integrating sustainability across the curriculum:

08 Fall

Integrating Sustainability Across the Curriculum:

Disciplinary connections and rubrics to assess courses

Prepared for Lorain County Community College (LCCC) with support from The Oberlin Project

Creative Change Educational Solutions (CCES) is a national leader in Education for Sustainability

(EfS). Based in southeast Michigan, we support K20 leaders and institutions to make EfS the

basis of policy and practice. Our approach to curriculum transformation and leadership

development places food systems, revitalization, and other sustainability issues at the center of

innovation and reform.

We believe that sustainability is not an add-on, but a vital context for improving and connecting

student achievement, civic engagement, and community wellbeing. Our programs help

institutions transition to this new way of teaching and learning. We embed new practices into

existing structures while developing leaders with the vision to shape new models. Customized

programs combine strategic planning, professional development, and curriculum licensing. By

building institutional capacity, we create the conditions for lasting and successful change.

The Curriculum Resource Center

Our Curriculum Resource Center (CRC) is a digital content library of sustainability courses, units

and instructional resources for K20 educators. Topics include food systems, renewable energy,

brownfields redevelopment, intercultural communication, and other topics. This growing

collection of multimedia materials, developed in-house by our experts and partners, supports

educators to integrate sustainability into a range of units, courses, and programs.

Contact us

1307 Kingwood Street

Ypsilanti MI 48197

734-482-0924

[email protected]

http://www.creativechange.net

http://www.creativechange.net/our_approach/supporting_change

http://www.creativechange.net/our_approach/supporting_change

http://www.creativechange.net/crc

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.creativechange.net/

Integrating Sustainability Across the Curriculum: Disciplinary Connections and Rubrics 1

2014 Creative Change Educational Solutions / www.creativechange.net

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I) What is sustainability? ............................................................................... 2

II) What does it mean to integrate sustainability into the curriculum? ................. 3

III) Disciplinary connections to Foundation Sustainability Concepts .................... 4

IV) Sustainability pedagogy and LCCC’s Infused Outcomes ................................ 8

V) Rubrics to assess the depth and rigor of sustainability integration in a course 10

Works cited ............................................................................................... 11



I) What is sustainability?

The term sustainability is often linked to the 1987 publication of Our Common Future, a landmark

report by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED). Known as the

Brundtland Report1, the document highlighted the three major dimensions of sustainability:

improving economic prosperity, creating more equitable societies, and maintaining the long-term

viability of the environment. The report coined a much-quoted definition of sustainable

development: meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future

generations to meet their needs (WCED, 1987).

Building on this, LCCC’s definition of sustainability is as follows:

Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can

exist in productive harmony. Sustainable principles, when applied, lead to the creation of

systems that balance social, economic and natural resource requirements of present and

future generations.

Sustainability is also a part of LCCC’s Vision 2.0. As noted on LCCC’s website, “Vision 2.0

creates the future directions for LCCC and represents the collective input from those we serve in

helping to shape and create priorities that will enhance our community’s educational attainment

and competitiveness needed for this knowledge economy.”

To advance sustainability as part of this, LCCC will “promote and incorporate practices that result

in positive outcomes for our social, economic, and natural environments both today and in the

future.”

1 The commission is formerly known as the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED). It was convened by the United Nations in 1983 and is named for its chair, Gro Harlem Brundtland. Our Common Future, known as the Brundtland Report, was published in 1987 in book form by Oxford University Press.



II) What does it mean to integrate sustainability into the curriculum?

Sustainability and sustainable development can be taught as a specific topic or area of inquiry.

But integrating sustainability does not require this approach. Rather, sustainability can be

interpreted as something bigger: a set of principles and concepts that provide a lens for

learning. In this approach, sustainability is an overall orientation rather than a discreet topic.

We offer the following set of Foundation Sustainability Concepts to guide integration:

beauty

change

community

diversity

ecological health

equity

ethics

interdependence

limits/scale

resilience

systems

wellbeing

(Daly, 1980; Daly & Cobb, 1989; Hopkins & McKeown, 2002; Meadows, 2008; World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987)

Infusing these concepts into academic disciplines moves inquiry into the realm of sustainability

without the need to use the term. The tables on the following pages show how the concepts relate

to each discipline. LCCC’s five Core Outcomes are reflected in these matrices.

