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Barriers and Potentials in using Social-Emotional Learning towards Climate Justice, April 7, 2025, 9:00 AM EST, hosted by the Center for Sustainable Development, Columbia Climate School

Register: https://columbiauniversity.zoom.us/meeting/register/DcLatGcHSEyjeNs9ehRayQ#/registration

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) enhances our connection to nature by fostering mindfulness, empathy, and responsible decision-making. However, in many regions, droughts and natural calamities have skewed our relationship and mental space with nature. This conversation will bring us the ground realities of contextualization of SEL used as a teaching tool. It will first start to explore the current barriers that grip using SEL as a teaching and learning tool. The conversation will then reflect on frameworks and practices that have shown the various pathways of using SEL for environmental education. While doing so, the interconnected nature of these pathways are also discovered. Speakers will discuss using purposeful pedagogy, design for change and collective happiness frameworks. While others will bring examples of national initiatives (STEAM in Pakistan; Climate Integration in New Jersey) as implementation ideas. While there are others who reflect on nudges that could help to spread out powerful environmental messages/actions in the community. Others work on cultural attitudes and context as possible pathways. A common underlying theme is contextualising SEL needs to have underwritten by a justice lens. We do that by highlighting the barriers to implementing SEL and the possible solutions from the ground. Then we explore how these can be strategized to be scaled to be included in formal and non-formal curricula.

Moderator: Radhika Iyengar, Climate School Columbia University

In conversation with

Camila Hadi Chaudhary: Role of SEL, climate, teaching, and learning

Ambreena Ahmed, Director, Teachers’ Resource Centre, Pakistan: SEL and Climate Education tool kit for teachers

Afia Aslam: Advocacy with teachers unfamiliar with the topic

Arya Karumanthra: Perspectives from India.

Eshal Farooqi: Environmental Teaching needs to be Contextualized.

Marvi Soomro: School Gardens and SEL: Potential of SEL in Teaching and Learning

Fozia Parveen: Teacher aids

Arooj Khalid: Case Studies from Pakistan

Discussant: Baela Jamil, ITA

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25 March

Webinar: Addressing Climate Emotions: A Groundbreaking Toolkit for Educators, Tuesday, March 25, 2025, 6:30pm, hosted by the Climate Mental Health Network and NEEF

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9 April

Climate LIVE K12: Young Leaders in Action- Save Money, Reduce Emissions, Wednesday, April 9, 2025 4:00 PM - 4:30 PM, hosted by Columbia Climate School