SOS 494: Transformative Sustainability Research
DRAFT SYLLABUS
Spring 2013
Faculty Instructor: Michael Schoon
Email: michael.schoon@asu.edu
Phone: TBD
Office: TBD
Office hours: TBD
Graduate Instructors:
Peter Goldman: pagoldma@asu.edu
Jared Stoltzfus:
Jared.Stoltzfus@gmail.com
Dorothy Trippel: dtrippel@asu.edu
Semester hours: 4
Course “TA”: Katja Brundiers
All student sessions:Tues (2:45-4:45 PM)
Room: WGHL 102
Undergrad lab hours: Thurs (2-5 PM)
Room: WGHL 102
Additional Team meetings: TBD
1. Course Overview
This course provides you with real-world problem-solving and research experience. Instructors
worked with professionals from business, non-profit, and/or public sectors in the Phoenix Metro
Area to identify local sustainability challenges, and to develop the projects you will be working
on. Through semester-long team projects, you will have the opportunity to engage with these
professionals to analyze sustainability problems, visions, and help create solution-options and
strategies for change. You will develop valuable suites of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that
transferable to sustainability research and project work.
Problem- and project-based learning (PPBL) is the teaching and learning approach used in this
class. In PPBL, students learn through real-world, problem-based project work that produces
products of real-world value. PPBL is student-driven: Success is often said to be achieved when
the students take initiative to self-direct individual and team learning in order to master the
project, and know more collectively about it than the instructor. This puts a heavy burden on
students, but one that will prove invaluable in terms of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes they
will develop through the process and be able to carry on to future projects in academia and
business.
The course is structured around key issues in sustainability research including problem
identification and analysis, visioning, teamwork, project management, stakeholder engagement,
professionalism, business 101, troubleshooting, and critical reflection and reflexivity. ~25% of
class time is allotted instructor-led mini-lectures. Approximately 75% of class time is allotted to
activities, and lab work in which students will apply theory to practice while being coached and
scaffolded by instructors who are not “the sage on the stage”. This requires flexibility and
reflexivity on behalf of instructors and students. Students will do frequent mini-presentations,
troubleshooting, and self- and peer - evaluations throughout the semester. This will help
students check in on and adjust their learning, and allow instructors to shape the course to best
support the evolving needs of each team. All teams will produce a unique output for their
community partners. Additionally, all students will produce a portfolio and accompanying
reflection.
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We will use Blackboard to post the syllabus, timeline, readings, weekly announcements.
Please use blackboard to submit your assignments and for discussion-board activities as
assigned. Each team will decide on a space for virtual collaboration (i.e. Blackboard Groups,
GoogleDocs, Dropbox, etc.).
2. Prerequisites
●
Acceptance into one of the specific course projects.
●
School of Sustainability student enrolled in B.A. or B.S. programs.
●
Three 300-level SOS courses.
3. Learning Outcomes
This course will help you actively employ concepts and tools to master key competencies in
sustainability (suites of knowledge, skills, and attitudes) in important domains of sustainability
education including sustainability research, problem- and project- based learning, projectmanagement, teamwork, stakeholder engagement, business and professionalism. Since each
domain relates to one or more key competencies in sustainability, the course offers you the
opportunity to build a professional portfolio of skills, experience, materials that demonstrate
competence in sustainability research / project work. At the end of this class, you should be able
to:
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Comprehend, apply, demonstrate and evaluate your own and your peer’s mastery of
knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to one or more key competencies in sustainability.
2
Demonstrate strong interpersonal and strategic competence:
a
Work, lead, and communicate within a team environment
b
Identify and undertake the steps of co-designing and collaborating on
sustainability projects with specific clients/stakeholders
c
Examine effectiveness of self-direct learning through self-reflection and peer
assessment of a task or project (i.e. objectives, process), sustainability
competencies, and how you learn.
3
Apply and be able to explain steps in sustainability research design (problem
identification, goal / objective setting, work plan, data collection, assessment / evaluation,
conclusion) in order to communicate what you did and why in a professional academic
context.
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Be able to articulate your research, project work, outputs, and learning outcomes on a
resume in order to communicate what you did and why in a professional business
context.
