Wholly Frijoles!
Teaching Sustainability thru Interactive
Systems Thinking Education
2012-2013 Advocates Coming Together
Jill Ramirez, M.A., Coordinator of Sustainability Education, Residence Life
Russell Martin, M.A., Asst. Director, Office of Academic Success and Achievement
The University of Arizona
Goals
• Understand the systems thinking framework
• Experience an innovative, educational program that could
be adapted for use on your campus
• Understand intersections between sustainability and social
justice
• Understand how effectively systems thinking concepts can
enhance sustainability and social justice education
Sustainability Defined
Perpetual and cooperative environmental, social,
and economic systems
Making Sense of the Triple Bottom Line
Systems Thinking
What is a System?
Any group of related,
interdependent parts
What is Systems Thinking?
• A way of thinking about the world and relationships
• An approach to problem solving
• Encourages an appreciation of dynamic relationships
Habits of a Systems Thinker
Understanding the Big Picture
• Remember to see the forest
• Maintain balance between the big picture and the details
• Think holistically
Changing Perspectives
• Use new perspectives to increase understanding
• Are you willing to be a little bit right and a little bit wrong?
Considering Cause-and-Effect
• Identify the circular nature of complex cause-and-effect
relationships
• What are the causal connections? Interdependencies?
Consequences
• Consider both short AND long-term consequences
• Can you accept “short-term pain for long-term gain”?
Leverage Actions
• Understand the system’s structure to
identify possible leverage actions
• Where can even small changes make an impact?
Just how did we teach these?
Wholly Frijoles!
Rules
• Assign generations
• Each generational representative brings their utensil to the
beans
• All families have 10 seconds to simultaneously collect
• Utensils only!
– No cups in the cooler
• Return with your beans and keep in your family’s clear bin
• Process repeats with each generation
Let’s Play!
Depth vs. Generation
Caveats
5
• Shortened time frame
3
– Need more time for debrief
4
2
1
• Missing graph component
– Visually see disparities
0
1
2
3
4
5
History
• Fortuitous beginnings
• Partnership with the School of Engineering and the
Waters Foundation
• Green Fund grant
• Experiment
Experiment Design
• Strategically paired 22
undergraduate halls
– Based on size and culture
• Worked with students
– 1 student coordinator and 4 student facilitators
• Hosted Wholly Frijoles! in the 11 treatment halls
Battle of the Utilities
• Water and energy reduction competition
• Goal based—reduce by 15% to win
• Incentives
– Money for hall programs or amenities
– Two students win $25 gift cards to UA Bookstore
• Monitor usage
– September: Baseline
– October: Competition
– November: Long-Term Impact
Assumptions
• Understanding impact motivates behavior change
– Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen)
• Similarly sized and cultured halls exhibit similar
sustainability behaviors
– UA Residence Life: 80% first year students
– Potential for culture shifts
• Consistent experiences
– Different facilitators
– Different insights
Results
Utility Cost Per Capita
$36.00
$34.00
$32.00
$30.00
$28.00
Treatment
$26.00
Control
$24.00
$22.00
$20.00
September
October
November
Lessons Learned
• Systems thinking enhances sustainability education
• Promotion is critical
• Short-term effectiveness
Questions?
For facilitation instructions, contact Jill Ramirez at
jillramirez@life.arizona.edu