2024 PRME Faculty Teaching Award

Our pedagogical approach focuses on promoting strong sustainability, grounded in an ecological perspective where the economy is a subsystem of society, and human societies are a subsystem of nature. This premise is already innovative within business schools, as we aim to expand management education to include solutions that break away from the same logic that has led to the ecological crisis. As Brazilians, we base our pedagogy on the principles of education for freedom, autonomy, and emancipation, as advocated by Paulo Freire. This involves creating a dialogical and egalitarian relationship between students and teachers, valuing the unique knowledge each person brings to the classroom.

The course is designed to address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in an integrated manner, using a "wedding cake" model. One of the course's goals is to deconstruct the concept of leadership typically taught in mainstream management education, which often places companies at the center of decision-making, even when promoting dialogue and stakeholder theory. To achieve this, we take students to the Brazilian Amazon, a territory high complexity, that encapsulates all the

challenges of sustainability in one place, particularly those related to climate change and biodiversity. There, students engage with various types of leaders — none of them business leaders — such as indigenous leaders, riverine leaders, and leaders of women's cooperatives. They are also exposed to alternative forms of leadership, based on different organizational models. And these encounters change their perspectives radically.

The experience of being in the field has proven to be an effective pedagogical approach that truly engages students. However, we add another layer that also facilitates the transformational learning process: a narrative that runs through all the activities we conduct with the group before, during, and after the trip. In this sense, following an experiential approach related to that proposed by David Kolb, students would first live the experience during the field trip before engaging with theoretical texts and reflective assignments about the concepts. Following a transdisciplinary approach, we conduct activities focused on critical reflection, including journaling and moments of silence; small group discussions; physical activities that engage other senses; and cultural experiences, ranging from local cuisine to traditional dances. All of this contributes to learning, stimulates synapses, and creates a learning experience that is also deeply personal.

Our transdisciplinary approach, centered on the individual, has proven to be a transformative tool for management education. This combines with our understanding that a strong sustainability approach is only possible when we can personally engage each individual, raising awareness of aspects such as ecology, nature, and ancestry.

Finally, we put a lot of energy into fostering a group spirit, building bonds, and creating friendships within the group. Since our students come from various countries around the world, providing space for cultural exchanges has proven to be another key to the success of the experience. We've been in the WhatsApp groups of every class since the course began, and it's impressive to see that the friendships have lasted even after the course ended.

This course was created by a multidisciplinary team with extensive fieldwork experience, a transdisciplinary approach, and a strong sustainability perspective. It is supported by a robust theoretical foundation, and our team is well-versed in experiential learning. These factors undoubtedly contribute to the course's success. However, we believe the key to its success lies in our passion for field experiences and our belief in experience-based teaching.

Our team dedicates many hours to discussions and alignment meetings, crafting narratives, selecting locations and communities to visit, and identifying the learning opportunities these visits offer to our students and the local communities. We meticulously plan every detail to anticipate and mitigate potential issues that may arise during the field experience. Our goal is to ensure that students can fully engage with the content and exchanges the field experience offers, without interruptions.

Another crucial aspect is having a local partner who is more than just a service provider but a true collaborator in course design and community engagement. We believe it is important for the entire network of partners and communities not only to host our students but also to engage in mutual learning, feeling welcomed and, above all, respected.

Our aim is to adopt a decolonial approach that values local knowledge and contributes to the community, making our relationship with our hosts essential. This approach shapes the narrative we create for the course and is ultimately what we want our students to learn.

We understand that this approach and learning method can be adapted to various contexts and field experiences. The aim of the course is to demonstrate the complexity of the relationships between human beings, nature, management models, ways of life, and leadership. This allows students to reflect on their role in these relationships and take a critical view of the roles of companies, institutions, and governments in this complex and interconnected ecosystem.

We believe that transformative learning comes from the experiences of each individual and the exchange of knowledge and know-how, and the camp is undoubtedly a very favorable environment for achieving these goals.

This experience can be adapted to other ecosystems as complex and important as the Amazon rainforest. For example, we have created another course focusing on mangroves, a vital biome in terms of climate change (blue carbon) and complex human relationships. Communities live and depend on mangroves, facing threats from various sectors such as tourism, real estate speculation, ports, and marinas, among other infrastructure projects.

We take students into these ecosystems to help them understand how their roles as business leaders directly or indirectly impact these territories.

However, it is important to emphasize that this experience is most effective when supported by bibliographical references, a narrative that provides the context to be studied, and, of course, the openness and knowledge of each individual.

Field experience is always very intense, especially in this setting. Along with all the unique aspects we offer, like sleeping in hammocks on the boat and immersing ourselves in the intensity of the forest, there's the challenge of translating everything into English. This often makes conversations longer and increases the chances of something getting lost in translation.

The teaching team has gradually learned the importance of incorporating pauses for self-reflection practices, such as journaling or guided meditations, which have proven crucial for students to process their thoughts and feelings.

Another important aspect we've considered is how our presence in these territories is perceived and interpreted by the community. We pay close attention to how our students conduct themselves during interactions, encouraging them to reflect on matters like gifts they might want to bring to the communities, purchasing artisanal products, and understanding that these relationships are delicate and require careful handling.

It's essential to recognize and respect the fine line to avoid overstepping boundaries. Mental models are still influenced by colonial attitudes to some extent, and addressing how we view indigenous peoples and traditional communities remains a challenge that our team handles with care and attention.