Engage, don't preach: Active learning triggers climate action

Felix Creutzig; Florian Kapmeier

doi:10.1016/j.erss.2020.101779

Engage, don't preach: Active learning triggers climate action

Energy Res Soc Sci. 2020 Dec:70:101779. doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2020.101779. Epub 2020 Oct 9.

Authors

Felix Creutzig^{1

2}, Florian Kapmeier³

Affiliations

¹ Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, Berlin, Germany.
² Technical University Berlin, Germany.
³ Reutlingen University, ESB Business School, Germany.

Abstract

Traditional communication of research on climate change fails to encourage individual, corporate, and political leaders to take appropriate action. We argue that this problem is based on an overly simplistic unidirectional model of science communication. Conversely, theory shows that active learning processes are better suited to initiate and mobilize engagement among all stakeholders. Here, we integrate theoretical insights on active learning with empirical evidence from serious gaming: communication should be understood as an integral design feature that relates active learning on climate change to tangible action.

Keywords: Active learning; Climate mitigation; Decision support; Science communication; Serious games; Sustainability.

Publication types

Review