| Preamble |
This Chapter is part of the PolyCIVIS Handbook on Participatory Methods for Teaching about the Polycrisis in Higher Education. The objective of this Handbook is to serve as a reference resource for teaching about the polycrisis in Higher Education in a participatory manner, a need which has not only been foreseen by the PolyCIVIS project in its inception phase, but also confirmed and further substantiated in a number of meetings and workshops during the project’s lifetime.
This Handbook is not a coursebook to teach what the polycrisis is, but a methods book, to provide instruments for teaching about the polycrisis in a participatory manner. It is to be made available online as a multimedia live resource, presenting different participatory teaching methods for uptake by the Polycrisis-interested community in Higher Education, together with supporting materials such as method descriptions, references, examples and case studies.
The different methods proposed are presented in one chapter for each group of methods, which also includes, in the digital edition of this Handbook, a live survey to collect peer feedback from the community itself, on the usefulness and ease of use that community members (Higher Education tutors, students, researchers as well as practitioners) may themselves find specific methods to have within, and for, their own contexts and audiences.
| What do we mean by thin participation techniques? |
Challenge-based education approaches engage students with real-world, open-ended and socially relevant challenges. Students do not only study a topic; they investigate a concrete problem, work with stakeholders, generate evidence, design responses, test ideas and reflect on impact. Challenge-based learning often involves interdisciplinarity, teamwork, civic engagement, uncertainty and action-oriented outputs. For teaching the polycrisis, challenge-based education is especially suitable because overlapping crises cannot be understood through one discipline or solved through classroom discussion alone. Students learn by addressing complex challenges such as climate adaptation, food insecurity, misinformation, migration, health vulnerability, energy transitions or democratic resilience.
| Indicative starter sources for information about these methods |
| Additional sources of information about these methods |
CIVIS — Europe's Civic University Alliance. (2024). Digital guidebook on the CIVIS challenge-driven approach [Deliverable D2.1].
https://civis.eu/storage/files/d21-digital-guidebook-20-june-2024-final.pdfCIVIS — Europe's Civic University Alliance. (n.d.). Digital guidebook on the CIVIS challenge-driven approach (2024).
https://civis.eu/de/resources/digital-guidebook-on-the-civis-challenge-driven-approach-2024CIVIS — Europe's Civic University Alliance. (n.d.). CIVIS service-learning guide for lecturers.
https://civis.eu/storage/files/civis-service-learning-guide-for-lecturers.pdfCIVIS — Europe's Civic University Alliance. (n.d.). Our strategy.
https://civis.eu/en/about-civis/our-strategyUniversity of Glasgow. (n.d.). CIVIS — A European university collaboration.
https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/internationalisation/civis/Gallagher, S. E., & Savage, T. (2020). Challenge-based learning in higher education: An exploratory literature review. Teaching in Higher Education, 28(2), 1–23.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2021.1892503Leijon, M., Lundqvist, U., Malmqvist, J., & Rådberg, K. K. (2022). Challenge-based learning in higher education: A systematic literature review. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 59(5), 609–618.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2021.1892503De Stefani, A., & Han, J. (2022). Challenge-based learning: A comprehensive survey of the literature. The Challenge Institute.
https://www.challengeinstitute.org/CBL_Literature_Survey.pdfKohn Rådberg, K., Lundqvist, U., Malmqvist, J., & Hagvall Svensson, O. (2020). From CDIO to challenge-based learning experiences — Expanding student learning as well as societal impact? European Journal of Engineering Education, 45(1), 22–37.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03043797.2018.1441265Bhatta, R., Bijlsma, R., Moors, E., & de Boer, C. (2025). Conceptualisation of campus living labs for the sustainability transition: An integrative literature review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 488.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.144628Maas, A., Doelen, W., Schaart, N., & de Boer, C. (2025). Living labs for enhanced student learning experiences: Lab leaders' perceptions on learning environments and stakeholder collaboration. Education Sciences, 16(4), 660.
https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci16040660Marvin, S., Bulkeley, H., Mai, L., McCormick, K., & Palgan, Y. V. (Eds.). (2018). Urban living labs: Experimenting with city futures. Routledge.
Hmelo-Silver, C. E. (2004). Problem-based learning: What and how do students learn? Educational Psychology Review, 16(3), 235–266.
UNESCO. (2017). Education for sustainable development goals: Learning objectives. UNESCO.
Wiek, A., Withycombe, L., & Redman, C. L. (2011). Key competencies in sustainability: A reference framework for academic program development. Sustainability Science, 6(2), 203–218.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-011-0132-6Sterling, S. (2001). Sustainable education: Re-visioning learning and change. Green Books.
Rieckmann, M. (2018). Learning to transform the world: Key competencies in ESD. In A. Leicht, J. Heiss, & W. J. Byun (Eds.), Issues and trends in education for sustainable development (pp. 39–59). UNESCO.
Lang, D. J., Wiek, A., Bergmann, M., Stauffacher, M., Martens, P., Moll, P., Swilling, M., & Thomas, C. J. (2012). Transdisciplinary research in sustainability science: Practice, principles, and challenges. Sustainability Science, 7(Suppl. 1), 25–43.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-011-0149-xBrundiers, K., & Wiek, A. (2013). Do we teach what we preach? An international comparison of problem- and project-based learning courses in sustainability. Sustainability, 5(4), 1725–1746.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su5041725Andrews, M., Macagno, F., & Torres-Olave, B. (2025). Transdisciplinary learning environments that stimulate co-creation and co-learning between students and external partners: An empirical exploration. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12, Article 1768.
https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-06079-xScholz, R. W., & Steiner, G. (2015). The real type and ideal type of transdisciplinary processes: Part I — Theoretical foundations. Sustainability Science, 10(4), 527–544.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-015-0326-4Butin, D. W. (2010). Service-learning in theory and practice: The future of community engagement in higher education. Palgrave Macmillan.
Sandy, M., & Holland, B. A. (2006). Different worlds and common ground: Community partner perspectives on campus-community partnerships. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 13(1), 30–43.
| Indicative participatory teaching scenarios for these methods |
Students work with a municipality, campus sustainability office or community organisation to address urban heat vulnerability. They map exposed groups, collect evidence, interview stakeholders and co-design interventions such as cooling routes, shade strategies, communication tools or care networks. The final output is a practical proposal and reflective learning portfolio.
Students investigate how misinformation spreads during emergencies such as floods, wildfires or public-health alerts. Teams analyse information ecosystems, consult communication professionals or community groups, and design prototype messages, verification tools or trust-building strategies. The challenge connects media literacy, crisis governance, public health and democratic resilience.
Students examine how a university’s food, energy and water systems interact under crisis pressure. They identify vulnerabilities, collect data, consult facilities staff and student groups, and propose resilience actions. The challenge helps students connect infrastructure, sustainability, inequality, everyday practices and institutional responsibility.
Students work on a fictional or real local scenario involving climate-related displacement. They examine housing, education, health, legal status, communication and community relations. The final output may be a stakeholder map, welcome protocol, policy brief or participatory workshop plan.
Students investigate how overlapping crises affect student mental health, belonging, finances, housing and learning. They gather anonymised student voice, review support systems and co-design low-cost interventions such as peer-support pathways, emergency-information hubs or crisis-sensitive teaching guidelines.
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