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4. Student Grading Component
Individual Class Participation
10%
Teamwork
20%
Stakeholder Engagement
20%
Assignments
10%
Presentations
10%
Community Partner Deliverable
20%
Portfolio and Reflection
10%
Total
100%
4.1 Student Behavior Expectations
Individual Course Participation (10%)
Attentive attendance in lab times and whole class plenaries, evidence of being prepared for
discussion in class, and insightful comments and commitment to class activities will all reflect
high course participation that enables others to learn from and with you. In addition, timely
submission of assignments will allow team leaders to complete their assigned tasks, so is also a
key component of participation. You are also expected to make a minimum of one site visit or
venture off campus (e.g. to your project partners organization or area) and complete a defined
amount of fieldwork as determined by your project team. Semesters go by quickly. Keeping
your team on task is thus vital for achieving success in this course.
Attendance in Tuesday classes and Thursday lab time is required. More than 2 absences will
result in a letter-grade reduction.
Using your phone or computer for non-class related purposes during class time or meetings is
disrespectful and disruptive to instructors and your classmates. Your attention and active
participation is especially valuable in problem- and project-based learning, because it is the key
to self-directing learning and collaboratively shaping projects, which cannot happen when you
are texting or surfing the web.
Teamwork (20%)
Each member of the project team will take the lead on certain components of the projects and
on different aspects of the deliverables. Depending on the size of your team and the nature of
the project, you may determine that some of the key issues are more relevant to be researched
than others in meeting the objectives of your deliverables. You will be responsible for thinking
through all aspects of what issues and assignments you are delegated in the working plan and
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timeline that your team devises as well as revising the deliverables as needed throughout the
semester. You should also take the lead in troubleshooting sessions and mini-presentations
concerning your issue.
Taking responsibility for a key issue does not mean that this student will be completely
responsible for all aspects related to it. On the contrary, each issue should be collaboratively
explored while the team leader on that issue facilitates this collaboration. Therefore it is the task
of the lead to:
● Decide and delegate team-members’ contributions to the key issues and deliverables
● Keep team members in the loop by being open in meetings while updating the team’s
working plan and timeline
● Schedule and facilitate stakeholder review
● Organize revisions based on peer review and stakeholder review
● Organize presentation of updates in his or her area for plenary session minipresentations; and
● Document steps taken in this area in the portfolio and reflection
Team work performance will be assessed by the graduate mentor throughout the semester as
he or she observes the process. Self- and peer-evaluation will also be factored into this grade
as they are critical for determining whether a team leader on an issue or deliverable is pulling
their weight.
Stakeholder Engagement (20%)
Throughout the semester, your team will be working closely with your community partner and
other contacts that will weigh in on your project in different ways based on your specific
research. A professional attitude, good organization and preparation, timely and transparent
communication, relationship building, recording contact information, and conveying a good
understanding of your project will be important in engaging your stakeholders. Grading for this
segment of the course will be based upon observations by your project-specific graduate
instructor and how your stakeholders review your teamwork throughout the semester.
4.2 Activities and Assignments
Assignments
There are general assignments, as well as project-specific team assignments. In class, students
will participate in weekly activities (e.g. mind mapping, creating a team code of conduct,
presentations). Most weeks, the activities will carry over into assignments to be completed
during the Thursday lab time. Activities and assignments are designed to keep the students on
track when learning key issues and making progress towards their deliverables. Assignments
should be compiled into portfolios as you go, in order to produce the final portfolio and reflection
output. Below are some examples of activities and assignments; others will be assigned on a
weekly basis.
Team Code of Cooperation: Your team’s code of cooperation should include actions and items
that you have all agreed to that will allow your team to successfully work together. Consider how
you will arrange to meet, work together, and importantly, how you will deal with any conflict that
arises or with members that are not abiding by the Code of Cooperation.
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Team / Community Partner Code of Collaboration: Teams and community partners should also
co-create a Code of Collaboration to guide interactions. This document should include actions
and items that you have all agreed to that will allow you to successfully work together. Consider
how you will arrange to meet and / or give and receive feedback, how you will approach the
work involved for your project, how to collaboratively determine project objectives / goals / and
outputs, and how you will deal with any conflict that arises or with members that are not abiding
by the Code of Collaboration. In addition, you should include an overview of roles and
responsibilities.
