Campus resources for course development
Justifying change / reasons to teach sustainability
Nanette Chadwick
Campus resources:
Minor in Sustainability Studies:
Notices to ~60 minor students in >30 majors, about your course
42 currently-approved electives in 24 departments
Your course as an elective, attract students from outside your dept
Guest lectures / activities in your course / departmental seminars
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/provost/undergrad_studies/aca
demic_sustainability/student_minor.html
Inventories of faculty expertise/research areas
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/provost/undergrad_studies/aca
demic_sustainability/activities.html
Scienc
Other
Agriculture
e&
Math
Architecture
Liberal Arts
Human
Sciences
All sustainability-related courses on campus
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/provost/undergrad_studies/aca
demic_sustainability/inventory.html
Business
Engineering
Sustainability Librarian: Greg Schmidt
Order books, course materials, get student help for projects/research
http://libguides.auburn.edu/sustainability
Student Affairs: SGA student groups
Real Food Challenge: community garden, seed library, awards
http://auburn.collegiatelink.net/organization/realfoodchallenge/about
Environmental Awareness Organization: Earthfest, plant sales, etc.
http://auburn.collegiatelink.net/organization/eao/about
Service learning/community projects: IMPACT program
https://cws.auburn.edu/studentAffairs/communityService/impact/
Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
(AASHE)
Course syllabi, case studies, reference resources, annual conference
http://www.aashe.org/resources/curriculum-resources/
Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS)
Auburn’s Silver rating; campus facilities and academic report
https://stars.aashe.org/institutions/auburn-university-al/report/2013-01-15/
Office of Sustainability
Campus operations, Climate Action Plan,
Waste Reduction and Recycling, speakers, etc.
http://www.auburn.edu/projects/sustainability
Campus as a living laboratory
Use campus & city systems to
give students hands-on, local
experience with real-world
sustainability issues:
Water – Arboretum tour,
restored stream, rain gardens
Food – Old Rotation, food gardens, campus dining, head chef Emil Topel
Transportation – solar panels to electric cars, solar cars, pedestrian/bike campus
Buildings and energy – LEED buildings: Gorie Center, OIT Bldg, Solar House
Consumption and waste – follow the waste stream; Student Center, Recycling
Walkability – downtown/neighborhoods (public health, social systems, urbanism)
Community programs: food bank, day care centers, churches, city government
How to incorporate hands-on experiences (minimal to maximal):
-- extra credit assignment/opportunity – do on their own, turn in proof
-- required course homework assignment – do on own, graded
-- class field trip or group exercise – guided, on class time
-- focus for class project or term paper – intensive involvement of instructor
Example: Zanzot course and “Landscape interventions” PM Creek, Bike path
Interconnectedness among systems
Justifying change: Why teach sustainability?
Importance = ever-increasing
(world economics, climate
change, social issues, health)
Understanding
= increasing but low
Leadership capacity to address
= even lower
Long ago
Now
Human History
9 reasons to teach sustainability:
Explaining changes to upper admin, peers, students
-- Peer inst. are doing (GA Tech, U Georgia, Emory, U Florida, etc.)
-- enhances PR and recruitment to AU
-- student and employer demand (training for green jobs)
-- increases program prestige to upper admin, positive feedback
-- increases chances for external funding and awards
(Gogue and Univ. presidents climate change award – interested!)
-- saves $$ over the long run (millions to utilities & disposal by AU)
-- engages the local community and alumni
-- enhances interdisciplinary connections and opportunities
-- increases depth of understanding by students & quality of
education
9 ways to engage sustainability in courses:
“Not more to do, but ways to do what you already do.”
(1) Hidden curriculum: use as examples/subject matter for class exercises
(2) New readings: update/alter to reflect new, integrated sustainability
issues
(3) Change or add assignments – get students outdoors, on-campus field
trips, show a film, youtube videos, TED lectures
(4) New unit or module within an existing course – new aspect of subject
that relates to sustainability
(5) New student project – relevance to student’s lives, current issues (ie:
ecological footprint, behavior change challenge)
(6) Invite a guest speaker/add a co-instructor – don’t try to be the
expert on all things sustainable! Invite faculty/staff from outside
your department – use resources of the office
(7) Develop a whole new course – put together ideas from several
faculty for an interdisciplinary course. Ie: water, food, or energy
course that examines ecology, sociology, and politics.
(8) Change the world view of your course: same course, different
strategy and goals -- paradigm shift
(9) Engaged learning / community experience: link to a local or
campus issue – service learning
Systems thinking tools: reprise and activity
Iceberg model [flip chart / handout]
(1) Behavior/Actions
What trends relate to an event or issue?
Behavior over time graphs (BOT)
Example: Walkability of Auburn (flipchart)
(2) Underlying causes
What causal structures explain these trends?
What are the long-term effects of these trends?
Any feedback loops? Positive or negative?
Causal Loop Diagrams (CLD)
(3) Mental models
What beliefs/assumptions/mental models perpetuate these trends?