Changemaker Education at ASD

ASD Changemaker Education

What is Changemaker Education?

SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION, GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP, AND SERVICE LEARNING ARE INTEGRAL TO OUR SCHOOL’S MISSION, CORE VALUES, AND STUDENT PROFILE ATTRIBUTES.

For students to be “prepared to contribute in a rapidly changing world” it is important that they develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to be global citizens for a sustainable planet and have opportunities to try, fail, learn, and succeed. The vision of a sustainable future demands that we provide opportunities for our students to co-create the world they wish to see here and now.

At ASD, students develop their changemaker capacity through investigation and understanding of problems and needs, utilizing solutions-oriented collaboration, creating and implementing their plan, taking action, reflecting on the outcomes, and demonstrating their experience. Over time, students develop their “critical consciousness” in relation to the world around them and become self-motivated contributors.

Service Learning

CASE STUDY

Global Citizenship

CASE STUDY

Sustainability

CASE STUDY

Ms. Cullen’s Grade 1 class expressed an interest in bats which led to a yearlong service learning experience related to the value of bats in the local ecosystem, the threats that bats face in the UAE, and supporting them to ensure an appropriate balance in our urban ecosystem. Over the course of the year they spoke to two bat experts—Mr. Judas from Emirates Nature/ WWF UAE and Dr. Brian Hickey, a research scientist at River Institute (Canada)—to delve deeper into the life of bats. Students also researched how to support bat populations and identified a type of bat house that we could build in school! With the help of Mr. Fernandez (a school carpenter) and Ms. Carden (Edible Education Coordinator) students took turns to organize, place, cut, staple and hammer the bat houses together.

The end result? Two beautiful bat houses ready to put up in the community!

Since 2020-21, the Middle School has engaged in its annual MS Sustainability Summit. The Summit brings together over 250 Grade 6 and Grade 7 student participants tackling the global issues of our time. In groups of 10-20 students, each focusing on a Sustainable Development Goal, students participate in systems thinking workshops, connect with experts, participate in workshops related to the SDG, and take informed action addressing the issue at hand. The Summit also cultivates the leadership capacity of Grade 8 students who co-facilitate the Summit activities in facilitator teams with faculty. The MS Sustainability Summit feedback has consistently been overwhelmingly positive and has not just generated a ‘buzz’ around sustainability but, more importantly, supports the development of the sustainability ethos of our community.

Our school has benefited immensely from our participation in several competitions, most notable of which was the Zayed Sustainability Prize. This prestigious global prize opened the door to three specific sustainability initiatives that allow ASD to stand out among the many international schools in the city and region: The creation of the UAE’s very first school-based apiary in what we now call the ASD Bee Garden, the placement of an industrial composter with the potential to eliminate all schoolgenerated food and landscape waste from the landfill, and the technology to keep track of sustainability-related data which provides support for other sustainability successes.

By establishing these programs and sharing information, we are more able to generate the ethos for sustainability that our school community is now known for.

“We visited Grade 1 today. The focus on bats and supporting bat populations in the UAE has led to a bit of a hybrid action. A little bit of maker and a little bit of service and you’ve for yourself two new bat homes!”

Immediate connections exist in opportunities for interdisciplinary learning, Week Without Walls trips, and in the MS Project AWESOME.

By 2027, ASD has committed to: • Reduce energy from the grid by 50% • Compost 100% of food waste • Engage over 75% of our community in purposeful, environmental-friendly behaviors

— A S D C H AN GEMAK ER S I N STA GRA M

Learn more at asdubai.org/changemakers or follow @ASDchangemakers on Instagram

Changemaker Education at ASD

Printed on 100% recycled paper

ASD Learning Spaces for Changemakers SUSTAINABLE GAR DEN Primarily focused on learning related to food

production, organic principles, and food preparation, this space is the heart of sustainability on campus and the original learning space filled with awe! It was here that our tagline “cultivating community” was created.