Working Plan & Timeline: It is important for project teams to create a working plan with a
timeline to delegate responsibility, increase transparency, and thus create accountability for
making progress towards completing deliverables. These outputs will be shared with the team,
stakeholders, and the graduate mentor to keep everyone in the loop. Instructors will provide
teams with a template and guidelines for starting this document, and students will use and
revise it throughout the semester.
Readings: You will be provided with readings each week. Some of the readings will be dense
guides that should be mastered throughout the semester. Others are short pieces that should
be read by the next Tuesday session when assigned.
4.3 Presentations (10%)
Mini Presentations and Troubleshooting: Mini presentations will be five to ten minute updates
from teams about progress on specific and general aspects related to their projects.
Troubleshooting sessions will be a time for teams to share their project-related problems with
the class in order to flesh out areas where cooperation can be beneficial between teams and
where graduate mentors can direct their assistance to. Activities will be designed to help
students understand the key issues in the class, to assist their project or general needs in the
course, and to keep students on track in updating their portfolio.
Mid-term Presentations: Each Project will present an update on their progress focusing on steps
taken, stakeholder feedback, future plans, and areas of concern. Plan for 30 minutes of
presentation, and another 10 minutes of question and answer time. Presentations will be
scored by the other two teams based on a Presentation handout that will be provided.
Final Presentations: Each Project will prepare a professional presentation on their work
designed to highlight their process used, lessons learned, objectives achieved, and stakeholder
outputs. Stakeholders and other community members will be invited to attend. Grading rubric
will be provided.
4.4 Final Outputs (30% combined)
Portfolio & Reflection (10%): One of the major deliverables for the course will be a portfolio
that documents the work done by student teams throughout the semester. This will be made up
of the assignment items above, group-specific items such as survey results, and a summary
document. This summary document will include an introduction that details the purpose of the
portfolio, a body that explains the layout and items of the portfolio while reflecting on the
process of the course and project, and a conclusion that offers new recommendations for
improving the course and project. Each project team will be responsible for their own portfolio
which should be amended every week to keep that week’s activities fresh in mind and to spread
out the semester’s workload. The portfolio will be checked on regularly by graduate instructors.
It is important that your team agrees on a shared means of communication, storage for these
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portfolio components, and a digital means of final compilation early on to avoid a larger
compilation burden later on in the semester.
Community Partner Deliverable (20%): Each project team will produce a unique deliverable
for their community partner based on project objectives. The exact format of these outputs may
evolve based on students, community partners, and instructors needs and interests, but should
be solidified early on in the semester.
ASU Research Park Urban Farm: The goal of the semester for the ASURPUF team will be to
produce a strategic plan for managing the urban farm for three to five years.
Green Leaves Sustainability Retreat Center: The goal of this team is to design a sustainable
building for a future retreat center located in Northern Arizona. Currently, the project deliverable
is envisioned as a building design accompanied by a 5-10 page report explaining the design
that includes useful material for Green Leaves’ Business Plan.
Growing Rogue and ASU: The goal of this team is to answer the question “Why don’t we
compost more food waste?” This team will work with Growing Rogue to create educational
materials related to their community scale composting and gardening initiative, and help
address logistical issues. They will also help ASU with a new “3rd Bin” program in addition to
creating and understanding business models related to organic waste management.
More specific rubrics for each of the grading components will be made available on
Blackboard throughout the semester.
5. Evaluation Tools
Student effort and performance will be evaluated by instructors, community partners, peers, and
students themselves. Each evaluation format will figure into students final grades.
Self-/Peer-Assessments
You will perform peer and self evaluations during the middle of the semester and at the end of
the semester in addition to participating in periodic troubleshooting activities. Reflection is an
important part of learning because it gives students an opportunity to internalize lessons learned,
and strategize ways to improve learning and collaboration. Students will use a standard rubric to
evaluate their own and their peers’ performance in terms of participation, active listening,
leadership, intellectual contribution, and other key areas. These evaluations require students to
provide evidence and specific examples of learning, rather than just a report of activities. The
goal of these evaluations is to provide thoughtful, kind, constructive feedback that individuals
and peers can use to adjust self-directed learning, as well as help instructors understand how to
adjust scaffolding, coaching, and other team support. Evaluations will be conveyed directly to
the instructor, who will then convey feedback to teams individually and in groups as is
appropriate. These evaluations will be used to evaluate your participation, teamwork, and
stakeholder engagement.
