Forests and wood as learning resources – Teaching methods for a sustainable future
Course start: 15. decembar 2025
Forests and wood as learning resources – Teaching methods for a sustainable future
Stephanie Mairhofer
University College of Agricultural and Environmental Education Vienna
Scientific classification:
Course start: 15. decembar 2025
Forests and wood as learning resources – Teaching methods for a sustainable future
Stephanie Mairhofer
University College of Agricultural and Environmental Education Vienna
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Scope: 6 units
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Effort: 2 hours/week
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Current participants: 4
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Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0
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Course start: 15. decembar 2025
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Course end: -
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Current status: Upcoming course
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Available languages:
Course details
General information about the course
This course is open to all interested parties but especially aims at educators, students and those interested in adult education.
The online course teaches how to integrate the topic of forests and wood into different teaching and learning settings in an age-appropriate and wide-ranging manner – from elementary education to secondary level II and even beyond. Background knowledge and practical methods are used to teach skills that raise awareness of sustainable thinking and action among children, young people and adults. The course is aimed at all educators, students and those interested in adult education, supporting them in shaping education with a future.
Course content
The course is divided into 6 units:
- Unit 1: Introduction and reference to educational framework and curriculum of general education schools
- Unit 2: The forest as an economic and climate factor
- Unit 3: Wood-based bioeconomy and circular economy
- Unit 4: Forest-wood-bioeconomy value chain
- Unit 5: Wood as a working and building material
- Unit 6: Project management and best practice examples
Learning goals
After completing this course, graduates will be able to
- understand the connection between forests, wood and sustainable development
- recognise didactic opportunities for integration into teaching
- adapt and apply concrete implementation ideas
Prerequisites
No previous knowledge is required.
Course schedule
The course consists of six units, containing at least one video, various additional materials and a final quiz. The individual units are activated simultaneously and can also be completed independently.
The course is available as a self-study course.
Certificate
For actively participating in the course you will receive an automatic certificate which includes your name, the course name as well as the completed lessons. We want to point out that this certificate merely confirms that you answered at least 75% of the self-assessment questions correctly.
As the units can also be completed individually, a badge is awarded for the successful completion of each unit.
Licence
This work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, unless otherwise noted for individual content.
Citation suggestion:
University of Applied Sciences Salzburg (2025): Forests and wood as learning resources – Teaching methods for a sustainable future (for all levels). CC BY-SA 4.0. eLABoration Wood/FH Salzburg. https://imoox.at/course/WOOC
Course Instructor
Stephanie Mairhofer
Stephanie Mairhofer has been working at the University of Agricultural and Environmental Education in Vienna since 2019. After several years at the Institute for Further Education and Training, she has been working at the Centre for Further Education and Funded Projects since 2023. From 2011 to 2018, she taught English and biology (natural sciences) at a higher education institution for economic professions in Vienna. She has training in project management and an academic background in event management. In her current position, she is involved in national and international projects, particularly in the areas of education for sustainable development (ESD), environmental education, and pedagogical and didactic innovations, with a focus on digitalisation and e-learning.
University College of Agricultural and Environmental Education Vienna
The University of Agricultural and Environmental Education Vienna is the educational centre for the training and further education of teachers in vocational education and training as well as consultants in agricultural, forestry and environmental education professions. The university college has a broad network in the field of environmental education both within Austria and internationally.
As a tertiary educational institution, the University of Agricultural and Environmental Education provides scientifically based, profession-oriented training and continuing education.
In addition to bachelor's and master's degree programmes in agricultural and environmental education, it also offers numerous continuing education and training courses, ranging from one-day seminars to part-time master's programmes.
Partners
This course was developed as part of the ‘eLABoration Wood’ educational laboratory, which combines the expertise of woodworking institutions with the pedagogical and didactic methodologies of teacher training colleges and other education experts from across Austria.
This project, with a total of 12 partner institutions, is funded by the Forest Fund, an initiative of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management, and implemented as part of the Think.Wood programme of the Austrian Wood Initiative. 
Co-funding organisations are:
Salzburg University of Applied Sciences
