Rethink Your Curriculum Challenge

1. ((Air + Water + Agriculture + Habitat + Biodiversity + Transportation + Energy + Poverty + Equality + Climate Change) + Money) X An understanding that all these issues are completely interconnected = Sustainability

2. Rethink Your Curriculum Challenge Who was involved?

3. Identify Problem Research Question Hypothesis Data Collection Data Analysis Discussion Conclusion University Research Mission impossible or never ending story?

4. Show you what students are thinking What we should be working on Tangible examples and challenges Message

5. How well has your department provided you with the knowledge and experience necessary to identify sustainability issues and empowered you to address them? What could be improved, and how? Two Questions:

6. Existence of Student Interest “While there is a growing concernsurrounding the environmental, social and economicaspects of sustainability… it is essentialthat it is touched upon in undergraduate classes so that students do not merely rely on…themediabut can alternatively learn about how it relatesto their particular areaof study.” - U2 Education Student Emilie Vellacott “There can be steps taken to introduce these issues into the classroom, as this is a topic many students know and are intrigued by…” - U2 Anatomy and Cell Biology Student Brian Beckett Sample Responses

7. Curriculum Breeding Apathy “I think that many geography courses have tackled the issue too generally and too theoretically resulting in a sense of helplessness and apathy.”- U3 Geography Student Kathryn Higgins “(T)his is widely accepted as appropriate, due to a perceived disconnect between psychology and climate change, reform to this apathetic mode of thought is needed as the study of human behaviouris absolutely key in seeking solutionsto the global crisis at hand.” – U2 Psychology Student Nora Hope Sample Responses

8. Examine the correlation made between scientific research and its socio-environmental effects. “I was disappointed to discoverthat very, very little emphasis is put on the (cor)relation between the scientific tools and their potential detrimental and ethical impacts on ecosystems, animals, humans.” –U2 Bio Alice Chautard “What I think is ridiculous is no environmental measures are taken in these classes to at least educate usabout the impacts our research has on the world or their immediate surrounding environments.” – U3 BioChemistry Student Bianca Malouf Sample Responses

9. Undergraduate Desire for Hands-on Experience “Seeing the connections of these issues to our daily lives- to our city, our campus, our community - without feeling able to act is frustrating to say the least, and this frustration can too easily turn to bitterness, cynicism, and disengagement, either with school, the issues, or both.” “(the department is) lacking a community outreach aspectthat is neglected by McGill’s institution.” – U3 Environment Student Steve Leckman “I want to be able to use my courses to tackle the issues I see on campus.” Sample Responses

10. McGill as seen by James McGill: “A University or College, for the purposes of Education and the Advancement of Learning in the said Province”

11. “I believe that if the professors were made aware of the interest of students in gaining knowledge about sustainability issues in their area they would be willing and capable of offering a class, or at least a lecture that would do so.” -Middle-Eastern Studies Student Barbara Johnson Evaluating Student Interest Hint: Course Evaluations (in- and end- course)

12. Green Chemistry “This is the method of redesigning old experiments, and creating new ones, without the use of organic solvents or other solvents that may damage the environment.“ -U1 Chemistry Student Phillip Gregoire Possibilities: Small Scale

13. English - Exploring the Perception of Nature “We read stories that, as we reflect upon them, come to realize the poor way our predecessors handled nature. We talk about the human notion that we were meant to “tame the wild”; to bring Nature under human control at any cost. “ -U3 English Student Alexander Cowan Possibilities: Small Scale

14. Psychology – Effect of Environment on Behaviour “How concerns about resource use and the sustainability of actions factor into the psychological decision-making process. How people form relationships with the environment during their development and how this may change as a result of different life events; how one’s relationship with the environment affects one’s concerns for sustainability” -Psychology student Andrew Ling Possibilities: Small Scale

15. History 366: Topics in Latin America History The Environmental History of Latin America Description: A survey of anthropogenic environmental change in Meso-American and South American territories from the advent of the first humans to the present. Students allowed to investigate material of interest to them. Possibilities: Large-Scale

16. Possibilities : Large scale Tri-Faculty Design and Build Course (Fall 2009 – Winter 2010) Faculties: management, law and engineering Students demonstrate application of their education to solve practical design problems Team project work involving design, fabrication, performance-testing and application of a real-world mechanical device/system or experimental facility. The project work will be complemented by a scheduled set of lectures, workshop topics and seminars

17. Benefits of interfaculty projects The ‘lecturettes' from different disciplines allow basic understanding of technical terms and facilitate communication Broaden perspectives and promote holistic solutions to sustainability challenges Students gain tacit experience and specific knowledge in the field Provides a platform to practice communicating with different stakeholders before jumping into the 'real world'

18. University of Toronto Office of Sustainability “Through facilitating course work projects, independent studies, undergraduate and graduate theses, work-study positions, and volunteer work, the Office has directly involved over 400 students since opening in 2004, and allowing students to use “the campus as a living laboratory”. -2008 Report to Students Society of McGill University Possibilities: Applicability

19. Integrative research at all levels Place-based learning and applications A hub for activity and institutional memory Preparedness in dealing with these issues Opportunities to implement great ideas Looking Ahead

20. “There is no convenient ‘escape-hatch’ from the realities of the world. The environmental changes taking place around us are staring us in the face, and instead of looking away to the stars, we can choose to stare right back.” (Interpretation of Mahayana Buddhism’s Heart Sutra teaching) Mission impossible or never ending story?