We get what we educate for. That’s why it’s time to educate for the future we want: healthy, just and sustainable for ourselves and for generations to come. There are lots of ways to begin. In early grades, connecting children to the places where they live helps them learn to take care of those places — so the places can take care of them over time.
Read MoreThe Cloud Institute at Chinese International School
As part of Chinese International Schools Vision '33 Sustainability Pledge Jaimie Cloud was invited to host a week-long workshop for faculty to help develop curriculum that reflects EfS standards and best practices for the coming years.
Jaimie facilitated in-depth discussions on the backwards design process, assessments that produce learning, project-based learning, and analyzing student work. She also provided coaching, organized peer reviews, and hosted a live stream with Q&A for parents who wanted to know more about EfS at Chinese International School.
Read MoreMetanoia is partnering with the Cloud Institute to offer a FREE introductory seminar on Education for Sustainability (EfS), which will be delivered by Jaimie Cloud, a global educator and pioneer in the field of Education for Sustainability (EfS).
As a pioneer in the field of Education for Sustainability (EfS) Jaimie Cloud is an international keynote speaker, thought leader, and educational consultant. Jaimie writes and publishes extensively, and is a leadership advisor and curriculum development coach to administrators, teachers, and curriculum specialists in schools around the world.
Read MoreSubmitted by Tina Bessias of Durham Academy
Last week I had a coaching session with Jaimie Cloud, who is advising DA about our curriculum and culture for sustainability. Our conversation was helpful on multiple fronts, but one detail particularly stuck with me. Jaimie mentioned the widely quoted finding that there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050. For her, it’s a perfect example of what NOT to teach. First, because it’s not true: it is a projection that assumes current trends continue, so it assumes we do not learn from the very kind of research from which this mangled quote is drawn. Second, because it promotes a sense of helplessness and doom. Jaimie argues that we need to emphasize the opportunity to make changes and guard against doom-and-gloom perspectives.
image of herman daly from rightlivelihood.org
Herman Daly, Ecological Economist, Professor, Author, passed away on October 28th, 2022. Herman was one of the first contemporary economists to pioneer the notion of an ecological economic system. His work continues to be instrumental to ours. In 2008 the Cloud Institute received a contract to write a curriculum unit on “sustainable economics” for secondary students called The Paper Trail: Connecting Economic and Natural Systems.
I immediately called Herman’s office at the University of Maryland. I wanted to ask Herman if he would lend us some graduate students as content advisors to help us teach secondary students about ecological economics. Herman’s response was thrilling. He said, “Jaim—I think I better do it myself—because I would like to see how the heck you are going to get this way of thinking to secondary students!”
He and Robert Costanza worked closely with me and the two authors, Win Armstrong, Ecological Economist and Margaret Mansfield, Curriculum Developer and Teacher of Economics to build that exemplar with gusto. I will never forget the generosity, the humility, and the not-so- common-sense with which Herman participated in those design meetings--asking more questions than he answered, and answering our questions with his.
The world will miss a great man and great economist. - Jaimie P. Cloud
Click the link below to read articles by Herman Daly.
The knowledge, skills, attitudes and habits of mind of Education for Sustainability (EfS) are embedded in The Cloud Institute's Education for Sustainability Standards and Performance Indicators.
Aligned to national and state educational standards, each EfS Standard has a set of coded Performance Indicators used to guide educators as they infuse their school culture, curriculum, instruction and assessment practices with Education for Sustainability. We believe that by meeting these EfS standards, young people will be prepared to participate in, and lead with us, the shift toward a sustainable future.
Sustainable Economics is Standard D and includes the evolving set of theories and practices of economics that integrates the economic, and social systems with the ecological systems required to support and maintain life on the planet. Students will know and understand 21st century economic practices and will produce and consume in ways that contribute to the health of the financial, social, and natural capital.
Jaimie Cloud was invited to speak at the Teaching and Learning Forum sponsored by the Education Development Institute (EDI) at the Qatar Foundation in Doha, Qatar in October 2022.
The events theme was Learning in Service and Action; Creating meaningful connections, and developing local and global learning communities.
Jaimie shared the “what” and the “why” of Education for Sustainability and explored the kind of thinking required to teach and learn in schools to contribute to the future we want. She also facilitated a new session on “All the ways we Un-Intentionally Educate for Un-Sustainability” which was very well received by participants.
