Summer Sustainability Institute Template Description: STTE, NSF Project No. 0812576, J. Mattoon, External Evaluator, and Kim Smith, SSI Training
Coordinator, July, 2010.
PCC’s Summer Sustainability Institute 2010
Curriculum Revision Plan
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.
Section I: Curriculum Revision Plan Objectives
The SSI Curriculum Revision Plan helps guide participants’ development of new and/or revised course
curriculum, with the following objectives:

Identify how faculty will integrate their SSI experiences and new knowledge into their course curriculum.

Align course revisions with current sustainability concepts, theories, practices, and policies.

Document changes and/or additions instructors intend to make in their courses or teaching practices.

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?
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.

How has the SSI shaped your curriculum revision process?

How can the curriculum revision process be improved?

What are the major challenges in revising your course(s)?

What resources do you need to help your students reach their learning objectives?
Summer Sustainability Institute Template Description: STTE, NSF Project No. 0812576, J. Mattoon, External Evaluator, and Kim Smith, SSI Training
Coordinator, July, 2010.
Section II: Curriculum Revision Plan
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.
Table 1. Course(s) to Revise
Identify the course(s) you plan to revise using knowledge and skills gained from the SSI.
College/School
Johnson County Community
College
Course Number & Title
ITMD 125 - Interior Textiles
“
ITMD 132 - Materials & Resources
“
ITMD 189 - Sustaining Design
Why did you choose this/these course(s) for revision? These are not only the courses I teach in the program
but I am part of the team involved in the reevaluation & revision of these courses for the department. The
subjects of these particular courses also have a 2 fold impact – 1: students success in the their career is
dependent on the knowledge contained in these classes & 2: these classes, especially 125 & 132 have a
major impact on the environment in the production of the products for application in the interior design
career.
Table 2. Impact of Curriculum Revisions on Students
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
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Summer Sustainability Institute Template Description: STTE, NSF Project No. 0812576, J. Mattoon, External Evaluator, and Kim Smith, SSI Training
Coordinator, July, 2010.
communities and the world.
Change their attitudes toward sustainability principles and practices?
Be better qualified for jobs.
Other: Please describe. The student will be better able to evaluate the claims of
Yes
Yes
No
No
marketers/companies re: green/sustainable claims
Yes
No
Explain why you expect this/these impact(s) to occur. The students will be exposed the concepts of
sustainability as it pertains to the individual, the career and the client through the projects, exercises and
discussions in the classroom. With my involvement on the campus wide sustainability committee, I also
will be involved in presenting guest speakers to talk to the JCCC community on sustainable topics that
may affect in their careers and as individuals.
Section III: Curriculum Revision Description
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.
Table 3a. Learning Objectives
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:
ITMD 125
Students completing this course will be able to:
1
Predict the impact on the environment of the production of textiles.
2
Describe the global impact of the textile industry on sustainable resources.
Course Number and Title:
ITMD 132
Students completing this course will be able to:
1
Identify sustainable design concepts related to interior materials
2
Demonstrate comprehension of sustainable properties as related to individual materials
used in the interior design field.
3
Include sustainable products in developing a product reference file
Summer Sustainability Institute Template Description: STTE, NSF Project No. 0812576, J. Mattoon, External Evaluator, and Kim Smith, SSI Training
Coordinator, July, 2010.
4
Identify sustainable behaviors of companies involved in the design of interior materials
and products.
Course Number and Title: ITMD 189
Students completing this course will be able to:
1
Analyze the sustainability of products used in the design industry.
2
Organize information of products and companies in relation to the triple bottom line of
sustainability.
Summer Sustainability Institute Template Description: STTE, NSF Project No. 0812576, J. Mattoon, External Evaluator, and Kim Smith, SSI Training
Coordinator, July, 2010.
Table 3b. New Teaching/Learning Methods
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
TEXTILES: Add a 4th video to the carpet research assignment for students to review
then write a summary and reaction to information viewed in the video
2
TEXTILES: Adding a component to the textiles trend report with the students reviewing
and predicating how this new trend may affect the environment
3
4
MATERIALS: Students will develop a product/resources electronic file of information
related to individual products, companies and local sources. Information to include:
‘sustainable’ choices for specification in projects, sustainable practices used in the
production of the products and sustainable practices of the companies ‘in-house’
SUSTAINING: Students will develop a ‘green spectrum’ of information on interior
products and rate the product and the company on this spectrum in relation to the
sustainable Triple Bottom Line.
How do you expect the new teaching/learning method(s) increase your students’ knowledge or skills or change
their attitudes?
Exposure to sustainable concepts as a total picture will help expand the students’ view of all aspects
