focus on structural and institutional change Source: Tilbury (2011) Sustainability education is not just about teaching knowledge on sustainable development issues, such as biodiversity, but also helping the student to develop skills to respond to complex social, environmental, and economic complexities related to biodiversity that affect the quality of life on this planet. The focus is on the pedagogy and methodologies that should be used in the classroom. Therefore, the teachers’ professional program which has been planned provides key pedagogical principles that can be used in teaching and learning processes. The keys are as below: • Futures thinking • Critical reflective thinking • Learning to act and change • Systemic and integrative thinking • Participation and participatory learning 170 Proceedings of the International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Policy and Practice 27-29 June 2016, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand
Proceedings of International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the Sustainable Development Goals : Policy and Practice 27-29 June 2016 at the Sirindhorn International Environmental Park, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand
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