EDI’s Teaching and Learning Forum 2022 called educators to mobilize pedagogical approaches which integrate knowledge, skills, dispositions and understandings with community service action, as an integral part of the learning process to address societal, ecological and community needs within and beyond the school sites.
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February 27 - March 1, 2023
Sheraton New Orleans
The Green Schools Conference (GSC) is the only event to bring together all the players involved in making green schools a reality: people who lead, operate, build and teach in schools. Designed to educate, connect and inspire, attendees of the three-day in person conference will explore interdisciplinary content during general sessions, while also having dedicated time with peers to work through specific challenges, share best practices, and generate momentum to further green school actions across the country.
The Cloud Institute is now working with Chinese International School to develop curriculum exemplars for every grade level and discipline.
Curriculum innovation is connected to the school’s Vision ‘33 goals for personalized learning and the sustainability pledge.
CIS is a community of learners at the confluence of East and West, empowered by a bilingual, inter-cultural program to discover new paths, build bridges, and flourish in pursuit of excellence, commitment to service, and stewardship.
The Cloud Institute exists to ensure the viability of sustainable communities by leveraging changes in PreK-12 school systems so that we may prepare young people for the shift toward a sustainable future. Friends like you make it possible.
Your gift to The Cloud Institute gives us the flexibility to create new opportunities for the teachers, students and the communities we serve.
Jaimie Cloud was invited to speak at the Teaching and Learning Forum in Doha, Qatar in October 2022.
The events theme was Learning in Service and Action; Creating meaningful connections, and developing local and global learning communities.
Jaimie shared the “what” and the “why” of Education for Sustainability and explored the kind of thinking required to teach and learn in schools to contribute to the future we want.
The Education Development Institute’s Teaching and Learning Forum 2022 called educators to mobilize pedagogical approaches which integrate knowledge, skills, dispositions and understandings with community service action, as an integral part of the learning process to address societal, ecological and community needs within and beyond the school sites.
Read MoreWe support the design and development of curriculum and instructional materials that educate for sustainability, and are documented, mapped and aligned to academic standards. We also support the building of assessments that measure and produce meaningful learning.
Let's explore together what Understanding By Design/Backwards Design has to do with Education for Sustainability (EfS), what other popular frameworks and strategic initiatives align to the EfS Standards and Indicators, and what integrating EfS into your core curriculum and instruction will look like.
Read MoreAs part of the annual Sustainability Week with DC BOCES in April 2022, student and Climate Justice Activist Xiye Bastida shares her story about how she began creating awareness on the urgency of the climate crisis at school, then citywide and soon worldwide.
Here she conveys that even if you are young, you can make yourself heard when you have a solid argument and a personal story. Xiye gives ten tips on how to become involved in the climate justice movement as someone passionate about creating a livable future for all.
About The Speaker: Xiye Bastida is a 19-year old Climate Justice Activist who advocates for the centering of frontline communities in the Climate Movement. She was born in Mexico as part of the Otomi-Toltec Indigenous community where she saw the impacts of the climate crisis first hand when her town flooded in 2015. She began organizing climate strikes with Fridays For Future when realizing the power that youth have in changing the narrative. In 2020, she co-founded Re-Earth Initiative, a youth-led organization that focuses on highlighting the intersectionality of the climate crisis. Xiye is the author of the opening essay in All We Can Save. She attends the University of Pennsylvania where she is pursuing a degree in Environment Studies and Latinx Studies.
Kids inquire: What are our rights in the cafeteria?
In starting to think about the way we, as civic-minded humans, relate to our planet, our team zoomed in on a relatable microcosm of democracy - the school cafeteria. A cafeteria is clearly a bountiful common (shared) space - and a veritable cornucopia of conflicting civic values for 5th graders, which is our grade focus. It’s a place all kids have a relationship with and strong opinions about.
Teachers and students at the Durham Academy teach and learn for sustainability and Students take immediate action
Join us for the popular Intro to Education for Sustainability (EfS) 1-Day Workshop or a full week of Curriculum Design & Coaching
Introduction to EfS will immerse participants in systems thinking games and simulations, group discussions about economics and quality of life, and the science of sustainability. Stories and case studies will be shared, we will explore contemporary ideas in EfS and we will envision what is possible when we educate for sustainability.
