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Teaching Material

Playing board games to understand sustainability

Target GroupBachelorResource TypeSimulation/Serious GameDomainGeneral KnowledgeAuthorCasey Crownhat
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Summary

This article discusses the use of the popular board game Catan as a platform for climate change education. It details how modified versions of the game incorporate climate risks, resource management, and sustainability challenges, making abstract concepts accessible and engaging. The gamified approach fosters systems thinking and collaborative problem-solving among diverse audiences, from classrooms to public events. It highlights innovative educational strategies that leverage entertainment to inspire climate awareness and action.

Relevant SDGs

Icon für SDG 4

How to use

Incorporate Catan-based climate games in sustainability or environmental education to promote experiential learning. Use the game to illustrate concepts like resource scarcity, trade-offs, and collective decision-making. Facilitate reflection sessions to connect gameplay to real-world climate issues. Encourage students to design their own game scenarios or adaptations. Use the activity to build teamwork and systems thinking skills. Complement gameplay with lectures or readings on climate science and policy.

Teaching format tip

Simulation/Serious Game

Establish clear learning objectives before gameplay and debrief systematically afterward. Students should document decision-making processes, unexpected outcomes, and strategic adaptations during play. Use multiple rounds to test different approaches and compare results. Connect game mechanics to real-world systems, helping students transfer insights from virtual to actual contexts.

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Sustainability in Academia
Integrating Sustainability into Higher Education
  • Resources
    Subject area
    • General KnowledgeThis section provides general frameworks and concepts related to sustainability that can be used in any discipline and across industries.
    • Specific KnowledgeThis section provides sustainability related content that would enable students following a business or management degree or course to be better equipped to face sustainability related challenges.
      • Economics
      • Management
      • Finance, banking, insurance
      • Marketing and advertising
    Competence area
    • Problem-solving
    • Critical thinking
    • Self-awareness
    • Collaboration
    • Normative awareness
    • Anticipatory thinking
    • Systems thinking
    • Strategy
    Learning approach
    • Cognitive learning
    • Socio-emotional learning
    • Behavioural learning
    • Subject area
      • General KnowledgeGeneral knowledge represents foundational understanding across multiple disciplines needed for sustainable development. It creates an integrated mindset that connects basic and advanced topics across various knowledge domains.
      • Economics
      • Management
      • Finance, banking, insurance
      • Marketing and advertising
    • Skill area
      • Problem-solving
      • Critical thinking
      • Self-awareness
      • Collaboration
      • Normative awareness
      • Anticipatory thinking
      • Systems thinking
      • Strategy
    • Learning approach
      • Cognitive learning
      • Socio-emotional learning
      • Behavioural learning
  • Communities
  • Education for sustainability
  • About us
  • Resources
    Subject area
    • General KnowledgeThis section provides general frameworks and concepts related to sustainability that can be used in any discipline and across industries.
    • Specific KnowledgeThis section provides sustainability related content that would enable students following a business or management degree or course to be better equipped to face sustainability related challenges.
      • Economics
      • Management
      • Finance, banking, insurance
      • Marketing and advertising
    Competence area
    • Problem-solving
    • Critical thinking
    • Self-awareness
    • Collaboration
    • Normative awareness
    • Anticipatory thinking
    • Systems thinking
    • Strategy
    Learning approach
    • Cognitive learning
    • Socio-emotional learning
    • Behavioural learning
    • Subject area
      • General KnowledgeGeneral knowledge represents foundational understanding across multiple disciplines needed for sustainable development. It creates an integrated mindset that connects basic and advanced topics across various knowledge domains.
      • Economics
      • Management
      • Finance, banking, insurance
      • Marketing and advertising
    • Skill area
      • Problem-solving
      • Critical thinking
      • Self-awareness
      • Collaboration
      • Normative awareness
      • Anticipatory thinking
      • Systems thinking
      • Strategy
    • Learning approach
      • Cognitive learning
      • Socio-emotional learning
      • Behavioural learning
  • Communities
  • Education for sustainability
  • About us
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