ESD snack
ESD snack
What is the ESD snack?
The ESD snack is an event format for dialogue on the topic of ESD as well as alternative concepts such as global learning or environmental education. It lasts approx. 60 minutes and the first half is usually a short input, which is discussed in the second half.
The ESD snack is an initiative of the ESD working group.
The event is informal and serves as an opportunity to exchange ideas and get to know each other.
The ESD snack takes place digitally on various dates from 12:30-13:30 in the room meeting.uol.de/b/ver-6w9-u1b-2gy.
All interested parties are cordially invited!
Events in winter semester 2025/2026
Tue, 21 Oct 2025 | Sustainability you can touch: How Lego brings the SDGs to life
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), which builds on them, provide a solid foundation for lecturers to design lesson plans that explore the importance of sustainability. As global sustainability processes are often difficult for pupils to grasp, I have developed a concept that uses Lego to facilitate a vivid exploration of the subject. Specifically, the aim is to recreate various stages of the iPhone production chain using Lego, in order to examine the extent to which the SDGs are being breached in these processes – for example, through environmental destruction, exploitation or social inequalities. In doing so, pupils not only engage with the global implications of economic decisions but also learn to evaluate them critically. The aim of the teaching concept is to convey the SDGs in a tangible way whilst simultaneously fostering pupils’ critical thinking skills.
Cedrik Speckmann & Prof. Dr Corinna Hößle (Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences)
Thu, 30 Oct 2025 | Transformative ESD in the context of water: the Aqua Citizens project
Aqua Citizens is a DBU-funded project on transformative ESD, involving collaboration between the Regional Environmental Education Centre (RUZ) Oldenburg, the Oldenburg-East Frisian Water Association (OOWV) and the Department of Physics Education at the University of Oldenburg. The project is based on the premise that water, as both the basis of life and a threat, is linked to key challenges for the future. Aqua Citizens is a citizen science project enriched by mobile school laboratory programmes. Young people collect water data in their local areas and analyse it together. They also survey local residents about their use of water. They take a participatory approach to deciding which aspects to investigate and which areas requiring change to prioritise. They develop their own proposals for change, thereby engaging citizens and political decision-makers. The project aims to involve, in particular, non-grammar schools, young people in rural areas and girls. The poster reports on the survey of young people. In a problem-centred interview (Witzel 2000), they are asked about their knowledge and ideas for solutions regarding extreme weather events, floods and droughts. Furthermore, the study assesses how relevant they consider findings from citizen science to be for science and society, and how they believe their proposals for change can be heard. The interviews are analysed using a category-based approach (Kuckartz 2022).
Prof. Dr Michael Komorek, Dr Kai Bliesmer and Tjorben Meyer (Institute of Physics)
Tue, 02 Dec 2025 | ESD in all-day schools: co-operations and learning spaces for sustainability
All-day schools offer particular opportunities for implementing Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). They have more time and space, meaning that action-oriented forms of learning – such as school gardens, upcycling workshops, sustainable cooking or field trips – can take place not just on an ad hoc basis, but on an ongoing basis. The extended timetable also allows for a close link between lessons and extracurricular activities. Sustainability topics such as Fairtrade, climate protection or healthy eating can therefore be explored in greater depth through projects and in extracurricular clubs. As places where pupils spend their days, all-day schools are also ideal for bringing sustainability to life in a practical way, whether in the canteen through a sustainable catering scheme or, for example, through waste prevention projects. Finally, through their openness to the wider community, all-day schools offer the best conditions for co-operation with local partners, environmental organisations, businesses and even the local council. This creates networks that embed sustainable learning and action in the long term. These and other considerations will be presented during the ESD Snack. This will be followed by a joint discussion on the extent to which all-day schools and ESD are compatible in terms of structure and content, and what questions this raises for practice and future (joint) research.
Dr Stephan Kielbrock (Institute of Educational Sciences)
Thu, 15 Jan 2026 | Inclusive ESD: The farm as a learning space for all
Pupils with disabilities on the farm? There is great interest, both from teachers and the pupils themselves! Many farmers report frequent enquiries from inclusive classes or special schools. Within the framework of Education for Sustainable Development, inclusion also takes on a particularly strong and prominent significance. This ESD Snack will present key resources and principles for inclusive design within the context of the farm as a learning environment, as well as specific networks in the region. This will enable the opportunities offered by direct engagement with agriculture to be fully utilised.