During the Curriculum Design Studio, we will use backwards design/ Understanding by Design (UbD), to re-orient, innovate, build, and map curricula designed to meet academic standards in addition to EfS standards, performance indicators, and enduring understandings - without additional class time.
Read MoreFor many organizations this year, survival-mode has been the norm. In the opening keynote of the NeuroLeadership’s 2022 Summit, you’ll learn how to get out of depletive and exploitative mindsets to set your organization up to adapt faster and make the shift toward sustainability and regeneration.
“I think it's incredibly exciting that the brain science can help us with moving from where we've been to where we wanna be... to the future we want.”
- Jaimie P. Cloud
In June 2020, New Jersey became the first state in the U.S. to incorporate K-12 climate change education across content areas when the State Board of Education adopted the 2020 New Jersey Student Learning Standards. Jaimie Cloud is a member of the Thought Leader Committee for this report.
New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy was a strong supporter of this initiative, and praised the State Board for its action. “The adoption of these standards is much more than an added educational requirement; it is a symbol of a partnership between generations,” said Murphy in a statement.
Read MoreWhole School Approach (WSA) provides a framework for re-orienting and redesigning education considering emerging global sustainability challenges4. It invites a holistic, systemic, co-creative and reflexive effort by all stakeholders involved in education to meaningfully engage students in complex sustainability challenges.
Read MoreGwinnett Students Vigilance Keeps Lots Of Food Out Of Trash Can by Arlinda Smith Broady
Gwinnett County schools were participants in a nationwide initiative on food waste and its impact on the planet. Students’ findings have led to changes that mean a lot less food ends up in the garbage.
At Mason Elementary, one of 13 Gwinnett schools in the Food Waste Warriors Project the 3rd grade class took on the task of determining how much food is wasted, why it’s wasted and finding ways to turn those numbers around. The students succeeded in reducing food waste by 53% over 12 weeks.
Read MoreCelebrating Big Ideas
EfS Benchmarks for Individual and Social Learning
Big Ideas are also known as “Enduring Understandings”. They operate at the level of principles that are transferable. They describe the concepts that students will understand, and that will have lasting value in the real world over time.
The EfS Benchmarks for Individual and Social Learning recognizes the processes that include a whole system of dynamic and interconnected elements considered essential to educating for a sustainable future. The Big Ideas collectively frame the other essential elements of EfS and distinguish EfS from other fields of study.
Read MoreUsing Online Curriculum Mapping tools, a procedure for documenting, mapping, viewing, reviewing, analyzing and evolving the operational curriculum in a classroom, school and/or district [a departure from the old paper binder days] was introduced in the mid 1990’s by Heidi Hayes Jacobs. Several companies have created mapping software and google drive is home for the curriculum maps of many schools. The benefits of curriculum mapping include increased student achievement, optimized collaboration among teachers, vertical articulation and continuity of curriculum, lateral interdisciplinary cohesiveness, and an innovative, flexible approach to teaching and learning.
Read MoreWe educators are responsible for preparing young people with the knowledge, skills and habits of mind that will build their capability to thrive over time. It is our role to understand and facilitate learning that equips us all to navigate the unique challenges that define our era — reversing global warming and adapting to climate change; regenerating the integrity of ecosystems; achieving social justice; developing sustainable, just and humane food systems; revitalizing the health of our oceans; improving the well-being of people; protecting biodiversity; and accelerating the shift toward a green economy and clean, renewable energy.
Read MoreWith support from GreenFutures, a program of the School District of Philadelphia (SDP), the Fairmount Water Works, the educational outreach arm of the Philadelphia Water Department, the Cloud Institute and a cohort of elementary faculty from the SDP developed and piloted two new Units of Study for the 4th and 5th grades to expand FWW’s 6-UNIT Middle School Curriculum (grades 6-8 ) Understanding the Urban Watershed Curriculum. These 4th Grade and 5th Grade Units provide an opportunity for upper elementary school teachers to connect their students to the community and to the environment outside of their classroom, and to one of the most fundamental elements of all living things-water. Together, teachers and students explore their role and responsibility to individually and collectively protect and sustain this shared resource for today, for tomorrow and for future generations.
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