Think about the skills that you teach in your class. It might be helpful to refer to the HLO Framework to identify these skills. You are likely teaching sustainability competencies without even knowing it. Sustainability competencies are a combination of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that improve the ability to problem-solve holistically, recognize patterns and communicate/advocate for better outcomes that can be applied to real-world, sustainability problems, challenges and opportunities.
The Sustainability Mindset is not just about understanding topics like climate change or waste management. It is also:
Sustainability is about connecting the dots. It is about seeing how things fit together in large, complex systems, and about anticipating how an action in one area will impact other areas. In other words, systems thinking is a fundamental competency to developing a sustainability mindset. When it comes down to it, systems thinking is a holistic way of investigating a topic or problem. Systems Thinking recognizes that all things work in systems, are connected to one another, and impact one another.
Watch the following short video to gain a fuller understanding of what systems thinking is, what it isn’t, and how to do it.
This ability to have anticipatory and futures thinking, to be flexible and adaptable, to have a systems approach and to take strategic action is not exclusive to a sustainable mindset, but it does support one. Other sustainability competencies that are encompassed by the HLO Framework include collaboration and strategic problem-solving—both of which are commonly integrated with systems thinking exercises, such as those you will find in this module.
You can learn more about systems thinking in the Systems Thinking Toolkit.