Prof. Dr Clemens Hillenbrand (Institute of Special Needs Education and Rehabilitation) & Prof. Dr Ines Oldenburg (Institute of Educational Sciences)
Events in the WS 2023/2024
Wed, 22.11.2023 I The plastic dilemma - as a simulation game
This short article presents, among other things, a simulation game with learning sequences on the topic of "Plastic in the sea" for science lessons at secondary levels I and II.
Plastic is an important part of everyday life. Plastic is both a blessing and a curse. A simulation game teaches pupils in science lessons about the topic of plastic through exploratory experiments and helps them to find solutions to reduce plastic in everyday life. The simulation game promotes ethical application skills and enables participation in social discourse.
Prof. Dr Corinna Hößle, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Biology Didactics Group, University of Oldenburg
Wed, 13.12.2023 I From "sitting and talking" to action: Action orientation from the perspective of political sustainability education
Annegret Jansen, Institute of Educational Sciences, University of Oldenburg
Wed, 10.01.2023 I Date postponed to summer semester 2024
Negotiation processes between practice and ideal - creating a collection of materials for primary schools on the topic of sustainability
In this short contribution, I would like to give an insight into the process of creating a folder of materials on sustainability in the classroom. How should or can ESD be brought into schools via textbook publishers? Which subjects and subject areas should be covered? What trade-offs were made between the various players in the conceptualisation and production process? The material emerged from my work as a freelance author for educational materials, while at the same time I became a junior researcher. The process gradually became part of my autoethnographic research. On the one hand, I would like to present the material and encourage people to try it out and develop it further, but on the other hand I would also like to provide insights into a complex but pragmatic negotiation process.
Svenja Jessen, Institute of Material Culture, University of Oldenburg
Wed, 31 Jan 2024 I Climate physics meets education for sustainable development (ESD)
The climate crisis is a prototype of what is known as a wicked problem, both scientifically and socially. Characterised by manifold complexities, dealing with man-made climate change is also challenging in an educational context. Learners bring with them a wealth of prior knowledge, but often also misconceptions; terms such as sustainability have already been eroded in some cases and the media discourse is heated, particularly in the context of the search for solutions to climate protection.
In this ESD snack, the advisor will provide an insight into the module "Climate Physics meets Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)", which is designed and implemented at the Heidelberg School of Education (HSE) in co-operation with the Institute of Environmental Physics and the Institute of Geography at Heidelberg University for student teachers of STEM subjects.
Dr Nicole Aeschbach, Heidelberg School of Education, Heidelberg University and Heidelberg University of Education
Events in the SS 2023
Mon, 8 May 2023 | A biology seminar with interdisciplinary ESD development potential: The Campus Garden – a multi-perspective learning and working environment.
Education for Sustainable Development realises its potential when subject boundaries are crossed – this is also a requirement in schools. Within teacher training, however, this happens only very rarely, resulting in a lack of practical ideas for cross-curricular projects and corresponding lessons. An attempt to develop such ideas and translate them into teacher training practice could be the pb module ‘CampusGarten’ – a multi-perspective learning and working environment – which will be presented at this event.
Dr Birgit Weusmann, Biology Didactics Working Group, University of Oldenburg
Mon, 22 May 2023 | FREI DAY – What is it? Presentation of a learning format that provides scope for the structural integration of ESD in schools.
FREI DAY is an open ESD project-based learning format comprising at least four hours on one day a week, during which pupils work in teams to develop and implement project ideas. They work across year groups without time constraints on their questions about the future and take responsibility for themselves, others and the planet. Teachers become learning facilitators and schools open up to the educational landscape in line with the Whole School Approach.
