The aim of this research is to increase exposure to geosciences among high school educators and students using the Project/Problem based learning framework. This is achieved by providing educators with geoscience educational content, pedagogical training, and opportunities for research engagement with emphasis on collaboration and the application of disciplinary ideas. The project emphasizes equity by addressing the needs of underrepresented groups, including students with exceptionalities, English learners (ELs), and first-generation learners, offering them deeper insights into geoscience concepts and potential career pathways.

The framework guiding this project is a combination of Project-Based Learning (PBL) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). PBL facilitates active learning and real-world problem-solving, while UDL ensures that instructional practices are flexible, inclusive, and meet the diverse needs of all students. This dual framework promotes equity in STEM education by ensuring that both content and pedagogy are accessible to learners from varied backgrounds.(Miller et al., 2021). The PBL approach has also been shown to promote equity by introducing a meaningful question that reflects a local problem and focusing on authentic artifacts that are developed collaboratively over time. Underserved students describe science as relevant to their communities, which increases engagement, participation, and access to learning (Hsu et al., 2015; Krajcik et al.,in press).

The methods employed involve workshops for high school educators, where they receive training in geoscience content and pedagogical approaches using PBL design framework. The educators then implement these lessons in their classrooms, with the support of accessible digital materials that are provided. Data collection includes feedback from educators and pre- and post-implementation student performance evaluations.

Findings indicate that this approach significantly increases student engagement and comprehension, particularly among underrepresented groups. Educators report enhanced teaching efficacy in delivering geoscience content through PBL, and students demonstrate improved understanding of geoscience applications and career pathways.

This roundtable will explore the relationship between quality teaching, social justice, and the need for a new social contract in education. As global systems face heightened challenges, from socio-political polarisation to demands for sustainable, equitable practices, quality teaching is more critical than ever. To address these issues, we must critically re-examine what we mean by “quality teaching,” the role of teacher education, and the continuum of teacher development.

Drawing on the concept of “dead ideas” in teacher education (Goodwin et al., 2023, drawing on Pike, 2011), this session challenges traditional practices that no longer meet today’s complex needs. Goodwin et al compel us to re-imagine teacher education, centring sustainability, adaptivity, and culturally responsive, transformative approaches. We consider this alongside the importance of developing teachers as democratic professionals (Zeichner, 2020) and support a more socially progressive model of teacher education (Kennedy, 2023) necessary for the deeply ethical, relational, and intellectual work required to foster equity and inclusion in education.

We present a current policy case from Scotland, where a new Framework for Teacher Education and Development is under developmen in the context of a broader reform agenda. This policy represents a system-level response to multiple challenges faced in education today. Uniquely, this initiative, co-led by three national stakeholders collaborating with the Scottish Government and seeking to work collectively across a range of stakeholders, emphasises and models the importance of collective action in shaping the future of teacher education rooted in an understanding of the purposes of education.

We will invite participants to provide feedback, engage in critical exploration, and collectively reimagine what is possible and desirable for teacher education across diverse contexts. The roundtable offers an opportunity to consider collaboration and cross-system learning while rethinking how teacher education can serve the broader aim of social justice in education systems worldwide.

Game-based teaching is a relatively common feature in higher education. The strategy is often discipline-based and mostly used as a revision and formative assessment tool. More recently, however, game-based teaching has expanded beyond cognitive outcomes to enabling inclusivity and social justice. To our knowledge, leveraging game-based teaching to address social justice is yet to be explored in South Africa, especially within the realm of academic advising. In this round-table discussion, we present an intervention research project where we use a recently customised board game (Success Prints Crash Course) to address inequities in student preparedness to adjust to university life. The purpose of the presentation is to invite critical feedback and input on the possibility of broadening the use of the board game beyond student transitions, to addressing relevant social justice issues within the South African higher education context. We draw on Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy which views education as a tool for liberation and empowerment. We believe that playing the Success Prints Crash Course board game can help students reflect on how their in-game choices relate to real-life situations, fostering a greater sense of responsibility for their learning and equipping them with valuable decision-making skills. The proposed extension of the existing research study will follow a participatory approach, where we will collaborate with students in identifying opportunities for addressing social justice through game-based teaching. The findings of this study will contribute to a better understanding of the value of game-based teaching and what it means to enable student learning and transition through innovative and inclusive teaching and academic advising practices.