LCCC’s Five Core Outcomes:

Cl: English: Demonstrate logical organization, coherent thinking, and precision in writing.

C2: Mathematics: Utilize college mathematics to solve problems.

C3: Natural Science: Apply scientific concepts and methods of inquiry.

C4: Social Science: Apply concepts, principles and methods of inquiry in the social sciences.

C5: Humanities: Examine the nature of human expression and/or artistic creativity.

Integrating Sustainability Across the Curriculum: Disciplinary Connections and Rubrics 4 2014 Creative Change Educational Solutions / www.creativechange.net

III) Disciplinary connections to Foundation Sustainability Concepts2

Concept Sciences/Math Social Sciences/Law Humanities/Language Business/Economics Arts/Communication

Beauty

Beauty

enhances life

and

contributes to

wellbeing.

Elegance and beauty in the

patterns connecting math,

sound, music, and nature.

The science behind the

beauty of natural

phenomenon: Northern

Lights, autumn, snow

crystals, etc.

Nature’s role in wellness.

Cultural and psychological

factors affecting perceptions

& expression of beauty.

Representations of beauty

in media and popular

culture.

Environmental law and the

rights of nature/animals.

Representation of beauty

and aesthetics in literature,

linguistics, religion and

philosophy.

Environmental psychology

and the human need for

nature and beauty.

Beauty as a culturally

determined commodity.

Cost, price, and value of

beauty. Ex: How do we

account for the value of a

beautiful view in a

development decision?

Arts for the sake of beauty.

Making beauty accessible to

all.

Change

Change and

adaptation

are

conditions of

life.

Applying math and

science to understand,

explain or quantify

changes.

Ways scientific and

mathematical knowledge

changes.

Social change and its

impacts on sustainability.

Changes notions of justice.

Legal history.

The changing nature of

language and its impacts on

sustainability: How does the

way we talk about

sustainability impact

progress towards it?

Business cycles.

Mechanisms for changing

economic thinking, models,

and policies.

How changes in the arts

impact society.

How changes in society

impact the arts.

Community

Humans are

part of

ecological &

cultural/

social

communities.

Applying sciences/math to

the design of

sustainability

communities: land use,

water systems,

transportation,

remediating contaminated

sites, green roofs,

renewable energy, etc.

History of land use policies

on current community

conditions.

Political science/law:

Advancing democracy

through political processes,

restorative justice, etc.

Community history, oral

histories and traditions.

Local culture and folklore

(agricultural history,

indigenous cultures, etc.)

Human need for community.

Strengthening local

economies.

Community currencies.

Microlending.

Fair global trade.

Historic economic patterns

and their impacts on

sustainability.

Architectural history.

Communication and arts as

a form of social change and

community-building.

Role of arts in

environmental and human

rights movements.

2 Matrices excerpted from “Educating for Sustainability: A Framework of Essential Knowledge, Skills and Disposition” (Creative Change, 2013).



Diversity

Biological,

linguistic, and

cultural diversity

are connected.

Biological and human

diversity.

Impacts of genetic

engineering.

Epistemology:

Understanding that 1)

there are different ways

of knowing (science,

religion, traditional

knowledge, etc.), 2) the

dominant (i.e., power)

culture values Western

science, and 3) citizens

must be able to select

and apply different ways

of knowing based on

context.

Cultural and social

diversity.

Dismantling institutional

discrimination.

Equity in the criminal

justice system: profiling;

equity in sentencing;

restorative justice; genetics

and their use in forensics.

Cross-cultural conflict

resolution.

History and literature from a

multicultural perspective.

Critical analysis of language

and power. Is language

used as form of

oppression? Is

multilingualism viewed as

an asset or a problem?

Conducting business in

ways that respect &

maintain biological and

cultural diversity.

Full-cost accounting that

incorporates value of

diversity. Ex: Correcting

the price of mono-cropped

or genetically modified fruit

to reflect the value of lost

biodiversity.

Redefining “efficiency” in

ways that account for

above.

Arts from a multicultural

perspective.

Cultural representations in

media: Who determines

them? Are they

accurate/balanced/fair?

Role of media in advancing

an understanding of

diversity.

Ecological

Health

Regeneration of

ecosystem

services is

essential for

sustainability.

Ecological Footprinting,

ecological restoration,

permaculture,

appropriate technology,

biomimicry, renewable

energy.

