Transforming education through ecocentric critical thinking

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Outline

Is critical thinking in education fit for purpose?  This webinar challenges the dominant, human-centric narrative in education. It examines what it means to think critically if we adopt ecocritical, multispecies and more-than-human approaches, and explores how this might transform pedagogy and education in practice.

The webinar will start with a brief introduction to (often poorly understood) concept of critical thinking in education. We will then uncover & discuss some human-centric assumptions that underpin Western education.  

Participants will explore and discuss ecocritical, multispecies and more-than-human approaches. In the final part of the webinar we will review and discuss some practical teaching materials and tools that could be used to think 'eco'-critically in higher education.

The webinar is designed to be interactive and participatory in nature. Participants are encouraged to suggest relevant topics and questions for discussion and will have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss throughout.
 

Format & Sessions

This event, to be held at 12:30 GMT on the 13 December, will last around 90 minutes and will be hosted via Zoom.  Please register via Zoom using the button below. ANGEL Chair Doug Bourn will Chair.

Speaker

Joffy Conolly is a university teacher and doctoral researcher at the University of Oulu, Finland.  With a background as a primary school principal, he is interested in transforming critical thinking in higher education to meet the challenges of the Anthropocene era. "My research examines the human-centric assumptions within critical thinking. With students, I aim to explore what it might mean to think critically with others (human & non-human) using participatory action research to create an ecocritical sustainability course. Through this process I hope to stimulate greater discussion within society about how we can approach and think differently about global problems, particularly sustainability."

Profile link: https://www.oulu.fi/en/researchers/joffy-conolly

The ANGEL Webinar Series

This event is part of a series of online events run by the Academic Network for Global Education & Learning. The series is aimed at Global Education professionals, as well as anyone with an interest in research in the fields of Development Education, Global Citizenship Education, Human Rights Education, Education for Sustainable Development, Education for Peace, and Intercultural Education. This event, along with the other activities of the ANGEL network, is co-funded by the European Union.*

* The establishment of this network and website has been made possible with funding support from the European Commission. The activities and publications of the network are the responsibilities of the organisers, the Development Education Research Centre, and can in no way be seen as reflecting the views of the European Commission.