How do schools view the SDGs? A documentary observation of XPBL at the 2021 KIST Summit

The author had the honor of participating in the KIST Summit for the second year, and likewise offered an elective course on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this time extending into a linked thematic PBL. Because this was not the author's first time discussing and connecting SDG themes with KIST partners, the author planned to first take everyone through a review of the SDGs, but at the same time asked everyone two questions. The first question was, what do you think is the importance of the SDGs for students? The second question was, what questions do you have about the SDGs that you want to ask? Then, using schools as the unit, the two questions were focused on and consensus was built, letting each school present its focused views and thoughts. The main participating partner schools believed that the key and important points for students were knowing the local place, whole-person development, seeing oneself, connecting internationally, responsibility, community, diversity, action, and life, which are broadly similar to the seven major character strengths emphasized by KIST: passion, optimism, curiosity, gratitude, self-control, grit, and social intelligence. In addition, the partner schools' questions about the SDGs were generally inseparable from topics such as how to integrate them with the curriculum, how to assess them, and how to integrate them with school development. Through this dialogue, the author realized that, for schools, the SDGs had fallen into a TO BE OR TO HAVE confusion, and at that time also guided the schools to think about how to view the SDGs. Should they be treated as teaching material? Should their educational content be emphasized? The author also realized that everyone viewed the SDGs with a certain pressure and tension, which caused their thinking to be somewhat constrained. The author encouraged the schools to return to school education development, and especially when a school asked how to assess students in SDG learning assessment, the author encouraged the school to return to a fundamental point, which is the student image. More clearly,