of interior design, from design choices, de-construct of client space to final product selections. The
students’ exposure within the classroom and outside assignments will expand the students’ awareness
and concern for the environment around them and their careers.
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.).
MATERIALS: Team activities in the preparation of product reports will contribute to one source of
product gathering for the development of the product resource file. Attendance at 4 site visits to
gather information re: products and companies along with the local sources students that will have
contacts with in the future of their career. There is also the opportunity to learn from 4 class guest
speakers (and possible community speakers as the opportunity arises) the features needed for
appropriate specification to designed space. Students will be required to research individually and in
teams the information required for the assigned resource file. Product reference file has been
designed to be an electronic reference with information collected and shared via the Learning
Management System, ANGEL, used on campus.
Summer Sustainability Institute Template Description: STTE, NSF Project No. 0812576, J. Mattoon, External Evaluator, and Kim Smith, SSI Training
Coordinator, July, 2010.
SUSTAINING: Students are to form teams, develop the rating system after reading assignments and
attending class. Using the rating system students are then to choose products from a submitted list to
investigate re: sustainable principles and rate the product & company.
TEXTILES: Student teams will research case students on textile subjects that include sustainable
aspects, and report to the class on the case student and the results the student researched. Students
will research textile trends using library resources in the process of accomplishing the trend reports.
Class discussion of each trend and its implications on the field of textiles and design will occur when
each trend report is due.
Table 3c. Student Assessment
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
2
3
Materials
Identify, comprehension - the development of the resource file submitted and assessed
using a rubric based on assignment parameters.
Sustaining
Analyze & Organize – rubric will be developed with the inclusion of the triple bottom line
aspects as it relates to products and companies
Textiles
Predict & Describe Impact – rubric developed for the evaluation of submitted paper – class
discussion participation in the presentation of papers
How are these methods different than previous methods used in your course(s)?
Students team investigation of case studies outside of the classroom structure and reporting as a team to
the class.
Students’ development of chart/rankings of products and companies.
Student developing an electronic resource file that includes specific information on use of product in
interiors with connections to sustainability and selling skills and a final compilation of a class student file.
Section IV: Curriculum Revision Plan Feedback
How has the SSI shaped your curriculum revision process?
SSI has helped me develop a broader sustainable picture to share with the students in relation to the
specification of products for their design projects. I have asked guest speakers outside of interiors to
come into the classroom and share their industrys’ concerns as related to sustainability. This will connect
the information learned in the classroom to whole picture of sustainability.
How can the curriculum revision process be improved?
Possibly a short presentation on assessments may help those who would like to develop different and
objective means to look at assigned student projects.
Summer Sustainability Institute Template Description: STTE, NSF Project No. 0812576, J. Mattoon, External Evaluator, and Kim Smith, SSI Training
Coordinator, July, 2010.
What are the major challenges in revising your course(s)?
At our institution, some curriculum revision can be worked through with discussions within our department.
This means individual projects are somewhat easier to develop and use. To change learning outcomes
and course objectives and competencies across campus requires an Ed Affairs process that is quite
complicated and can take place very slowly.
What resources do you need to help your students reach their learning objectives?
At this point I am not aware of any resource needs, our campus and my department is quite supportive
of sustainability and keeping up-to-date for the employability of our students.
Summer Sustainability Institute Template Description: STTE, NSF Project No. 0812576, J. Mattoon, External Evaluator, and Kim Smith, SSI Training Coordinator, July, 2010.
Verbs for Measurable Learning Objectives
add
alter
analyze
apply
arrange
articulate
assemble
build
calculate
calibrate
categorize
chart
check
choose
classify
collect
combine
communicate
compare
compile
complete
chart
compute
conduct
connect
construct
contrast
convert
coordinate
correct
criticize
critique
decrease
defend
define
demonstrate
derive
describe
design
designate
detect
develop
diagram
differentiate
discriminate
dissect
distinguish
distribute
divide
document
draw
duplicate
eliminate
employ
estimate
evaluate
execute
expand
explain
express
extend
extract
extrapolate
find
finish
formulate
generate
group
guide
identify
illustrate
include
increase
indicate
insert
integrate
isolate
label
list
locate
manipulate
map
mark
match
measure
modify
name
number
order
organize
outline
paraphrase
perform
place
plan
plot
position
predict
prepare
present
propose
prove
provide
rearrange
recall
reconstruct
regroup
relate
remove
reorganize
rephrase
replace
report
reproduce
restate
restructure
score
select
show
signify
sketch
Recommendations for Setting Learning Objectives and Planning Student Assessment
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.
solve
sort
state
structure
suggest
summarize
support
translate
troubleshoot
verify
write