Abstract
The chapter describes an interdisciplinary project that was designed and implemented within the scope of a Tourist Activities Management degree whose main topic was sustainability. Based on the use of a bilingual student blog, this project challenged students to produce multimedia content (posts, podcasts, and videos) focusing on sustainable practices and behaviors in different tourism sectors. Making use of a project-based learning approach, the strategy used is perceived as innovative having enhanced student participation and engagement. Concurrently, a preliminary analysis also suggests that there has been a positive change in the participants' awareness towards sustainability, with the different assignments and research having prompted changes in their behavior, denoting the project's pertinence, particularly in these challenging and technology-laden times.
TopIntroduction
The tourism industry is currently experiencing an unparalleled crisis (OECD, 2020) which defies the sectors’ resilience (Biggs et al., 2012) and its capacity to overcome the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. As different researchers study the short-term social, economic and environmental effects of the pandemic, and try to foresee its long-term impacts, topics such as sustainability and sustainable development have become paramount, not only for governments and service providers as a whole, but also for tourists and the destinations themselves.
This challenge, combined with tourism’s contribution for overall sustainable development – as acknowledged by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UNWTO & UNDP, 2017) – and the continuous growth of the industry and its impacts, have raised questions regarding the sustainability of tourism activity (Arrobas et al., 2020) and the need to shift current managerial practices and priorities, paving the way for a new sustainable growth paradigm (Lalici & Weber-Sabil, 2020), something that was made more evident by the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the uncertainty about the future, and the industry's ability to overcome this period and adopt more sustainable practices, tourism stakeholders will face “unlimited path-shaping opportunities (Niewiadomski, 2020, p. 654), with education for sustainability playing a pivotal role in this change (Arrobas et al., 2020). On the other hand, the pandemic has also urged a prompt reaction from the tourism higher education (THE) sector, having precipitated the ongoing digital transition, creating an opportunity for redesigning curricula and teaching methodologies, and ultimately providing tourism students with better tools to deal with their future working reality.
Based on these premises and focusing on students currently pursuing degree in Tourist Activities Management, in this chapter the authors describe a recently implemented Interdisciplinary Project (IP) aiming to further develop tourism students’ awareness as to the importance of sustainable tourism, as well as to engage them in a public discussion regarding sustainable practices and behaviors, considering both the suppliers and the consumers’ perspective. Taking into account recent findings, namely studies focusing on the profile of current hospitality and tourism professionals and the challenges they are currently facing (e.g., their limited levels of educational achievement and digital literacy and the resulting difficulties in adapting to new contexts and ways of working – Baum et al., 2020) this project, which involved Tourism Operations Management and English Applied to Tourism courses, made use of technological platforms and tools, namely a class blog and student-produced podcasts, to bridge the gap between theory and practice and encourage students’ creativity and resourcefulness. Having been implemented in the summer semester of 2021 (while on partial lockdown, due to the COVID-19 pandemic) the project was also instrumental in promoting remote and hybrid teaching methodologies, making the most use of online collaborative approaches and tools.
Key Terms in this Chapter
English for Specific Purposes (ESP): A subset of English as a Foreign Language. It refers to the teaching of English that focuses on developing communicative skills in a particular field or occupation. ESP courses are designed to meet specific needs of the learners, with reference to the particular vocabulary and register they require.
Pillars of Sustainability: Usually represented by a diagram, this expression is used to describe the tenets of sustainability, specifically, the environment (or environmental protection), society (referring to social equity), and the economy. If one of those pillars is weak, the system will become unsustainable.
Project-Based Learning (PBL): A student-centred learning approach that implies the development of a project oriented towards the solution of a real-world problem/ challenge, with the teachers assuming a facilitating role, and the students’ engagement being the key for the construction of their own learning.
Interdisciplinarity: Activity/strategy involving or drawing on two or more branches of knowledge/academic courses.
Education for Sustainable Development: Also referred to as Sustainability Education, the concept is used by the UNESCO to describe teaching and learning approaches that support the development of knowledge, skill and values pertaining to sustainability at all levels.
Portfolio: A compilation of academic work that can be used for assessing coursework or learning progress. Digital or in other formats it can include different types of assignment and evidence (e.g., photos, texts, links, videos, etc.).
Podcast: A digital audio/video file, that can be available as a series. Podcasts can be downloaded by users who can subscribe them and/or listen to them anytime, anywhere.