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Academic sustainability programs aim to develop key competencies in sustainability, including problem‐solving skills and the ability to collaborate successfully with experts and stakeholders. These key competencies may be most fully developed in new teaching and learning situations. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the kind of, and extent to which, these key competencies can be acquired in real‐world learning opportunities.

The paper summarizes key competencies in sustainability, identifies criteria for real‐world learning opportunities in sustainability programs, and draws on dominant real‐world learning models including project‐ and problem‐based learning, service learning, and internships in communities, businesses, and governments. These components are integrated into a framework to design real‐world learning opportunities.

A “functional and progressive” model of real‐world learning opportunities seems most conducive to introduce students (as well as faculty and community partners) to collaborative research between academic researchers and practitioners. The stepwise process combined with additional principles allows building competencies such as problem solving, linking knowledge to action, and collaborative work, while applying concepts and methods from the field of sustainability.

The paper offers examples of real‐world learning opportunities at the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University, discusses general challenges of implementation and organizational learning, and draws attention to critical success factors such as collaborative design, coordination, and integration in general introductory courses for undergraduate students.

The paper contributes to sustainability education by clarifying how real‐world learning opportunities contribute to the acquisition of key competencies in sustainability. It proposes a functional and progressive model to be integrated into the (undergraduate) curriculum and suggests strategies for its implementation.

This paper aims to showcase and critically review the value of selected pedagogies in which real-world engagements are used to enhance sustainability learning in an open, distance and e-learning (ODeL) context in the Global South. The paper considers opportunities, issues, alternatives and implementation guidelines.

The School of Ecological and Human Sustainability (University of South Africa) serves as case study, with blended and fully online learning used as examples of pedagogies. The assessment of these pedagogies uses examples of learning activities and exercises, critical reflections on feedback by lecturers and students and consideration against criteria for real-world learning.

The experiences showcased illustrate that despite challenges in ODeL, real-world engagements can be used successful as pedagogy for sustainability learning in the Global South context. Limited access to ICTs can be mitigated through mobile technologies and free and open software applications, as illustrated by the examples in this paper.

The case study approach and qualitative methodology present limitations, with focus on only two examples. However, significant depth is achieved with the assessment of these examples, while the recommendations and lessons learnt can be applied in other contexts, thus expanding on the knowledge and experience in this field.

This paper showcases innovative approaches to incorporate real-world engagements for sustainability learning in ODeL. Application of real-world engagements in ODeL in the Global South context is original and addresses the need for teaching and learning strategies responding to the digital divide and contributing to expand access to higher education and an Afrocentric discourse to best practice.

This paper aims to propose and evaluate an innovative approach to education for sustainable consumption (ESC) which empowers teenagers and young adults to improve sustainable consumption competences. This approach combines pedagogical learning approaches such as real-world learning (e.g. experiential learning and research-based learning) with transformative and transdisciplinary research approaches (i.e. real-world laboratory research).

Through a transdisciplinary research design, the authors explore if real-world experiments (RWEs) offer a suitable approach for sustainable consumption education at schools. RWEs are a research approach for knowledge production, aiming to go beyond temporary interventions, to establish semi-permanent spaces for sustainability transformation and reflexive learning. To evaluate this proposal, the authors study already existing active teaching and learning approaches developed within and for ESC and put these in perspective, to define and understand the RWEs.

Insights from a transdisciplinary research project which applied RWEs as a teaching and learning approach in German schools complement conceptual considerations. As a result, advantages, such as the development of core competencies among learners, but also challenges experienced, are illustrated. Though, the challenges found are not unique to the RWE, rather they point out important potentials for ESC through suggesting systematic changes in educational institutions and teaching approaches.

This paper explores RWEs as an active and participatory teaching and learning approach for sustainable consumption education at schools and delivers practical insights and a definition of RWEs as an innovative teaching and learning approach.

The purpose of this article is to study how real world learning was used to engender and enhance sustainability principles and practices with 11 micro-, small- and medium-tourism business enterprises and 101 university tourism students enrolled across three university courses.

Action research processes were used to focus curricula on “education about and for sustainability”. A participatory paradigm informed the action research processes. The key methodology was qualitative. Empirical materials were generated through lived experiences, reflexive team conversations, team journals, reflexive journals and student learning materials. Reflexive conversations and reflective dialogue framed interpretations.