Environmental psychology

and behavior: What

motivates people to protect

or respect the

environment?

Environmental justice:

Does everyone have

access to a healthy

environment and the

democratic structures

needed to advocate for

one?

Understanding human-

environmental interactions

through history.

Analyzing ways literature

and religion influence our

perceptions of the

environment and other

cultures.

Ways language encodes

metaphors and beliefs

about the environment and

“others.”

Incorporating ecological

principles as the basis of

design.

Industrial ecology and

“cradle to cradle” life

cycles.

Representation of nature

and human-environmental

relationships in different art

forms/genres/periods:

What are the messages?



Equity/Ethics

Ethics serves to

guide human

endeavor and is

not just a topic for

philosophy.

Applying science & math

to equity issues:

toxicology & environment

justice, impacts of

climate change on

specific cultures & future

generations.

Exploring tensions

between “pure” science

and ethics/religious

principles.

The ethics and philosophy

of justice and law.

Sociology, social justice;

community organizing.

Political and governance

structures: Do they

advance principles of

equity and democracy?

Comparative analysis of

ethics and values across

civilizations, eras, etc.

Representations of

ethics/equity in literature.

How concepts of ethics

and equity are encoded in

language structures.

Scientific, economic and

policy issues affecting

design, materials use and

engineering.

Representations of

ethics/equity in arts.

Arts as a tool for social

justice.

Exploring the ethical

responsibilities of artists in

both modern and historical

contexts.

Interdependence

The inter-

dependence of

human-

environmental

systems is a

condition of life.

Applying the principle of

interdependence to other

sciences: physics

(thermodynamics),

chemistry (impacts on

health, and the

environment).

Psychology: the need for

connection to community.

Social structures and their

impacts on

interdependence and

sustainability.

The evolution of empathy

and cooperation.

Identifying

interdependence in human

and non-human

relationships through

literature, linguistics,

religion and philosophy.

Identifying interdependent

economic, ecological and

social relationships and

analyzing if economic

theories and models take

these into account.

Exploring how the art of a

particular time or culture

represents relationships

among humans, non-

humans, and non-living

things.

Limits/Scale

Ecological limits

and social ties

should inform the

scale of human

activity.

Respecting ecological

limits in the use and

application of science.

Analyzing ways the scale

of human activity and

social organization affects

sustainability.

Understanding that

assumptions about

“development,” “growth,”

and “progress” are

embedded in language.

Analyzing business trends

and their relationship to

limits and scale.

Identifying the optimal

scale for a particular sector

in the economy.

Exploring how the art of a

particular time or culture

represents ecological,

social, and personal limits.



Resilience

Communities

and their

subsystems are

stronger when

they have the

ability to absorb

disruptions and

“bounce back.”

Applying nonlinear

functions to model

changes in complex

systems.

Developing policies and

legal structures that

support resiliency in people

and communities. Ex:

Restorative justice.

Examining social and

linguistic structures that

contribute to resiliency.

What is the role of folk

knowledge? Of “expert”

knowledge?

Developing economic and

financial systems that

minimize large-scale

disruptions and can

“bounce back” from

downturns.

Arts as a means to build

public engagement and

community spirit.

Systems

A system is an

interdependent

set of elements

that form a

complex whole

(Meadows,

2008).

Applying systems thinking

elements such as

feedback loops to

understanding and solving

sustainability challenges.

Investigating systemic

factors that affect social

issues.

Understanding

communities and systems

of social, ecological,

economic and cultural

relationships.

Exploring connections

among social, cultural and

linguistic patterns and

trends.

Understanding that

economic systems are

subsystems of ecological

systems.

Applying systems thinking

elements (e.g., feedback

loops) to business

decisions and economic

policies.

Exploring connections

among social, cultural and

linguistic patterns and

trends.

Wellbeing

Wellbeing

(physical,

ecological, etc.)

is the goal.

Applying sciences to

support health and

wellbeing: green

chemistry, nutrition,

physiology, mental health,

etc.

Applying social sciences to

support health and well-

being topics related to

environmental justice,

psychology and

sustainability.

Identifying how literature,

linguistics, and religion

impact wellbeing.

Creating business

structures that support

economic & ecological

wellbeing.

Exploring how art supports

personal, social, and

cultural wellbeing.


