Dr. Jodie Birdman
I am in a scientific administration position at SETRI working on an intervention for teacher education. Leuphana offers students studying to be teachers the opportunity to select an interdisciplinary topic as the focus of their education studies, called a profile. This year we will introduce the Education for Sustainable Development profile, which is the main focus of my position. More information on the profile studies can be found here (website is in German): https://www.leuphana.de/college/bachelor/lehren-und-lernen/profilstudium.html
In my research and teaching, I focus on transformative teaching and learning processes for a more sustainable future. The challenges currently faced by humanity can seem overwhelming, and so I have spent my career investigating how education can support learners in creating community and developing their sense of agency. This has taken the form of competence-oriented education and human-rights-oriented education with a strong emphasis on collaborative and reflective approaches that center real-world experiences and relevance. In recent years my teaching has centered on international digital collaboration, project based learning, cosmopolitan citizenship, and self-empowerment through reflective action.
Before joining SERG, I held research and teaching positions in the Institute of English Studies and the Institute for Ethics and Transdisciplinary Research at Leuphana. I recently completed my PhD in sustainability and education at Leuphana, which was done in the Educating Future Change Agents project in collaboration with Arizona State University (ASU). I completed my master's degree in International Studies in Education at the University of Iceland. Prior to that I completed my teacher education degree and certification in the United States before moving to Germany where I worked as an English Language trainer and business coach.
My full profile can be viewed on the Leuphana University website https://fis.leuphana.de/en/persons/jodie-birdman/ .