Teacher training programs show how sustainability mindsets shift through design thinking
A study of 18 student teachers found that combining design thinking with reflective practice measurably changed how future educators approach sustainability in the classroom. The finding suggests that reshaping teacher preparation programs could accelerate adoption of sustainability practices across schools—a priority for education policymakers and institutions seeking competitive advantage.
Originaltitel: Advancing Sustainability through Higher Education: Student Teachers Integrate Inner Development Goals (IDG) and Future-Oriented Methodologies
<p>Methodologies for future-oriented research are mutually beneficial in highlighting differentmethodological perspectives and proposals for extending higher-education didactics toward sustainability.This study explores how different augmented-reality applications can enable new ways ofteaching and learning. It systematically investigates how student teachers (n = 18) in higher educationexperienced ongoing realities while designing learning activities for a hybrid conference and interconnectingsustainability knowings via didactic modeling and design thinking. This qualitative studyaims to develop a conceptual hybrid framework concerning the implications of student teachersincorporating design thinking and inner transition into their professional work with future-orientedmethodologies on didactic modeling for sustainability commitment. With a qualitative approach,data were collected during and after a hackathon-like workshop through student teachers’ reflections,post-workshop surveys, and observation field notes. The thematic analysis shed light on transgressivelearning and a transition in sustainability mindset through the activation of inner dimensions.Findings reinforcing sustainability commitment evolved around the following categories: beingauthentic (intra-personal competence), collaborating co-creatively (interpersonal competence), thinkinglong-term-oriented (futures-thinking competence on implementing didactics understanding),relating to creative confidence (values-thinking competence as embodied engagement), and actingbased on perseverant professional knowledge-driven change (bridging didactics) by connectingtheory-loaded empiricism and empirically loaded theory. The results highlight some of the keyfeatures of future-oriented methodologies and approaches to future-oriented methodologies, whichinclude collaboration, boundary crossing, and exploration, and show the conditions that can supportor hinder methodological development and innovation.</p>