Teaching Down to Earth —Service-Learning Methodology for Science Education and Sustainability at the University Level: A Practical Approach

The Bologna Process and the European Higher Education area require the application of new active methodologies in the classroom that place the student at the center of his or her learning process. In the present work, we analyze the application of a Service-Learning (SL) methodology in the context of a Final Degree Dissertation (FDD) in the degree in Environmental Sciences at the University of Extremadura (Spain). The project deals with an isolated Kichwa community in Ecuador and involves the development of alternative science education materials for the capacitation of in-service science teachers. This paper evaluates how an FDD carried out according to Service-Learning (SL) principles can help in the acquisition of so-called “soft skills” and how these can be focused in the promotion of the sustainable development goal (SDG) knowledge and achievement. To this end, a qualitative study of the experience and a deep evaluation, followed by a final reflection, were carried out. According to the preliminary results, we can conclude that Higher Education should include SDGs in its teaching praxis and could do this successfully using the SL methodology.