ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces a transactional theory of learning. It addresses the specific content that teachers should pay attention to in an environmental and sustainability education (ESE) context: learning sustainability-related habits that allow for creativity. It also presents models for understanding learning processes in an ESE context: two different ‘routes’ learning can take (i.e. short and long learning loops) as well as three different ‘roots’ for learning (i.e. intellectual disruptions, changes in the physical surrounding and poignant experiences). Furthermore, it identifies and discusses four crucial aspects that influence the learning outcomes: the intrapersonal, the interpersonal, the institutional and the physical. The presented models and aspects can be used as a background for designing efficient and fruitful ESE teaching. The chapter ends with a reflection on the relation between bodily feelings and cognition, since an important part of ESE learning concerns not only knowledge but also feeling connected to ethical and political issues.