Laura Blum, Initiative Schule im Aufbruch
Wed, 31 May 2023 | Too much of a good thing? Proclamations and realities of education in the context of sustainability and transformation
Education for sustainable development has been met with sharp criticism since its inception in the 1990s. Exploring the question of what sparks this criticism, the lecture puts forward the thesis that it is not shortcomings or deficits, but rather an excess of a good thing that forms the basis for the criticisable nature of education for sustainable development. Consequently, I argue for a twofold shift in the practice of education and upbringing within the context of societal transformation efforts.
Dr Steffen Hamborg, Institute of Educational Sciences, University of Oldenburg
Mon, 12 June 2023 / ESD in the teaching of mathematics
What form can ESD take in mathematics lessons? ESD is to be implemented in schools (Lower Saxony School Act, ESD Decree); moreover, mathematics is a key tool for sustainability research. Nevertheless, ESD has so far received little attention in German mathematics lessons and in research on mathematics education. This session aims to provide concrete insights into how ESD can be implemented in mathematics lessons and in teacher training for mathematics and elementary mathematics, and what the key challenges are in doing so.
Dr Birte Specht, Institute of Mathematics, University of Oldenburg
Mon, 19 June 2023 I Two weeks, one journey and a host of inspiring school visits – the learning journey of the AG Kreidestaub Oldenburg
Schools without subject boundaries, learning in offices, cross-curricular projects, free and interest-based learning, following the Montessori or Dalton methods, research-oriented teachers at university schools, learning according to a completely individual timetable – the learning journeys organised by the Oldenburg branch have seen and experienced all this and much more in recent years. The seminar is run by students for students. There is no hierarchy. The selection of schools we visit on the two-week trip is made by the group and decided upon by democratic vote. The overarching question is: “What makes a good school?”.
The learning trip can be taken as part of module pb406 and counts towards a Bachelor’s degree with 6 ECTS credits.
We’d like to share our experiences of how enriching the exchange and the trip have been.
Carla Kleinschmidt and Dorothea Ferrari
https://www.kreidestaub.net/
Mon, 26 June 2023 I “We teach children, not individual subjects” – ESD at IGS Oyten
A teacher and a pupil from OGS Oyten discuss the learning approach at IGS Oyten.
To prepare for the ESD session, please feel free to watch the video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZC_38huOSw
Further links to the school and the ESD concept can be found here
igs-oyten.de
https://igs-oyten.de/index.php/ueber-uns/nachhaltigkeit-bne
Anja Keiten (teacher) and Merlin Hankel (class of Year 11), both from IGS Oyten
Please note: the event on 3 July 2023 has unfortunately been cancelled and will be rescheduled for the winter term
Mon, 3 July 2023 I From ‘sitting and talking’ to action: an action-oriented approach from the perspective of political sustainability education
Annegret Jansen, Institute of Educational Sciences, University of Oldenburg
Mon, 10 July 2023 I ‘Career guidance and sustainability – areas of action and research questions’
Markus Allbauer-Jürgensen and Prof. Dr Rudolf Schröder, Institute for Economics Education, University of Oldenburg
Events in the WS 2022/2023
Mon, 21 Nov 2022 | Promoting environmental skills in learners, examples from teaching practice
(Dr Michaela Maurer, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Biology Didactics)
Mon, 05 Dec 2022 | The attitude-behaviour gap in sustainable consumption - and its implications for ESD
(Markus Allbauer-Jürgensen, Institute for Economics Education)
Mon, 12.12.2022 | ESD operationalised didactically - how do you get to the concrete?
(Dr Kai Bliesmer, Prof Dr Michael Komorek, both Institute of Physics, Physics Didactics)
Mon, 19.12.2022 | ESD in youth centres - offers of the mobile school laboratory phymobil_OL
(Jana-Dorothea Schmitz, Fk V, Institute of Physics, Physics Education)
Mon, 16.01.2023 I Agriculture goes to school
(Prof. Dr Ines Oldenburg, Institute of Educational Sciences, Didactics of Science)
Mon, 23 Jan. 2023 I ESD - how has the ESD decree affected lessons/schools?"
