An interdisciplinary, student-active course on UN Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life below water

Abstract

Educating student to respond to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) calls for teaching and learning where students are at the centre of their own learning. Sustainability questions are ‘wicked problems’, where no single, correct answer exists, but the answers depend on the values of those who answer, and require innovative pedagogy and active, action-oriented learning allowing the learners to think critically and engage in exploring sustainable futures. Sustainable Development Goals 14, Life Below water, aims at “conserving and sustainably using the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”. Along with the 16 other SDGs, it provides an excellent focus area for teaching and learning. The course SDG214 at the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Bergen is a 10 ECTS open interdisciplinary course where the students work in teams, and the portfolio assessment includes essays, presentations, a debate, a poster and a paper, but no exam. The assessment is formative and the students get feedback on their individual and group assignments and are allowed to resubmit. The course culminates in a poster session organised together with three other courses. The student feedback suggests that course functions well for education for sustainable development.