The climate crisis, resource scarcity, social justice – our world faces major challenges. ESD empowers pupils to understand complex interrelationships, act responsibly and actively campaign for a future worth living. Mathematics lessons can also make a valuable contribution to this: structured thinking, working with data, models and uncertainties – key skills for critically analysing and thoughtfully evaluating sustainability issues. Furthermore, ESD can provide a different approach, additional motivation and a deeper understanding of mathematical content. The tasks, developed and tested by trainee teachers as part of a project funded by the EWE Foundation, are available in both open-ended and more structured versions and include solution hints and, in some cases, didactic comments. The worksheets are designed so that they can be used directly or adapted for use in approximately a double lesson. A tabular overview containing information on year groups, mathematical content, process-related skills and links to the Sustainable Development Goals is also included.

Licence type

CC BY-SA

Authors

Dr Birte Julia Specht, Dr Hanna Lokys

Responsible/Supervisor

Dr Birte Julia Specht, Institute of Mathematics, University of Oldenburg

Published on 27 October 2026