The action research process found that pedagogies, andragogies and ethnogogies that emphasize social processes of meaning making and sensemaking enhance and engender “education about sustainability” and “education for sustainability”, especially when coupled with real world learning as a platform for social and profession-building processes between university students, course teaching staff and industry, in this case, micro-, small- and medium-tourism entrepreneurs.

The qualitative findings of this action research study are specific to the participants involved. Generalizability to other university and business settings and goodness of fit require further study.

Insights are provided with regard to implementing real world learning in university undergraduate and postgraduate courses by partnering with industry and focusing on education for sustainability (EfS). A demonstration of the effectiveness of action research as a tool for changing curricula is provided.

Learning is a social process of meaning making. Time for real world social interaction is critical for learning. Partnering with industry complements student learning and facilitates the translation of theory into practice.

EfS is engendered and enhanced when learning-teaching engagements are predicated on real world settings, circumstances and experiences.

This paper aims to reflect on approaches through which open, distance and e-learning (ODeL) students can use their local environments for assessments and explores how this shapes their conceptualisations of “university” and “campus”. Key issues and lessons learnt are covered, thus providing pointers for implementation of the type of assessment approaches that are presented.

Using three undergraduate sustainability-related modules in the Department of Geography, University of South Africa (Unisa), the lecturers’ reflections on the real-world sustainability learning experiences of students in these modules (2015-2018) have been cross-correlated and compared to present an integrated picture of emerging best practice.

The use of real-world, place-based applications, which form a central theme in the assessment strategy for all three modules, allows students to deal hands-on with sustainability issues, establishes a connection between ODeL students and the university and presents an opportunity to engage these students in real-world sustainability learning despite not being on campus.

The case study format and qualitative, reflective methodology present limitations, while specifically focusing on ODeL and the final phase of undergraduate studies. Despite these limitations, the lessons learnt can be of value to universities currently transferring to online offerings, with possible impacts for sustainability learning.

This paper addresses misconceptions on the role of ODeL in transforming to sustainability. The criticism that ODeL is suitable for primarily theoretical training is countered by evidence that appropriately structured assessments requiring ODeL students to engage with real-world issues in their local environments, can provide valuable sustainability learning experiences.

The ability for learners to interact online via their avatars in a 3-D simulation space means that virtual worlds afford a host of educational opportunities not offered by other learning technology platforms, but their use also raises several pertinent issues that warrant consideration. This chapter reviews the educational use of virtual worlds from a design perspective. Virtual-world definitions are explored, along with their key educational characteristics. Different virtual-world environments are briefly contrasted, including Second Life, Active Worlds, Open Sim, and Minecraft. A wide variety of virtual-world uses in schools and universities are examined so as to understand their versatility. Key educational benefits of virtual worlds are distilled from the literature, such as the ability to facilitate 3-D simulations, role-plays, construction tasks, and immersive learning. Emergent issues surrounding the use of virtual worlds are also analyzed, including cognitive load, safety, and representational fidelity. One higher education and one school level vignette are provided in order to offer more detailed insight into the use of virtual worlds in practice. Recommendations for learning design and implementation are presented, based on the thematic analysis of contemporary virtual-worlds research.

The purpose of this paper is to reveal the preliminary results of the IRMOS Project – an EC project to “extended geo‐learning”, delivered “in‐class”, “in‐house”, “in campus and in building” on an urban, suburban and global GPS basis.

The IRMOS Project research is being carried out by 13 European organisations. The basic premise behind their collaborative efforts is that today's service orientated infrastructures (SOIs) lack real‐time capabilities. IRMOS aims to design, develop and validate an SOI using interactive real‐time applications – enabling time‐constrained operation and dynamic service control and adaptation as well as their efficient integration into the infrastructure.

Using the IRMOS Project to blend open source learning platforms with mobile learning technologies, can produce a real time “extended” location‐based learning experience to learners active both in real and virtual learning worlds. This can make available both context and location sensitive learning experiences. In addition, this can personalise learning to a degree previously unknown except in one‐to‐one tuition.