You will also give and receive periodic peer-assessments on the performance of your graduate
mentor. In addition, your graduate instructor will keep in touch with your stakeholders to judge
how appropriately you are engaging them.
The timeline includes two distinct meetings per week: (1) Two hour Whole Class Plenaries with
all students and the course instructor; and (2) Two hour Lab Sessions for undergraduate
research teams (and graduate mentors for the first hour). All students are required to enroll in
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the workshop course and lab time. Undergraduate student are expected to spend another four
hours of individual time for homework and interacting with project partner.
6. Timeline
Module
Intro, Problem
Definition and
PPBL
Week 1
(1/7-11)
Days
In-Class Activities
Homework
Tues
(2 hrs)
●
●
●
READINGS:
Wiek (2010)
Wiek, et al. (2011)
Read Ripple (2012)
Read Hodges (2012)
Brundiers and Wiek
(2011)
Problem Framing
Mind Mapping
Project Mapping
ASSIGNMENTS
Finish Problem Framing
Finish Mind Mapping
Finish Project Mapping
Thurs
(2 hrs)
Teamwork,
Project
Management
Week 2
(1/14-18)
Tues
(2 hrs)
Lab Session
●
●
●
Code of Conduct
Work Plan
GANTT Chart
READINGS
Marris (2004)
Team Writing and
Editing Guidelines
ASSIGNMENTS
Start Portfolio
Work Plan / Gantt Chart
Pick and Define Roles
Thurs
(2 hrs)
Stakeholder
Engagement
and
Professionalism
Week 3
(1/21-25)
Lab Session
Tues
(2 hrs)
Thurs
(2 hrs)
●
●
Mock Meeting
Prep agenda for
real meeting
● Sign Engagement
Protocol
●
READINGS:
Arnstein (1969)
McNall, et al. (2009)
Talwar, et al. (2011)
ASSIGNMENTS:
Meet with stakeholders
Code of Collaboration
Update Work Plan
Meet with Stakeholers
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Troubleshooting
Week 4
(1/28-1)
Tues
(2 hrs)
Business Situation Roleplay
Group updates and
presentations
READINGS:
ASSIGNMENTS:
Update Work Plan
Tues
(2 hrs)
●
READINGS:
ASSIGNMENTS:
Update Portfolio
Thurs
(2 hrs)
Outline Business models,
identify gaps in
knowledge
Thurs
(2 hrs)
Sustainability
Consulting and
Business 101
Research
Methods
Week 5
(2/4-8)
Week 6
(2/11-15)
Business Situation
Role-play
●
Tues
(2 hrs)
Picking your
Methods
● Survey Design
● Framework / Steps
of Research (1 group)
READINGS:
ASSIGNMENTS:
Update Portfolio
Thurs
(2 hrs)
Frameworks
Week 7
(2/18-22)
Tues
(2 hrs)
Framework / Steps of
Research
Work in project groups
READINGS:
ASSIGNMENTS:
Peer Evaluations
Mid-Term Presentation
Update Work Plan
Work in project groupson presentations
READINGS:
ASSIGNMENTS:
Update Portfolio
Tues
(2 hrs)
First Half - 15min
presentation for each
team
Second Half - Feedback
READINGS:
ASSIGNMENTS:
Update Work Plan
Thurs
(2 hrs)
●
Thurs
(2 hrs)
Professionalism
Week 8
(2/25-1)
Tues
(2 hrs)
Thurs
(2 hrs)
Mid Term
Presentation and
Peer Evaluations
Spring Break
Week 9
(3/4-8)
Meet with
Stakeholders
3/9-17
8
TBD Based on
Evaluations
Week 10
(3/18-22)
Tues
(2 hrs)
Thurs
(2 hrs)
TBD Based on
Evaluations
Week 11
(3/25-29)
Week 12
(4/1-5)
Week 13
(4/8-12)
Week 14
(4/15-19)
Work in project groups
READINGS:
ASSIGNMENTS:
Update Portfolio
Work in project groups
Tues
(2 hrs)
Thurs
(2 hrs)
Final
Presentations
READINGS:
ASSIGNMENTS:
Update Work Plan
Tues
(2 hrs)
Thurs
(2 hrs)
Working Session
Work in project groups
Tues
(2 hrs)
Thurs
(2 hrs)
TBD Based on
Evaluations
READINGS:
ASSIGNMENTS:
Update Portfolio
READINGS:
ASSIGNMENTS:
Update Work Plan
Work in project groups
Tues
(2 hrs)
READINGS:
ASSIGNMENTS:
Update Portfolio
Thurs
(2 hrs)
Course
Evaluation and
Wrap-up
Week 15
(4/22-26)
Tues
(2 hrs)
Thurs
(2 hrs)
Whole class-debriefing
activity
● What I’ve
experienced
● What I’ve learned
● What I’m doing
with it
Recommendation for next
course
●
Portfolio and Reflection,
and Community Partner
Deliverable Due.
