Learning on your Feet
TU Dublin academics awarded best paper at the recent ECSB Entrepreneurship Education 3E Conference 2024.
Learning on your Feet
Dr Lucia Walsh, Dr Olivia Freeman and Dr Sarah Rawe were co-authors on the paper ‘Learning on your Feet - Using Active Learning Pedagogical Approaches to Support the Entrepreneurial Mindsets Needed to Enact Socio-Cultural Change for a More Sustainable World ’which claimed the ‘Best Paper award at the recent 3E Conference 2024.
Through an innovative and non-traditional format, the 3E Conference establishes a new paradigm for entrepreneurship conferences. It offers an inclusive setting to fully collaborate with researchers, educators and policymakers to debate and exchange the best practices, the major challenges and novel advances in entrepreneurship education with a special and unique focus on Europe. Unlike more traditional academic events, this conference puts the spotlight in problems and questions; the format is ‘unplugged’ without power point presentations. Instead, engaging round table discussions are held with participants who have read papers beforehand. Further, the keynote speakers are chosen from among the best submission of the participants. Their paper argued:
- The power of transformative education as 'education as usual' no longer fits the grand challenges that we are facing.
- The authors mapped active learning pedagogical approaches including ‘Step into the Doughnut,’ Climate Fresk and Escape Rooms utilised in TU Dublin against the competences set out in two European competence frameworks EntreComp and GreenComp.
- The paper is a call-to-action around the creation of immersive learning experiences that ignite transformative learning and empower individuals to confidently shape a sustainable future. By embracing a holistic approach that engages minds (cognitive), hearts (socio-emotional), and hands (behavioural) domains, we can elevate entrepreneurial and sustainability competences and nurture resilient changemakers.
- Implications of this approach includes recognition that purposeful, in-person transformative education requires democratisation of learning spaces, time for experimentation and reflection, and meaningful collaboration.
Next Steps
Staff at TU Dublin are invited to join the Sustainability Education Symposium on 12 June 2024, where colleagues from across the University will share their teaching, learning and assessment practices which support the development of sustainability-focused global citizens. Click here for more information and to register.
Shared Impact
The findings of the paper support TU Dublin's Strategic Intent to 2030 under the pillars of:
- People (fostering individual talents in an ever-changing world),
- Planet (a powerhouse for living & breathing sustainability),
- and Partnership (delivering shared impact).
This research paper explores learnings and approaches for socio-cultural change for a more sustainable World, which supports and compliments many of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), in particular 4: Quality Education, SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, and SDG 13: Climate Action.
Closing notes