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Key Concepts of Sustainability in our Courses and Disciplines

Key Concepts of Sustainability in our Courses and Disciplines. “ Bending the curves: every kind of change we can think of in every sector. ” Tom Termes “ Are there ways in education that we can bring about the shifts that are necessary? ” Susan Singer.

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Key Concepts of Sustainability in our Courses and Disciplines

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  1. Key Concepts of Sustainability in our Courses and Disciplines “Bending the curves: every kind of change we can think of in every sector.”Tom Termes “Are there ways in education that we can bring about the shifts that are necessary?” Susan Singer

  2. Key Concepts of Sustainability in our Courses and Disciplines GOAL: Make sustainability concepts, skills, and “habits of mind” part of courses in ways that have curricular integrity and “standing” – both for faculty members and students. TO ACHIEVE THIS: Sustainability content needs to be part of the trunk of a course, not out on a twig.

  3. Key Concepts of Sustainability in our Courses and Disciplines THE CHALLENGE: As faculty, we constantly struggle with “curriculum scarcity.” How can we possibly fit in everything we want to? ONE STRATEGY: Add a new course. ANOTHER: Add a minor. Add a major! AND ALSO: Begin to shift existing courses.

  4. Key Concepts of Sustainability in our Courses and Disciplines GOALS FOR THIS WORKSHOP: Identify possible integration points for sustainability content in our disciplines. Also, identify possible integration points for the geosciences. Offer a model for a workshop that you could adapt on your home campus.

  5. Step 1: Group up in “disciplinary groups: • Geoscience • Environmental Studies • Geography • Sustainability Science • Engineering and Technology • Biology • Chemistry • Economics/and Business • History and Philosophy • Political Science

  6. Step 2: Working individually, identify key “tree trunk” concepts in yourcourse or field of study Working individually, call to mind 1-2 courses that you teach that are foundational to your discipline or professional field. Identify what, for you, are the key concepts or “big ideas” that form the “tree trunk” of your course. Write each concept legibly on a separate sticky note. Generate about 7-10 concepts. (5-7 minutes)

  7. Key concepts or “Big ideas” Concepts are: • Theories, principles, questions, animating ideas that matter to faculty, to the discipline, or to the field of study. • Key concepts should be powerful enough that students can remember them, see them at work, and use them –years into the future.

  8. Step 3: Discuss and distill your concept lists In your small group, “put your concepts on the table” in a way that everyone can see what has been generated. For about 10 minutes, share your concepts. Then, there is one more task that each of your groups will find in the InTeGrate Workspace. Feel free to move around , group up the sticky-notes to mover along your discussion. (~40 min.)

  9. What we have generated: Lists of disciplinary concepts that might lend themselves to sustainability connections and contexts. Environmental studies concepts that might be integrated with geoscience concepts. Sustainability science concepts that could be usefully integrated into lower division courses in the traditional science disciplines.

  10. Closing reflection and discussion How did this go? What did you notice? Does this make sense?

  11. Curriculum for the Bioregion Initiative’s Approach for Designing Integrative Sustainability Assignments “Big Idea” or concept in the discipline Sustainability context or “Big Idea” Integrative Assignment

  12. Curriculum for the Bioregion Initiative’s Approach for Designing Integrative Sustainability Assignments “Big Idea” or concept in the discipline Sustainability context or “Big Idea” Integrative Assignment

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