The results of the IRMOS Project should change the way that: educators develop learning materials and teach; learners interact with technology‐delivered learning materials; films – especially special effects – are made; and people interact via virtual worlds.

This paper outlines the preliminary results of groundbreaking research, which allies the real and virtual worlds to enhance learning experiences. This has value for all students – of any age – anywhere.

Traditional evacuation drill is monotonous. Therefore, evacuation drill should be diversified to get more people interested in disaster prevention. Our idea is game-based evacuation drill using real world edutainment (RWE). This paper aims at clarifying how RWE-based evacuation drill is realized.

RWE provides experiential learning as the integration of edutainment and the real world. An RWE system works on a tablet PC and presents digital contents associated with learning scenes (e.g. real world locations) according to a branched storyline.

Story (branched storyline), indirect/direct competition, and augmented reality content provide multi-ending and flexible instructional support and are helpful for diversifying evacuation drill.

RWE-based evacuation drill could be accepted by more people, but a branched storyline should be carefully refined to achieve maximum effect.

RWE-based evacuation drill could open up diversification of disaster prevention education.

The originality of this study is to integrate edutainment, the real world, and evacuation drill. In the long run, this study could be helpful to save lives when a natural catastrophe (e.g. large earthquake) occurs.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse which are the active learning methodologies, which had better contribute to acquiring competences for sustainable development (SD) in higher education.

Cluster analysis is used to define 252 students’ skills patterns and their perception of the different active learning methodologies conducted in class to promote SD.

The results show how different learning methodologies enhance SD, the quality assessment perception of students regarding the methodologies used in class and present real-world experiences, problem-based learning and case studies as the active learning methodologies that had better promote SD.

The limitations of the study are that the results obtained are particular for one university and are not generalizable to other institutions and could vary depending on the degree and year of study of the group of student participants.

The research proposes to introduce active learning methodologies in general and real-world experiences, problem-based learning and case studies in particular, in education for sustainable development.

These research findings could be used for those interested in applying active learning methodologies to foster the acquisition of SD competences to promote the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development goals.

This research study aims to shed light on the nascent stage of the relationship between pedagogical approaches used in higher education to develop sustainability competences.

Training is one of the key dimensions of internal marketing. Virtual reality (VR), a computer technology that replicates an environment (real or imagined) and simulates a user’s physical presence in that environment to allow for user interaction, offers unique opportunities from a training perspective, such as allowing users to improve their skills without the consequence of failing real customers or the need to be in the real environment physically. This study aims to focus on comparing the effectiveness of VR hospitality training with that of real-world hospitality training.

This study adopts situated cognition theory to empirically test the effect of the awareness of contextual variables (social interaction, location and task) on learning and compare learning outcomes between tourism training in VR and real-world experimental settings.

Results indicate that location and task awareness enhance cognitive absorption, but social awareness does not influence cognitive absorption. There is no significant difference between training in real-world and VR environments. Finally, cognitive absorption has a positive effect on mental model change (the learning outcome).

This result advances the theoretical understanding on the significance of learning context by applying situated cognition theory in hospitality training and has significant implications for training that aims for rigor and efficiency within cost, location and time constraints.

培训是内部营销的关键维度之一。 虚拟现实 (VR), 一种复制某种环境（真实的或想象的）并模拟在该环境中实质性存在的用户的计算机技术并且允许用户交互, 从培训的角度来看提供独特的机会, 例如允许用户在没有培训的情况下提高他们的技能避免承担损失真实客户的后果或需要实际身处真实环境中。 本研究的重点是比较 VR 酒店培训与现实世界的招待培训的效果。

本研究采用情境认知理论对情境变量（社交互动、位置和任务）的认识对学习和比较 VR 和现实世界实验环境中的旅游培训之间的学习成果进行实证检验。

结果表明, 位置和任务意识增强了认知吸收, 但社会意识不影响认知吸收。 在现实世界和 VR 环境中的训练之间没有显着差异。 最后, 认知吸收对心理模式改变（学习结果）有显著积极作用。

该结果通过在酒店培训中应用情境认知理论促进了对学习情境重要性的理论理解, 并对旨在成本、地点和时间限制内实现严谨和高效的培训具有重要意义。