10. Course Policies
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●
●
●
●
●
●
●
Academic Integrity – Graduate students are expected to behave ethically in their roles as
students and researchers. The School of Sustainability has a zero-tolerance policy for
any form of academic malfeasance. Penalties for unethical behavior range from being
placed on academic probation to dismissal from the program. Breaches of academic
integrity include, but are not limited to, the following:
○ Engaging in plagiarism by claiming credit for the ideas, words, or data of another
person or persons, or submitting work done by another as one’s own;
○ Knowingly using data that do not meet appropriate standards for reliability and
validity;
○ Repeatedly failing to meet commitments and responsibilities, such as chronically
missing deadlines, or failing to provide work promised to colleagues; and
○ Behaving in a way that reflects poorly on the School, Institute, and University
while conducting research or participating in activities related to your work at the
School.
○ Additional information about the School’s academic integrity policies may be
found in the graduate student handbook.
http://schoolofsustainability.asu.edu/docs/sos/SOS-GraduateHandbook20102011.pdf
Late Policy - Papers, quizzes and posts will lose 10% for every 24 hours they are late
beginning immediately after the assigned due date and time. Once discussion boards
are closed they are closed for good.
Skillful Discussion and Dialogue - Sustainability emphasizes the balance of environment,
economy, and society. Discussions about how to achieve that balance can bring out
strong feelings. You are encouraged to express your opinions and experiences through
the use of skillful discussion and dialogue. In our discussions, you are asked to listen
actively to others, be aware of your intentions and willingness to be influenced, balance
inquiry with advocacy, use self-awareness as a resource, and explore impasses to build
shared meaning (http://www.solonline.org/pra/tool/inquiry.html).
Writing Guidelines- As graduate students, I expect you to write well. You should not turn
in papers with typos, spelling errors, or problems in sentence construction. If you know
you have problems writing, please make use of writing services on campus through the
Learning Support Services center (http://www.asu.edu/studentaffairs/lss/ ). We will use
APA style for citations. Please refer to the following about this format:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/.
Mobile Devices/Internet Use - Feel free to take notes in class with your laptop, but only if
the wireless feature is turned OFF. Do not check email, text, IMing etc. in class. It is
disrespectful and, ultimately, unproductive.
Disability Accommodation - If you need disability accommodations for this class, please
contact me as soon as possible, so that I may work with the Disability Resources for
Students to meet your needs. Information regarding disability is confidential.
Subject to Change - All syllabi are subject to minor changes to meet the needs of the
instructor, school, or class.
11. Sustaining Yourself
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This is a nontraditional class in a new field. You will probably have a number of questions about
it. We encourage you to talk with us for more information about the content and the process of
the class, as well as more general information about sustainability. If you need additional help,
there are numerous support units at ASU that provide training, tutoring, or advocacy. Here are a
few:
● Computer Help Desk – provides assistance with computer-related problems and
computer accounts. https://techbase.asu.edu/wiki/index.php/UTO_Help_Desk
● Graduate College – provides links to information and resources needed by graduate
students at different stages of their graduate careers. http://graduate.asu.edu/
● Disability Resources Center – provides a comprehensive range of academic support
services and accommodations for qualified students with disabilities.
http://www.asu.edu/studentaffairs/ed/drc/
● Student Financial Aid Office – offers information and applications for student funding
such as grants, loans, scholarships and student employment.
http://students.asu.edu/node/40
● Student Legal Assistance – provides legal advice and counsel free of charge to all ASU
students in areas such as landlord-tenant law, credit reports and collection issues,
taxability of scholarships and grants, etc. Notary service is also available at no charge.
http://www.asu.edu/studentaffairs/mu/legal/
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