Learning journey designed to support adult education
The three videos form a coherent learning journey designed to support adult education settings in fostering meaningful climate and nature action.
- Session 1 explores how change happens, and why it often gets stuck, introducing key psychological insights such as polarisation dynamics, the limits of fear-based approaches, and the principle that actions drive beliefs.
- Session 2 builds on this foundation by focusing on how to develop collective agency and connect effectively with others, highlighting the importance of engaging people’s intuitive thinking (“talking to the Elephant”) and managing differences in meaning and interpretation.
- Session 3 translates these insights into practical systems thinking tools, guiding participants to map stakeholders, analyse connections, and design targeted interventions using structured methods such as systems mapping and the Individual–Social–Material (ISM) model.
Together, the three sessions move from understanding the psychology of change, to building collective engagement and agency, to designing systemic change programmes.
LEVERS 2.0 – How change happens
Session 1 explains why climate action in adult education settings often gets stuck despite high awareness and concern. It introduces three core insights: first, strong opinions can escalate into polarisation (“the pyramid”), especially when issues feel urgent; second, fear alone rarely drives sustained action and can instead produce hopelessness or resistance; and third, action typically precedes belief.
People develop stronger pro-climate attitudes after acting, not before. The central message is that meaningful engagement comes from creating structured opportunities for action and building agency, rather than relying on information, persuasion, or emotional appeals.
LEVERS 2.0 – Developing whole-school approaches
Session 2 builds on the idea that actions drive beliefs by focusing on how to develop collective agency and bring others along in climate action. It introduces different forms of agency (individual, proxy, and collective) and explains that meaningful engagement requires connecting with people’s intuitive “Elephant” (automatic, experience-based thinking) rather than only addressing rational reasoning.
The session highlights that words and concepts (like “climate action”) carry different meanings for different people (“Ginger the Dog”), which can create misunderstanding unless surfaced and managed. The core message is that building whole-school approaches requires talking to the Elephant, managing differences in meaning, avoiding polarisation, and linking climate action to what genuinely matters to people.
LEVERS 2.0 – Systems thinking tools
Session 3 translates the psychological insights from Sessions 1 and 2 into practical systems thinking tools for developing whole-school climate engagement programmes. It introduces two complementary roles for supporting change — the “midwife” (supporting people through new situations) and the “mechanic” (providing technical expertise) — and emphasises the importance of taking a systems view rather than simply delivering activities or solutions.
Participants learn to map stakeholders, identify connections, clarify the change they seek, and reflect on leverage points through a step-by-step systems mapping process. The session concludes by introducing tools such as hypothesis testing and the Individual–Social–Material (ISM) model to analyse barriers and design targeted interventions, reinforcing that effective climate action requires understanding and intervening in the wider system, not just individuals