IV) Sustainability Pedagogy and LCCC’s Infused Outcomes

The complexity of sustainability requires that educators learn to teach in ways that support K12 students’ integration of content across

disciplines, while thinking critically and solving meaningful problems. Key components of EfS include (McKeown, 2002; Santone, 2004;

Tilburry, 1995):

Integrated scientific, social, cultural, social-emotional, and ecological literacy

Civic involvement in place and community

Critical thinking, decision-making, collaborative problem-solving, and interpersonal communication (“21st Century skills”) applied to solve

local and global challenges

Entrepreneurship

Appropriate applications of technology that help solve, not create, problems

Equity, justice, inclusivity, and respect for all people

A pedagogy that develops community, shared vision, and compassion

These outcomes overlap with LCCC’s infused outcomes—those built into courses across the curriculum:

Inl: Critical Thinking: Employ critical thinking skills in addressing issues and problems.

In2: Communication: Demonstrate competence in verbal and nonverbal communication.

In3: Diversity: Analyze the role of diversity in the development of the individual, the community, and the global society.

In4: Ethics: Apply personal, professional, social and civic values.

In5: Health: Identify behaviors that promote health of the individual.


Sustainability pedagogy and its connection to Service Learning (SL) and Experiential Learning (EL)

In addition, EfS pedagogy integrates the principles of Service Learning (SL) and Experiential Learning (EL)/Experiential Education. LCCC uses

the following definitions and criteria that draw from the work of leading organizations in the field.

Service Learning: a teaching and learning strategy that integrates community service with academic instruction while focusing on

critical, reflective thinking and civic responsibility (Adapted from the American Association of Community Colleges [AACC]).

Experiential Education or Learning: “a philosophy that informs many methodologies in which educators purposefully engage with

learners in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills, clarify values, and develop people's

capacity to contribute to their communities" (The Experiential National Education Association).

LCCC has also adopted the National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE) guidelines to help evaluate EL activities at LCCC. These

guidelines stipulate that quality EL education must contained all seven of these criteria:

Authenticity and Intent

Preparedness and Planning

Reflection

Orientation and Training

Monitoring and Continuous Improvement

Assessment and Evaluation

Acknowledgement

These criteria inform the rubrics that follow.


V) Rubrics to assess the depth and rigor of sustainability integration in a course

Rubric purpose and design

The following rubrics are designed to evaluate sustainability integration in a particular course. As noted, the rubric categories and criteria draw

upon the principles of Service Learning, Experiential Learning. The rubric also reflects LCCC’s definition of sustainability (p. 2) and the Infused

Outcomes (p. 8).

Finally, the criteria and overall rubric design also integrate definitions of “sustainability-focused” and “sustainability-infused courses” as defined in

the STARS Technical Manual (version 1.2, page 39) from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE):

Sustainability-focused courses concentrate on the concept of sustainability, including its social, economic, and environmental dimensions, or examine an issue or topic using sustainability as a lens.

Sustainability-related courses incorporate sustainability as a distinct course component or module or concentrate on a single sustainability principle or issue.

The STARS manual also suggests that institutions consider asking “whether or not a given course will help students to achieve one or more of the following” (p. 42):

Understand and be able to effectively communicate the concept of sustainability.

Develop and use an ethical perspective in which they view themselves as embedded in the fabric of an interconnected world.

Become aware of and explore the connections between their chosen course of study and sustainability.

Develop technical skills or expertise necessary to implement sustainable solutions.

Understand the way in which sustainable thinking and decision-making contributes to the process of creating solutions for current and emerging social, environmental, and economic crises.

Contribute practical solutions to real-world sustainability challenges.

Synthesize understanding of social, economic, and environmental systems and reason holistically.

The document further notes that a single course need not meet all these criteria to be considered sustainability-focused or sustainability-related.


Rubrics

Novice Emergent Leader N/A

1)

Fra

min

g o

f susta

inab

ility

Sustainability is viewed as an

environmental issue and a

topic for science courses only.

Course content focuses on the

isolated “green” topics that

present the environment as an

optional add-on.

The framing of sustainability in

the course goes beyond

environmental science with

some connections to

economic, diversity, and social

equity dimensions.

The course addresses a

sustainability topic in a

specific unit or assignment,

but does not carry

sustainability through as an

overall thread.

Sustainability serves as an overall instructional lens. It

is understood and communicated as a set of principles

and concepts relevant to all disciplines, affecting both

content and pedagogy.

