Subject of research

Especially in times of uncertainty and temporal unpredictability in the context of climate change, personal resilience and dealing with complex situations play an important role. In order to make this tangible for students from different disciplines and to promote appropriate approaches, the IMPULSE project is designing an innovative teaching module with a model character for students on sustainability dilemmas, which makes the diversity of the sustainability discourse tangible.

The design of the teaching module focuses on the integration of games into the teaching and learning context: game-based learning has great potential for didactic success in the context of uncertainties, complex factual contexts and individual decision-making situations. It creates an intuitive and error-friendly approach to problem situations and a safe context for dealing with otherwise overwhelming topics. Game-based learning can therefore be particularly helpful for dealing with dilemmatic situations in the sustainability discourse.

The aim of the IMPULSE project is to design, implement and subsequently disseminate a model and interdisciplinary teaching module for dealing with sustainability dilemmas for students of social and natural science degree programmes.

Method/approach

The game-based learning approach is intended to strengthen students' awareness of sustainability and provide them with concrete, applicable methods and tools for solving sustainability problems. The aim is also overarching, individual reflection. The course enables students to name specific sustainability dilemmas and, through immersion in the game, to understand and experience how these affect their own actions and their perceived self-efficacy and competence.

The project is divided into four phases: After the planning phase to identify and select the games and the didactic design, the module will be carried out in two consecutive semesters with students from different disciplines and will be subject to accompanying reflection and evaluation. The transfer phase then serves to bundle and pass on the findings of the teaching format.

Selected games

The teaching module was offered and tested in the summer semester 2023 and in the winter semester 2023/24 at School II at the University of Oldenburg. The following games were played and discussed in depth with the students

• KeepCoolIn this board game, the players represent groups of states such as Europe, OPEC or the USA & partners. Each group of states has individual goals and all have the collective goal of preventing the climate from collapsing. Players can choose between "black" and "green" growth, but can also adapt to unavoidable climate consequences such as droughts and floods.
• Gifts of CultureA board game with a role-playing character in which a diverse cultural community of a village is simulated. Players take on the role of representatives of different groups living in the flood-threatened valley. Although they have different views and ideals, they all have the same goal - a better life for their group. How will they achieve this when the constant threat of the flood hovers over their heads?
• WoodBanksIn this board game, the players manage a forest together as representatives of villages. They cut down and plant trees. The forest changes as a result of this utilisation and influenced by the weather. The villages have individual goals, but are also threatened by the collapse of the ecosystem if the forest is not managed sustainably. WoodBanks is available in a basic version and a sustainability version. We tried out both versions in the teaching module.
• CommonspolyThis board game is based on Monopoly, but the players have to convert all goods into common goods instead of private goods. They are chased across the playing field by speculators who want to prevent this. The aim is to convert as many goods as possible as quickly as possible through co-operation.
• Fate of the WorldIn this online game (single-player), players take on the role of the Chair of the fictitious Global Environmental Organisation. The organisation receives funding to initiate and implement sustainability measures in various regions of the world. The game is designed as a card strategy game. Various missions with different objectives can be played.
• StarPowerStarPower is a real-time simulation game of an organisation or system in which a specific group has unlimited power to set and change the rules of the simulation during the course of the game. The game addresses the issues of power and abuse of power.

Duration

October 2022-March 2025

Funding

The IMPULSE project is being funded by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU ) with around 124,000 euros.

Presentations and conference contributions

• Co-organization and implementation of the themed café on sustainability and democracy education at the symposium of the German Society for Higher Education Didactics 2025 - dghd 2025, March 24-28, Frankfurt am Main.
• IMPULSE – Immersive Playful Understanding and Learning for Sustainability Engagement. Poster presentation at the conference Transformative Education for Sustainable Development – Shaping Change organized by the DBU, January 25, 2024, Osnabrück.
• "IMPULSE – Immersive Playful Understanding and Learning for Sustainability Engagement." Presentation at the DGfE-BNE Commission Conference in Heidelberg. September 26, 2023.

Publication

Berg, Sophie; Wolter, Hendrik (2025): Serious Games zur Reflexion von Dilemmata der Nachhaltigkeit. Ein Leitfaden für Hochschullehrende. Herausgegeben vom Forschungsprojekt IMPULSE. Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg. Download.

Berg, Sophie; Wolter, Hendrik (2025): Spielend in die (Un)Sicherheit? Eine Lehrveranstaltung für den reflexiven Umgang mit Dilemmata der Nachhaltigkeit. In: Jana Costa, Helge Kminek, Teresa Ruckelshauß, Mandy Singer-Brodowski, Johanna Weselek (Hrsg.) (2025): Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung: Kontroversen und Debatten. Verlag Barbara Budrich, S. 59-83. https://doi.org/10.3224/84743144