Sustainability Improves Student LearningConvocation

 

September 19-20, 2013

National Academy of SciencesWashington, DC

Sustainability Improves Student Learning (SISL)

Project Kaleidoscope

Organizing Partners:

Funded by:

About the organizers…Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL) • Founded in 1989; now part of the Association

of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U)• Leading advocate for building and sustaining

strong undergraduate programs in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)

• Network of nearly 7,000 faculty members and administrators at more than 1,000 colleges, universities, and organizations

• Far-reaching influence in shaping undergraduate STEM learning environments that attract and retain undergraduate students www.aacu.org/pkal

About the organizers…Disciplinary Associations Network for

Sustainability (DANS) • Helps higher education associations

make education, research, and actions for a sustainable society an urgent priority

• Network of over thirty academic disciplinary professional associations (with over 500,000 faculty members)

• Sponsor - U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development

www.aashe.org/dans

About the organizers…

Mobilizing STEM Education for a Sustainable Future

• Launched in 2008 with funding from the National Science Foundation

• Connecting the content and pedagogy of undergraduate STEM courses to real-world challenges (e.g., energy, water, climate change, and food stability) to both improve student learning and to prepare citizens to address these challenges

Why sustainability?• The planet and its inhabitants are under

unprecedented stress;• We have to educate about these issues and

solutions to keep the planet livable; • The complex nature of our sustainability

challenges are ideally suited for high impact teaching practices (e.g., project based learning, service learning1).

• Sustainability as a theme within a course can meaningfully engage students within many disciplines and in diverse contexts2.1. Kuh, G. (2008). High-impact educational practices: what they are, who has access to

them, and why they matter. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges & Universities

2. Sherman, D. J. (2008). Sustainability: What’s the big idea? A strategy for transforming the higher education curriculum, Sustainability: The Journal of Record 1(3), 188-195.

Why sustainability?• Relevance helps to sustain student motivation and

enhance student learning3,4

• Students care about sustainability! In a 2012 student survey by the Princeton Review, 68% said having information about a college's commitment to the environment would impact their decision to apply to or attend a school. This commitment specifically included a college’s academic offerings5.

• Our future workforce needs understanding and skills to address sustainability in their careers. All jobs that use resources are sustainability related jobs!

3. National Research Council (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington DC: The National Academies Press.

4. DeHaan, R. L. (2005). The impending revolution in undergraduate science education. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 14, 253–269.

5. See survey results at http://www.princetonreview.com/college-hopes-worries.aspx

The issues are urgent• Over 900m people face hunger; 1.4 billion live on

less than $1.25 a day• Threats to life sustaining ecosystems increase

economic and food insecurity in all countries• Climate change is:

– Disrupting the food chain– Creating clean water scarcity– Displacing humans and destroying communities– According to key U.S. military, climate change is

already creating scarcity of basic needs, threatening to increase governmental instabilities, and needs to be addressed by citizens as part of national security (Source: http://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/node/1035)  

“The challenge of living on this emerging planet is the challenge of our time, exempting no one, no organization, no nation, and no generation.”

page xviDavid Orr,

Potential tipping points

• Can we close coal-fired power plants and decrease fossil fuel combustion fast enough to save the Greenland ice sheet?

• Can we recognize that fracked natural gas can emit as much greenhouse gases as burning coal?

• Can we address the root causes of rising food prices before civilization begins to unravel?

Sources: Brown www.earthpolicy.org/books/pb3/pb3pr Ingraffea, “Gangplank to a Warm Future” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/29/opinion/gangplank-to-a-warm-future.html?_r=0 

(Source: Oxfam. The 11 dimensions of the social foundation are illustrative and are based on governments’ priorities for Rio+20. The nine dimensions of the environmental ceiling are based on the planetary boundaries by Rockström et al 2009b)

From the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

    URGENT – “Human actions are depleting Earth’s natural capital, putting such strain on the environment that the ability of the planet’s ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted.”

Source: http://www.unep.org/maweb/documents/document.356.aspx.pdf

From the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

SOLUTIONS EXIST – “At the same time, the assessment shows that …it is possible to reverse the degradation of many ecosystem services over the next 50 years, but the changes in policy and practice required are substantial and not currently underway.”

Source: http://www.unep.org/maweb/documents/document.356.aspx.pdf

GOOD NEWS: We can improve quality of life now while protecting the planet and its resources for future generations and for our retirements.

What will be the legacy of our generation… denial or solutions?

From the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

MISSING PIECE“The next generation of citizens will need to be knowledgeable enough about how human actions are threatening the health of the ecosystems to build the momentum for change.”

(This is already happening internationally but U.S. students need to be more educated and engaged.)

• Source: http://www.unep.org/maweb/documents/document.356.aspx.pdf

STRANGE BUT TRUEThe biggest source of planetary-boundary

stress today is excessive resource consumption by the wealthiest of the

world’s population, and the production patterns of the companies producing the

goods and services that they buy.

Such a destructive waste, given that happiness research shows us that this

excessive consumption does not necessarily make us happier.

Many faculty and students are not empowered and are apathetic about our

societal challenges and don’t know what solutions are possible.

We can provide students multiple learning opportunities for

real-world problem solving to:

1. Understand our sustainability challenges

2. Develop the skills/knowledge to engage in systemic solutions

3. Understand why/how each discipline can contribute to these solutions

Key Components of Quality Sustainability Assignments

1. Beyond doom and gloom

2. Focus on Solutions

3. Encourage students to understand and participate in systemic change

Source-  http://serc.carleton.edu/sisl 

The Missing Piece

• Most students take some form of earth science in 8th grade and then don’t take any more in high school or college.