BEE GAR DEN This space is primarily focused on the study and care of

pollinators, the lifecycle of bees, sustainable communities, and exposure to nature as well as the production of honey. At the coolest time of the year, we estimate our bees exceed 300,000 but we’ve never seen more than a couple at a time around campus.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

At ASD, it takes a village to cultivate contributors. Parents are invited to be involved in any of the following ways: • Volunteering (especially in Edible Education) • Being a member of our Parent Sustainability Committee • Sharing expertise by supporting our students in their classes (typically curriculum-based Q & A sessions) • Supporting our fundraising efforts to reach the vision of a community-wide changemaker ethos The door of the Changemaker Hubb is always open and we welcome new ideas.

BY THE NUMBERS

3,443

Informed Action/ Contribution Experiences

K ITCHEN CLASSR OOM Primarily focused on the production of food

to support learning in other curricula, this space has seating for up to 30 students and offers an inviting, hands-on opportunity to engage with food preparation and consumption. Yummy!

COMPOSTING Our composting program has the capacity to compost

all of our school’s food waste and nearly all of our school’s landscaping waste. Several student groups support this key program in our waste reduction goals.

SOLAR AR R AY S Funded by the Expo 2020 Schools program, our solar

arrays produce 72kW per hour and comprise roughly 3% of the school’s total energy use. More importantly, they provide a hands-on learning space for students.

High School

547

374

Curricular Related Service Learning

Out-of-Class Service

Middle School

1030 485

Curricular Related Service Learning

Advisory Project AWESOME

Elementary School

803

Curricular Related Service Learning

20

Service Related Clubs & Activities

CHANGEMAKER EDUCATION IN AND OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

Elementary School

Middle School

High School

At the Elementary School, service learning is largely done through curricular engagement within the classroom setting. Whether composting in K1, learning in the Bee Garden with a Grade 2 pollinator unit, supporting animals in Grade 3, or addressing global issues in Grade 5, students engage in important service learning experiences in nearly every classroom. Additionally, students in Grades 1-5 can take part in extracurricular activities such as Roots and Shoots.

As students mature and become more selfreliant they can engage both in curricular service learning experiences and out-of-class learning. Several service clubs are available to Middle School students engaging in environmental, economic, and social issues.

These optional opportunities are highly regarded and organized in a way that allows students a chance to engage with the issue while making decisions on how best to support the community.

By High School, students are much more able to organize themselves to engage with the world around them. Through courses such as Global Issues in Action (Grade 9) students continue their journey to global citizenship but with many more opportunities for student-initiated engagement. Over 30 academic-, leadership-, and service-focused student organizations are typically available to High School students with the opportunity for students to create their own.

Edible Education

C H A N G E M A KER AWA RDS (2 0 1 8 - 2 2 ) • Zayed Sustainability Prize • MSA Service Learning Program of Distinction • EXPO 2020 School Programme • GESS for Environmental Ambassador • International School Awards (finalist) • Roots & Shoots Awards • EEG Recycling Awards • Eco-Schools Green Flag

M EMBER SHIP S • Green Schools Alliance • Eco-Schools • Global Schools Program • Emirates Environmental Group • Roots and Shoots UAE • The Earth Prize • And more…

LEADERSHIP

AWARDS & AFFILIATIONS

Our Edible Education program focuses on global issues with food at its center, with students actively growing, cooking, and composting food as well as protecting pollinators. By design, Edible Education is integrated into curricular lessons of all types and focuses on concepts of organic principles, circular economy, systems thinking, and sustainable choices. Every grade level (from K1 to Grade 12) visits the Sustainable Garden, Kitchen Classroom, or Bee Garden at least once a year. Edible Education also puts student initiative at the center, where student groups are stewards of these unique learning spaces and work to cultivate community.

ASD Changemaker Education

LAUR ENCE MYER S K-12 Service Learning Coordinator lmyers@asdubai.org SANDR A CAR DEN Edible Education Coordinator scarden@asdubai.org

FOLLOW US @ASDCHANGEMAKERS