(Dirk Wolf, ESD consultant, Regional State Office for Schools and Education Osnabrück)
Mon, 30 Jan 2023 I How are other universities in Lower Saxony introducing ESD into teacher training? - Report from the network meeting "ESD in teacher training" in Hildesheim on 20.01.2023 by participants from the University of Oldenburg
Svenja Jessen (Institute of Material Culture) and Dr Verena Niesel (DiZ office)
Events in the SS 2022
22/04/2022 | Decomposition? Textiles and plastic in mini compost
Speaker(s)
Dr Michaela Maurer, Didactics of Biology
Svenja Jessen, Institute of Material Culture
Description
Experiments with students from the perspective of biology didactics and textile teaching
06.05.2022 | Tying in with ESD with current DaF/DaZ textbooks!
Speaker(s)
Dr Zuzana Münch-Manková, Institute for German Studies
Description
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a multidimensional educational concept that has also been adopted in foreign and second language didactics. Following on from the tradition of environmental education and global learning, many of the social topics can be identified in the GFL/second language textbooks, although they rarely go beyond the pure concept of the environment. As a rule, climate and environmental protection are the main topics addressed from B1 language level onwards, with the social dimension receiving less attention. For teachers, it remains unclear how and which topics are included in the GFL/LFL textbooks and how these can be discussed from an ESD perspective. This article will therefore first provide an overview of which topics are emphasised at which level, which language didactic goals are used to achieve this and which ESD goals they can be assigned to. In order to illustrate the interconnectedness of the ESD goals, the next step is to take a closer look at the thematic anchoring of Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions in current textbooks. This can illustrate the complexity of the concept of sustainability: No positive peace without sustainable development, no development without peace. The impact of such textbooks should not be underestimated, as they are not only used in Germany, but everywhere in the world where German is learnt. This also conveys a specific view of this topic. The perspectives, mediation and presentation possibilities in the GFL/GCE textbooks will be critically discussed here.
20.05.2022 | N-Trail
Speaker(s)
Eike von Lindern, Institute Dialog N in Switzerland
Description
"N-Trail is an innovative visitor guidance and information concept developed by Dialog N to communicate environmental and sustainability topics, which can be customised for different target groups and easily adapted to different content. The aim of N-Trail is to motivate visitors to discover and reflect on social, ecological and economic sustainability, their own relationship to it and their commitment to their own actions. It draws on findings from motivational, health and environmental psychology (e.g. promoting intrinsic motivation to learn).
N-Trail is an interactive trail that allows participants to solve puzzles about sustainability (e.g. climate, consumption, biodiversity, etc.) in a playful way and by "coming into contact" with the environment around the post. The posts can be installed at any easily accessible location in the form of QR codes and scanned with internet-enabled smartphones or tablets. Incentives for completing the N-Trail posts are provided by reward systems such as clues to a solution word or the collection of points through the quiz-like design of the posts.
The N-Trail concept is suitable for promoting and implementing ESD, as it goes beyond typical educational content with its experience-orientated and emotional reference and can increase the effectiveness of environmental education by combining knowledge transfer with positive experiences. It is particularly suitable as a practical application of ESD in Swiss parks, whose core tasks include sensitising the population to the complex interplay between nature, society and the economy with environmental education offers on site.
03.06.2022 | Repairing makes you happy
Speaker(s)
Dr Katharina Dutz, Institute of Physics, Technical Education
Description
What is the significance of repair in the context of climate change and ESD?
The culture of repair is being revived at the Oldenburg Resource Centre. People of all ages have the opportunity to revitalise their repair knowledge and skills or to experience for the first time the feelings of happiness that arise when a repair is successful.
17.06.2022 | Presentation project seminar "Concepts for Body and Space" IMK,
Winter term 2021-Summer term 2022
Speaker(s)
Petra Eller, Institute of Material Culture
Description
In the first part of the project "Making of...Slow Fashion" (WiSe 2021), the participants asked themselves how they can influence the consumption of fashion. They then explored repair practices, the redesign of clothing and alternative consumption concepts and acquired the relevant skills. In the summer semester, they want to offer services, workshops and participatory activities in a non-university open research and exhibition workshop (temporary conversion of vacant space in Oldenburg city centre) to bring their ideas to the people: Repairing clothes instead of throwing them away, borrowing instead of buying and valuing the importance of clothing.
The presentation of the project will be thematically adapted to the stage of development at the time of the appointment.