Shared Learning, Shared
Story, Shared Action:
Curricular & Co-Curricular
Tools for Engaging the
Social Dimensions of
Change
AASHE Conference, October 7th, 2013
Presenters: Deborah McNamara, Director of
Organizational Partnerships, Northwest Earth
Institute
Lacy Cagle, Director of Curriculum &
Community Engagement, Northwest Earth
Institute
Briefing Objectives
 Introduce NWEI’s sustainability-focused
courseware as a curricular and cocurricular tool for your
campus/classroom
 Discuss NWEI’s Pedagogy & Theory of
Change
 Highlight implementation ideas
About Northwest
Earth Institute
 National non-profit leader in the
development of innovative sustainability
courseware for over 20 years
 145,000 people engaged, over 300
higher education institutions, 4,000+
students, faculty, staff engaged each
year
 Offerings: Course books, EcoChallenge,
Online Platform
About Northwest
Earth Institute
 Course books = discussion/dialogue
based
 We believe change starts at the
personal level
 Change is most effective in a social
context
 Content = accessible, stories,
investigative journalism, opinion pieces,
thought leaders in sustainability field
Course Book Topics:
 Choices for Sustainable Living
 Menu for the Future
 Hungry for Change: Food, Ethics &
Sustainability
 Sustainable Systems at Work
 Voluntary Simplicity
 Discovering a Sense of Place
 Reconnecting With Earth
 A World of Health:
Connecting People, Place and
Planet
 Change By Degrees: Addressing
the Climate Challenge
Discussion questions included
Inquiry based, participatory
learning
Additional resources, action
planning tools and action
assignments included
Pedagogy & Theory
of Change
“The volume of education
continues to increase, yet so
do pollution, exhaustion of
resources, and the dangers of
ecological catastrophe. If still
more education is to save us, it
would have to be education of
a different kind: an education
that takes us into the depth of
things.”
-E. F. Schumacher
Pedagogy &
Theory of Change
 Recognizing, examining, and recreating our
assumptions about the systems of which we
are a part
 Critical reflection
 Interpretive, learner-centered approach to
education
 Collaborative construction of knowledge
 Skill development
Transformative Learning
“Information alone is just noise; it has to be
applicable, it has to be interesting, it has to be
doable, it has to have personal relevance. That is
the power of the NWEI method. Because it’s not a
question of ‘what did the author say about soand-so?’ It’s ‘What do you think? How can you
use it? And what was your reaction?’”
- Lena Rotenberg, Educational Consultant
 Shared discovery: Use both dialogue & discussion to
drive critical thinking and action. Share perspectives &
experiences.
 Personal reflection: Included discussion questions are
personal, connect material to real life, community,
values. Identify & assess your own assumptions.
 Positive action: Apply your learning.
 Consensus is not the goal.
Why It Works
 80% feel a greater sense of personal obligation for solving
environmental challenges
 73% more regularly make reductions in energy and water
consumption
 72% take more seriously the challenges of biodiversity loss, climate
change, rising personal consumption and limited natural resources
 60% more frequently volunteer for environmental causes and make
alternative transportation choices
 70% buy more local and organic produce
 87% feel the small group discussion process was helpful in creating
change
RESULTS:
Community, Self-reflection, Interaction, Active learning, Increased
sense of responsibility
Implementation
 Classroom/Supplement to existing
course
Introductory – as stand alone
course text, supplemental
process
300+ level – as supplemental
text and process
Capstone Courses
Implementation
 Faculty and staff professional
development
 Student life: Residence Life, EcoReps
 Green Teams
 Sustainability Office Programming
 Study Abroad
 Service Learning
 Freshman Orientation/First Year
Experience
 Libraries/Reference
Implementation
 Birmingham-Southern College: Year-long, cross-disciplinary
Dialogue Series on Food
 Illinois Wesleyan University: Sustainability training for Residential
Advisors/Office of Res Life
 University of Portland: Food Justice Internship
 University of Florida: University Green Team Captains’ training
Visit www.nwei.org
Contact: deborah@nwei.org,
lacy@nwei.org
*Visit our booth in the Expo Hall, Books in Bookstore