Green Gown Awards 2018 - University of Plymouth - Finalist

NurSusTOOLKIT is the crystalisation of the University of Plymouth’s exploration of sustainability in the teaching and learning of nursing and related health education disciplines. It is a journey that began several years ago, when nursing and midwifery academics, engaging with education for sustainable development, began to formulate a pedagogic response to climate change.

Working with colleagues in product design, and buoyed by huge student support, the project took flight with evidence that it was having a significant impact on the attitudes and knowledge of those who experienced it. With EU funding, and the support and collaboration of universities in Spain, Germany and the Netherlands, NurSusTOOLKIT was developed and launched: a multilingual and comprehensive set of teaching materials available free of charge to educators, including lectures and activities for not just nursing and midwifery, but geography, design, public health, and health planning and management as well.

Top 3 learnings:

1. Through this project we have learned that student engagement at the start makes a significant contribution to ensuring that the outcome is relevant and appropriate.

2. We learned, through evaluation of the teaching and learning materials, that scenario-based learning is an effective way of engaging students in sustainability issues.

3. An important learning point for us was that cross-disciplinary working in the development and delivery of teaching materials can significantly enhance education for sustainable development.