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Student Assessment for Sustainable Design. Ben Oberhand B.A. Environmental Studies, UCSC 2012 Tamara Ball, Ph.D. Post Doctoral Researcher James Barba B.A. Politics and Legal Studies, UCSC 2012. The Packaging Lab.
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Student Assessment for Sustainable Design Ben Oberhand B.A. Environmental Studies, UCSC 2012 Tamara Ball, Ph.D. Post Doctoral Researcher James Barba B.A. Politics and Legal Studies, UCSC 2012
The Packaging Lab • Administered at the beginning of the quarter and a component of the final exam. • Students examine 4 packaged products. • Can of tomatoes • Box of tea bags • Carton of eggs • Packaged Goldfish crackers • Students are asked to rank (best-worst) which packaging is most sustainable. • Students must support their claim by stating: • Attributes and Decision Criteria • What else you need to know • Repeat process within a group and re-rank packages.
The Packaging Lab Cont’d • The packaging lab is used as a diagnostic tool to assess the students understanding of LCA concepts. • PRE/POST • Pre was the initial lab exercise. Students not expected to have high scores. • Post is administered in the final exam. Look for a change in scores. • Goal: Learn how to streamline assessment process
Image of exam 1. Tomato Can 2. Tea Box 3. Egg Carton 4. Goldfish Each box is determined to have a “qualified”, “partially qualified”, or “unqualified” answer. All responses recorded in database.
Breadth/Depth for LCA = important • Student responses were categorized as being more or less sophisticated (also “depth”) • What does this mean & how did we score? • Qualified, Partially Qualified, Unqualified Recyclable>> energy intensive to recycle >> fossil fuel from the middle east used to recycle. • Specificity within a theme: breaking down phases of LCA • Awareness of contingencies (ex. Package is reusable if taken care of by consumer. • Not treating the package as a unified whole, but recognizing that different components have different implications (ex. Plastic bottle cap is made a different plastic than bottle).
Scoring Rubric- Breadth vs. Depth • Breadth Categories: determined by researched phases of LCA. • 6 breadth categories in BOLD. Depth follows breadth-category. • Source: Finite or renewable, rare accessible, energy needed. • Processing: Extraction, manufacturing & production. • Transportation: includes pre-production shipping & post-production distribution. • Design & Quality: aesthetics, functionality/design, & durability. • By-Products & Externalities: damage to ecosystems, toxicity, health, & welfare. • End-of-Life & Recycling: where does it physically end up, in what state, & inputs.
Low level ResponsesIndicated in RED Topics 1-6 Source Processing Transportation Design & Quality By-Products & Externalities End-of-Life
mid level ResponsesIndicated in YELLOW Topics 1-6 Source Processing Transportation Design & Quality By-Products & Externalities End-of-Life
High Level ResponsesIndicated in GREEN Topics 1-6 Source Processing Transportation Design & Quality By-Products & Externalities End-of-Life
Results by Point Threshold for Pre Each student had a number of responses in each level of sophistication. We set thresholds to show what percentage of their responses were in the respective qualifiers. The three thresholds were 0-25%, 37.5-50%, and 62.5-100%.
Results by Point Threshold for Post Each student had a number of responses in each qualifier. We set thresholds to show what percentage of their responses were in the respective qualifiers. The three thresholds were 0-25%, 37.5-50%, and 62.5-100%.