Dr. Jordan King’s work in Bucharest focused on sustainability through collaboration with researchers from around the globe. Photo courtesy of King.
Research can take people to a lab, the field or—in the case of Dr. Jordan King—across the globe.
King, director of the Innovations in Honors program in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Honors College, recently spent time in Bucharest, Romania, pursuing his sustainability research with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
“My work is focused on contributing to this project that’s developing practical resources that are being used around the world, trying to test those and understand how they can help teachers and students learn more about sustainability, and hopefully develop some skills that contribute to society in that way, too,” King said.
The goal of the trip was to bring together teachers, researchers and policymakers to collaborate on best practices for sustainability in education, a subject King is passionate about.
“I’ve been interested in this topic as something that is trying to address some of the different challenges that we face very broadly, both in our communities and at a global level,” King explained. “Whether these are things like pollution, habitat destruction or climate change, these have a big impact on the world around us and in our everyday lives.
“There are all sorts of different strategies for how we try to address this, whether it’s through policies or economics. But what I’m interested in is how we use education as a way to help individuals and groups be able to have the skills to solve these problems and the collaboration to do so as well.”
The group’s project is already in place in 10 countries across the globe, including Brazil, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Germany, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Slovenia and Romania.
He described his time in Romania as a “rich” learning experience.
A poster presentation from King’s trip.
“One part that really stood out was the chance to meet other people involved in this project who were using some of the work that we did and getting a chance to get some of their feedback,” King said, “and also hear the stories and examples coming away from their experience.
“We learned about different efforts going on related to sustainability in Romania and in Bucharest specifically. It just added a whole new layer to see how they’re understanding some of these things and how some of the work that I’ve been doing is related or contributing even in a small way.”
One way King saw the work interpreted was at a school in Romania that used a game to promote recycling. Once the recyclables were collected, an art teacher from the school used the material to make an elephant—the school’s mascot.
“The students at this school created a game to sort different types of recycling; they had incentives and prizes that you could get if you did things in the correct way,” King said. “They had these containers all around and it was really exciting to see them do this in a playful, creative way.
“It was very hands-on and supported thinking about learning as something that doesn’t just happen sitting in a classroom reading a book. You can really bring people together, take action and be creative.”
Another benefit, King said, was seeing the work in action in a different context, with colleagues bringing their cultural backgrounds to the table.
“It’s so helpful to realize that what we do as scholars in higher education or as researchers is that knowledge can go across different places and contexts,” King said. “It makes it easy to have conversations with people, even if what they’re trying to do is maybe a little different or taking different strategies.
“There’s a shared language of knowledge in trying to improve the world around us. Getting a chance to travel and make these connections really drives home that the work we do doesn’t just go into journals and books. People use it.”
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