Leinfelder Year

Course: Children discover the animals in their environment

Zoology – ecology – ESD

Admission requirements

STEOP, at least 100 ECTS-CP

Semester: 8

Orientation

Anthropocene

Focus

Encounters with nature

Aim

Bringing pupils closer to the direct and indirect environment in the sense of global responsibility and education for sustainable development is a core task of general studies at the primary level. The focus of this course is on the consolidation of basic knowledge acquired in the subject areas of zoology, ecology, and education for sustainable development (ESD). On the basis of selected examples, different subject didactic methods of dealing with basic questions of the human–nature relationship are developed in order to stimulate transformative learning processes in pupils.

Content

• Animals of the (in)direct environment (consolidation in the areas of reproduction, growth, development; from the fertilised egg to the adult animal: metamorphosis, emergence, adaptation)
• Adaptation of wildlife to seasonal change, environmental conditions, and climate change (phenology and population genetics, hibernation strategies and migratory species, bird migration; conquest of new habitats)
• Interrelationship of living beings with each other and with their environment in the Anthropocene
• education for sustainable development (ESD) and environmental protection (UNESCO Commission; biosphere reserves, environmental projects at schools)
• Consolidation of biological and subject didactic models for cooperative forms of learning and self-directed learning at the primary level (observation and determination, experimenting and researching); demonstration experiments, project teaching, learning scenarios with a focus on the human-nature relationship; learning at primary experience sites to promote transformative learning processes
• English-language factual texts suitable for children on encounters with nature, ecological and biological contexts, and responsible behaviour towards nature