With support from Portland Community College’s Sustainability Training for Technical Educators (STTE) grant, funded by the National Science Foundation, the Summer Sustainability Institute (SSI) offers high quality and up-todate training to help instructors infuse sustainability into their courses. The SSI is designed to support faculty in revising their curriculum to integrate current sustainability concepts, theories, practices, and policies to help prepare students for careers in green building design, construction and maintenance.
The SSI Curriculum Revision Plan helps guide participants’ development of new and/or revised course curriculum, with the following objectives:
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Identify how faculty will integrate their SSI experiences and new knowledge into their course curriculum.
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Align course revisions with current sustainability concepts, theories, practices, and policies.
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Document changes and/or additions instructors intend to make in their courses or teaching practices.
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Determine the impact that SSI participants expect from their course revisions. Will students: o Develop new knowledge and skills relative to sustainability practices? o Apply new knowledge and skills to their school or extracurricular projects? o Change their perceptions and/or choices of courses, degree programs, or careers? o Improve their awareness and knowledge of sustainability issues, principles and practices? o Change their attitudes toward sustainability principles and practices?
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Ensure curriculum revision plans contain descriptions of essential elements for effective instruction, including: o Specific outcomes or skills that students will produce or demonstrate o Instructional formats to be used (lecture, hands-on learning, demo, etc.) o Instructional tools needed (multimedia, technology, equipment, materials, etc.) o Assessment plans to determine if students have achieved the set outcomes and skills (test, presentation, portfolio, observation by instructor, etc.)
The SSI Curriculum Revision Plan also seeks evaluation feedback, to assess participants’ curriculum revision experiences and to support continual improvement in course revision efforts. Please consider the following questions when developing your curriculum revision plan.
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How has the SSI shaped your curriculum revision process?
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How can the curriculum revision process be improved?
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What are the major challenges in revising your course(s)?
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What resources do you need to help your students reach their learning objectives?

Revision of at least one course is a requirement of the SSI program. The overall purpose of the Curriculum Revision
Plan is to help you organize your ideas in a way that will facilitate integration of your sustainability training into your courses. Revisions should include some new content and instruction techniques.
You will have an opportunity to share your ideas with each other during the week, at the follow-up Summit on August
30, and via our web page at www.ppc.edu/stte. We request that you submit your completed Curriculum Revision Plan by August 30 to Kim Smith, the SSI Training Coordinator, at kdsmith@pcc.edu.
Note that parts of your plan may be combined with other faculty input for use in evaluation reports, but names and other forms of identity will be removed to ensure anonymity. We appreciate all suggestions to help us improve the STTE SSI program.
Identify the course(s) you plan to revise using knowledge and skills gained from the SSI.
College/School
Central Piedmont Community
College
Course Number & Title
SST 110 – Introduction to Sustainability
SST 210 – Issues in Sustainability
Why did you choose this/these course(s) for revision?
The content from this summer’s SSI aligns closely with the content these two courses should have. Part of the two courses listed above is a history of sustainability issues and the other part presents currents trends in sustainability technologies.
The content from the SSI fits well for both.
Describe the type of impact you expect your curriculum revisions will have on your students.
Circle “Yes” or “No” for each type of impact. Then, briefly explain your expectations.
Will your course revisions help students:
Develop new knowledge and skills of sustainability principles and practices relevant to the course(s) and discipline?
Apply new knowledge and skills to their school or extracurricular projects?
Change their perceptions and/or choices of courses, degree programs, or careers?
Improve awareness and knowledge of broader sustainability issues within their communities and the world.
Change their attitudes toward sustainability principles and practices?
Be better qualified for jobs.
Other: Please describe.
Yes No
Yes No
Yes No
Yes No
Yes No
Yes No
Yes No

Explain why you expect this/these impact(s) to occur.
The students in our program have two goals upon completion of their degree; to become better prepared for a career and to be better stewards to the world around them.
I learned this summer at the SSI that both of these goals are possible. I’ve learned that when people become educated and are more aware of how fragile the Earth is, they also want to become better stewards. Additionally, when there are people who are trained in the various methods of making
“business as usual” more sustainable and less harmful to the environment, the market will open up for jobs and careers.
The Speakers, curriculum, and activities at the SSI reinforced to me that these two things are possible.

Summer Sustainability Institute Template Description: STTE , NSF Project No. 0812576, J. Mattoon, External Evaluator, and Kim Smith, SSI Training
Coordinator, July, 2010.
Use the following guidelines and tables to identify the learning objectives and instruction techniques you plan to revise in your course(s). They are designed to help you organize your plan for adding content and/or new student learning activities to the course(s) you teach.
Please copy and paste additional tables, if needed for multiple courses.
New or revised learning objectives are essential for effective curriculum revisions. Write student learning objectives that describe exactly what you expect students to be able to do related to sustainability after taking your course. Writing these as measurable actions, using action verbs, rather than in general terms like “understand”
(which is hard to assess) is important. Reference the Verbs for Measurable Learning Objectives (at the end of this document) for help in setting specific outcomes for student knowledge and skills.
Course Number and Title:
Students completing this course will be able to:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Recognize a skill that can be used to correct an action that is not environmentally friendly.
Differentiate between construction practices that are considered “green” or “non-green”.
Evaluate actions for lowering a carbon footprint.
Correct existing errors in building design or efficiency.
Integrate alternative tools/actions to contemporary environmental problems.
Evaluate a technology for use in different geographic locations.
.
Develop action plans to make an entity more sustainable in day to day operations.

