主題

Teaching Sustainably in the Age of AI

Educating sustainability change-makers

摘要

Teaching Sustainably in the Age of AI

While Generative AI is often celebrated for its efficiency, its hidden environmental reality—vast energy consumption, water usage, and mineral extraction—presents a critical challenge for the sustainability sector. This lecture dismantles the myth of weightless technology, examining the heavy carbon and human footprints of the physical infrastructure powering our digital tools. We will explore how educators can balance pedagogical innovation with environmental stewardship, moving beyond passive adoption to active, ethical decision-making. By auditing these material costs, participants will learn to model responsible digital citizenship, ensuring that the integration of AI into the classroom supports, rather than compromises, a sustainable future.

Educating sustainability change-makers

This lecture explores how education can empower learners to become active contributors to sustainable development. Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires a profound transformation in societal behaviours, and this lecture explores the role of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in cultivating a generation of sustainability change-makers. We will examine a practical case study: the co-creation and implementation of a year-long module designed specifically for pre-service teachers. Through collaborative development of topics, learning objectives, and learning activities aligned to the SDGs, future teachers are supported to integrate sustainability across the curriculum with confidence and purpose. The lecture argues that teacher education plays a critical role in shaping sustainability-conscious generations, positioning educators not only as transmitters of knowledge but as agents of societal and environmental transformation.

簡介

Shaista Shirazi is Senior Lecturer in Education in the School of Social & Environmental Sustainability. She holds a PhD in Science Education from the University of Leeds, examining how school experiences shape young people’s post-16 STEM choices. Her research focuses on the role of education in supporting sustainable futures, particularly how active and experiential learning, interdisciplinary approaches, and responsible use of technology can develop learners’ critical thinking, scientific reasoning, and sustainability competencies. She has led projects on citizen science, graduate attributes, and ethical applications of artificial intelligence in education. Alongside her research, she provides strategic leadership in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and AI in Education, supporting environmentally and ethically responsible educational practice. She is a Visiting Professor at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, an advisor to the Conference of Science and Mathematics Education, and a reviewer for international STEM education journals and ISPF funding.

簡報

Teaching Sustainably in the Age of AI: Presentation Download | Lecture Notes Download
Educating sustainability change-makers: Presentation Download | Lecture Notes Download