Didactical modeling for education for sustainable development in preschool

To address complexity and uncertainty in sustainability issues in the era of Antropocene, new forms of education for sustainable development (ESD) are required. To be able to achieve “new forms” of education the design needs to be done in collaboration between practitioner and researcher, and this process is something that needs to be studied. There is a need for education that allows children to investigate and come up with creative suggestions on sustainability problems. Through didactic modeling we want to investigate what didactic models enable children to think and act more creative and independently. In short, this means that together with the preschool teachers we will study and, on the basis of didactic research, develop the teaching. Teaching in two child groups are analysed using empirical evidence from observations, video recordings and interviews. Initially questions about the didactic dilemmas, problems and challenges faced by the preschoolers in ESD are raised. After that, a plan is made for educational purposes, content and methods are then carried out with the child group. The activity is recorded, transcribed and analysed using didactic modelling. The studies intend to answer the following research question: -How does education allow children to act critically and creatively? -What characterizes didactic modeling for sustainable development in preschool activities?