• This information must therefore be included in other disciplines or they will graduate illiterate about our sustainability challenges.

Fixing The Missing Piece

• STEM disciplinary societies know that humanities, social sciences and other disciplines bring crucial knowledge to the “solutions table”.

• More good news: it is easy to integrate into all disciplines, and educational resources exist for your members.

Sustainability Education Resources exist,

but most faculty don’t know about them (e.g. SISL, resources from 13 Federal Agencies – tomorrow, each other).

Dissemination Gap

From SISL’s Beginner’s Toolkit

• Reasons why faculty will be interested in these educational resources.

• You can use them all in multiple communications with faculty.

Disciplinary/education organizations are uniquely

suited to:

• Disseminate and highlight these educational resources for faculty via a sustained effort of communication with faculty

• Provide professional development and a space for faculty to collaborate

Summary: Education associations have made some great efforts but are uniquely positioned to do much

more:

• To disseminate key resources to faculty• To help coordinate/catalyze related research

and professional development • To reduce massive human suffering• To educate our students about our sustainability

challenges and engage them in potential solutions while improving learning

• Through collaboration we can make this easier and enjoyable

• This meeting will help catalyze these next steps

About the initiative…

• SISL leverages the influence of 11 STEM disciplinary societies to contextualize teaching and learning in terms of urgent sustainability challenges

• These societies work together to use sustainability to underpin their programs, policies, strategic planning, and member activities

Who is part of SISL?• Disciplines represented: – Physical sciences– Life sciences– Social sciences– Quantitative sciences/mathematics – Applied sciences/engineering

• Outreach to more groups:– Presidentials– Humanities

Organizing Partners:Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL) [Kelly Mack and Catherine Fry]

Disciplinary Associations Network for Sustainability (DANS) [Debra Rowe]Mobilizing STEM Education for a Sustainable Future [Cathy Middlecamp]

Structure of the SISL Initiative

Disciplinary Society Partners: American Assn. of Physics Teachers (AAPT)

American Chemical Society (ACS)American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS)

American Psychological Association (APA)American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Assn. for Career and Technical Education (ACTE)

Mathematical Assn. of America (MAA)National Assn. of Biology Teachers (NABT)

National Assn. of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT)National Numeracy Network (NNN)

Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE)

Advisors:David Blockstein Myles BoylanNat FrazerMel GeorgeKevin HovlandJay Labov

Judith Ramaley

Society lia

isons

Audience Research

(7)

Textbooks (8)

Public Policy (15)

Common Language 

(12)

Resources(23)

Prof.Develop-ment(14)

Project Teams

50+ society members

 and staff (including some liaisons)

External Evaluator:

Barbara Holland

Numbers indicate team size,including one or two leaders

• Increase visibility of sustainability in introductory STEM courses

• Improve access to and promote use of resources that increase student learning in STEM

• Promote adoption of curricular materials and pedagogies that focus on real world issues and Big Questions related to sustainability

• Collaborate across participating societies to learn from each other about what works and what doesn’t

• Connect and sustain the efforts of participating societies in pursuing common goals and leading others to join these efforts

 

SISL Objectives

Project Teams1) Develop & seek endorsement of common

language on importance of & commitment to education for a sustainable future

2) Gather & disseminate resources to support infusion of sustainability into curricula

 3) Implement interdisciplinary, problem-based

professional development workshops on real-world societal challenges

Project Teams, cont’d4) Develop policy recommendations

to include sustainability in STEM education & establish pathways for civic engagement

5) Conduct audience research to refine messages & guide communication about sustainability

 6) Develop content for introductory

STEM courses & improve publisher/author inclusion of learning activities on sustainability & problem-solving

Ultimately, the goal of our initiative is to increase student learning in undergraduate STEM courses in order to better prepare them for playing a role in solving the 21st century “Big Questions" that relate to real-world issues such as energy, air and water quality, and climate change.

Key Outcomes from the Project Teams

Audience Research

• 9 conversations involving over 100 faculty at diverse institutions and various disciplines• Analysis will be part of formal report• Key findings• Interest in and need for teaching activities that can fit into existing course content• Many faculty are teaching topics relevant to sustainability, but not all identify them as such

Key Outcomes from the Project Teams

Common Language

Statement on Education for a Sustainable Future (see page 29 of the meeting notebook)• Adopted by 3 of the SISL partner societies• In review at others• Related statements• plans to use this language when statements are renewed or in other communications (e.g. on their websites, in newsletters)

Key Outcomes from the Project Teams

Professional Development

Faculty workshops at partner society conferences• Templates available for workshops that can be used by any discipline (both in-person and as webinars)• Adaptable evaluation tool available• Teaching activities have become part of the SISL collection on SERC

Questions?

Project site: www.aacu.org/pkal/sislResource collection:

serc.carleton.edu/sisl

Food: Providing the additional calories needed by the 

13 per cent of the world’s population facing hunger would require just 1 per cent of the current global food supply.

Energy: Bringing electricity to the 19 per cent of the world’s population who currently lack it 

could be achieved with less than a 1 per cent increase in global CO2 emissions.

Income: Ending income poverty for the 21 per cent of the global population who live on less than $1.25 a day would require just 0.2 per cent of global income.

Sustainability Improves Student LearningConvocation

 

September 19-20, 2013

National Academy of SciencesWashington, DC