Summer Sustainability Institute Template Description: STTE , NSF Project No. 0812576, J. Mattoon, External Evaluator, and Kim Smith, SSI Training
Coordinator, July, 2010.
Describe any new teaching or learning methods you plan to use as a result of your SSI experience (multimedia, technology, lecture, hands-on learning, demo, etc.) to help achieve your new learning objectives.
New Methodology: Identify any new teaching/learning technique(s) you plan to integrate into your course(s).
1
Will use architectural software to teach principles of planning and locating a new home to take advantage of the sun.
2
Will use a “Blower Door” and “Infrared Camera” to teach students how to conduct an energy audit.
3
Will involve a class in constructing a vermiculture bin.
4
Will use open source software, like Google Docs, to teach principles of integrated design.
How do you expect the new teaching/learning method(s) increase your students’ knowledge or skills or change their attitudes?
I anticipate that students will be excited and engaged when learning about, and being involved with the building of, the items listed above. Having students participate in demonstrations and implementing a technology that is
“living” will teach them about the impacts of the technology, and train them to utilize the technology as well.
When students see a technology that works and that is needed, they become excited and eager to learn and do the practices.
Describe how each new activity will be set up. What must the instructor and/or students do to prepare for the activity? Identify set-up tasks, equipment, materials, and/or supplies needed to complete the activity. Describe what students must do to prepare for the activity when appropriate (e.g., reading, studying, forming teams, etc.).
Using a blower door:
1.
Students need to understand the physics behind the test
2.
Students need to learn how to set a blower door up
3.
Students need to know and understand how to calibrate the controls
4.
Instructors need a structure to demonstrate a blower doors use
5.
Instructors need to make sure that all students are engaged, and not just a few.
6.
Instructors need to know where to find drafts in a structure.
7.
Students need to know how to fix errors detected by the blower door.
Building a Vermiculture Bin:
1.
Instructor needs a location to place the bin
2.
Instructor needs materials for the bin
3.
Students need to know how to build a bin

Summer Sustainability Institute Template Description: STTE , NSF Project No. 0812576, J. Mattoon, External Evaluator, and Kim Smith, SSI Training
Coordinator, July, 2010.
4.
Students need to know the effects of location on bin productivity
5.
Students need to know what kinds of waste and what type of worms will work in the bin
6.
Students need a source of waste
7.
Students need to find someone to take soil
8.
Students need to schedule time for bin maintenance and mixing
9.
Students need to know how to calculate the bin’s productivity
Using Google Docs for Integrated Design
1.
Instructor and students need to set up Google accounts
2.
Instructor needs access to a computer lab for the exercise
3.
Instructor needs to divide class in to teams representing the various entities in the design process
4.
Students need to know how tradition building design is/was done, and the changes in that process with integrated design.
5.
Students need to know to use the “document” and spreadsheet” designer in Google Docs
6.
Students need to know how to share a document in Google Docs
7.
Students need to how to edit a shared document in Google Docs
8.
The Instructor has to monitor progress of the design process
9.
Students need to evaluate progress of design
Student assessment should be closely aligned with each learning objective. Try to ensure that students demonstrate active use of new knowledge by solving problems, making critical decisions, or creating new information or products from what they learn. Assessment of new skills may require only a few new test questions or they might require direct observation of new tasks or collaborative work. To make your observations consistent and accurate, you may wish to create a checklist or rubric that enables you to assign ratings of student performance (e.g., excellent, good, acceptable, poor).
Describe assessment methods to determine achievement of specific learning objectives.
1
3
4
2
5
Objective 1. Use a matching test to evaluate how well students can identify the correct action to fix an environmental problem
Objective 6. Use a rubric to evaluate technology use in different locations
Objective 5. Students will have to make a map showing where certain technologies are best utilized.
Objective 7. Use a rubric with standards to evaluate the use of a “plan”
Objective 2. A matching exercise to evaluate knowledge of green vs. non green building practices.
How are these methods different than previous methods used in your course(s)?

Summer Sustainability Institute Template Description: STTE , NSF Project No. 0812576, J. Mattoon, External Evaluator, and Kim Smith, SSI Training
Coordinator, July, 2010.
How has the SSI shaped your curriculum revision process?
By teaching me about “How” sustainability technology “Can” work.
By showing me that there is a market for the technology and that it is widely used.
By showing me the latest technology for making society more environmentally friendly
How can the curriculum revision process be improved?
I like the exercise, but may be easier if the form was digital.
What are the major challenges in revising your course(s)?
Describing my specific actions for methods used.
Finding books to use in my classes
What resources do you need to help your students reach their learning objectives?
I honestly think I have enough. Especially with all of the 2010 SSI presenter materials available to us.

Summer Sustainability Institute Template Description: STTE , NSF Project No. 0812576, J. Mattoon, External Evaluator, and Kim Smith, SSI Training Coordinator, July, 2010.
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Understanding : It is challenging to assess if students
“understand” a particular concept or principle, so try to create a task that will verify their understanding.
Students should be able to demonstrate their capability to use new knowledge to make decisions or communicate information to others. Some examples: apply a principle in a particular context, find a solution to a problem, compare and contrast ideas, assess a sustainability plan or practice, or perform a new skill and explain why it is important.
Standards : If you are using established industry or educational standards, please list them as part of your learning objectives. Include a reference citation (publication or
Internet URL) where the standards may be found.
Quality and Value of
Assessment: Regardless of your chosen method for measuring student learning, try to insure your outcomes can be measured. Use specific criteria to grade students, while providing feedback that supports improvement.
New Teaching Methods and Strategies : You may decide to use a new teaching method or change your student learning environment as a result of your SSI experience. New methods can be simple or complex, but consider the purpose and how best to integrate the method(s) into your course.