The course challenges students to consider themselves

as parts of larger social and ecological communities.

Students “analyze the role of diversity in the

development of the individual, the community, and the

global society” (LCCC Infused Outcome 3).

The course helps students explore the connections

between their chosen course of study and sustainability.

2)

Len

gth

of

instr

uctio

n The course integrates

sustainability content or

principles in several days of

the course or as a “side bar.”

The course integrates

sustainability content or

principles during multiple

weeks or “insertion points”

throughout the course.

The entire course is infused with sustainability

content/concepts.


Rubrics

Novice Emergent Leader N/A

3)

Eth

ics

The course does not engage

students in considering ethics as

part of making decisions. OR

Course content or topics are

presented as value-neutral and thus

without the need for ethical

considerations.

Course content has students

consider ethics in informal ways.

Students consider their own values,

but do not examine the beliefs or

perspectives of others.

Course content requires students to deeply

consider and apply “personal, professional,

social and civic values” (LCCC Infused

Outcome 4).

Reflection and discussion of ethics and

values are explicit. Students examine

multiple ethical perspectives.

4)

Experi

entia

l a

nd S

erv

ice L

earn

ing

The course learning activities are

passive and limited to lectures and

videos.

Opportunities for service are

insignificant, contrived, or have an

inauthentic audience. Service is

limited to symbolic acts that are

disconnected from learning.

(Example: A food drive without a

broader investigation of food

issues.)

Environmental service activities

focus on “helping” the environment

without having students considering

their place in it.

Course learning activities are

interactive. They engage students in

authentic experiences followed by

appropriate debrief and analysis.

Opportunities for service and action

are appropriate for the students.

The audience is authentic, such as

peers, the school, community, or

larger world.

The course integrates “community service

with academic instruction while focusing on

critical, reflective thinking and civic

responsibility” (AACC).

The course supports student-led inquiry and

community investigations.

All criteria in the Emergent category.

Additionally, there are significant

opportunities for students to make decisions,

plan, execute, monitor and evaluate their

ideas and actions (NSEE).

Students “employ critical thinking skills in

addressing issues and problems” (LCCC

Infused Outcome 1).

Service activities include individual and

collective actions that foster the common

good.


NOTE: The following correlates to the infused outcome of diversity.

D

em

ocra

tic a

nd c

ultura

lly-

responsiv

e p

ed

ago

gy.

Connections to students’ lives,

cultures and communities are basic

or trivial (i.e., putting up “multicultural”

posters).

The pedagogy is teacher-centered.

Students work mainly alone.

Course content includes some

authentic linkages to students’ lives,

cultures and communities.

The pedagogy has elements of

experiential learning (see above).

Students work both individually and in

groups.

Learning activities reflect multiple

teaching techniques that respond to

the needs and styles of diverse

students.

Instructional methods support student

engagement with deep connections

among sustainability, equity, and

democratic values.

Students work in multiple modes:

individually, in groups, online, etc.


Works Cited

Daly, H. E. (1980). Introduction to the steady-state economy. In H. Daly (Ed.), Economics, ecology, ethics: Essays toward a steady-state economy (pp. 16-23).

San Francisco, CA: W.H. Freeman and Company.

Daly, H. E. (1996). Sustainable growth? No thank you. In J. Mander & E. Goldsmith (eds.), The Case against the global economy (pp. 192-96). San Francisco:

Sierra Club Books.

Daly, H., & Cobb, J. (1989). For the common good: Redirecting the economy toward community, the environment, and a sustainable future. Boston: Beacon

Press.

Hopkins, C. & McKeown, R. (2002). Education for sustainable development: an international perspective. In Tilbury, D., Stevenson, R., Fien, J., & Schreuder, D.

(Eds.), Education and sustainability: responding to the global challenge (pp.13-24). Gland, Switzerland: International Union for the Conservation of

Nature. http://iucn.org/cec/documents/ESDbook.pdf

Jickling, B. (2001). Environmental thought, the language of sustainability, and digital wages. Environmental Education Research, 7, 167-180.

Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Meadows, D. (2008). Thinking in systems. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing.

Sneddon, C., Howarth, R., & Norgaard, R. (2006, May 1). Sustainable development in a post-Brundtland world. Ecological Economics, 57(2), 253–268.

World Commission on Environment and Development. (1987). Our common future. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.

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