Developing Sustainability Literacy cross-discipline resources Dr Paul Adderley RCUK Academic Fellow...

Developing Sustainability Literacy cross-discipline resources Dr Paul Adderley

RCUK Academic FellowUniversity of Stirling

HEA Higher Education and Sustainable Development in Scotland - Dundee June 2007

Outline

Explore possibilities enhancing sustainability literacy across wider-range of subject domains

Starting points; where next

Discuss methods of delivery Electronic resources

Reflection Teaching-Research-Outreach links


Sustainability Literacy

Definition – based around a framework:

“Sustainable literate person should: Understand the need for change to a sustainable way

of doing things, individually and collectively Sufficient knowledge and skills to decide and act in a

way that favours sustainable development Be able to recognise and reward other people’s

decisions and actions that favour sustainable development”

Term emerged in HE through use by “Forum for the Future”


The Sustainability Integration Group Association of Colleges Centre for Excellence in

Leadership Committee of University

Chairmen Department for Education

and Skills Higher Education

Academy Higher Education Funding

Council for England Higher Education Funding

Council for Wales Leadership Foundation for

Higher Education

Learning and Skills Council

Quality Assurance Agency

Qualifications and Curriculum Authority

Standing Conference of Principals

Scottish Funding Council Sector Skills

Development Agency Trade Union Sustainable

Development Advisory Committee

Universities UK


Other initiatives:

England – CETL The Centre for Sustainable Futures,

University of Plymouth “…vision of this pan-discipline organisation

is to enable students on Higher Education “acquire the knowledge, skills, and values, which will assist them in living and working sustainably” ” (Dyer and Selby, 2004)

Campus-based learning approaches


“Sustainable literate person should: Understand the need for change to a sustainable

way of doing things, individually and collectively Recognition of rôle of other people(s);

Sufficient knowledge and skills to decide and act in a way that favours sustainable development

Understandings of environment histories; history of environmental issues; earth-system processes; rôle of society

Be able to recognise and reward other people’s decisions and actions that favour sustainable development”

Rôle of other people(s); exemplars from other societies


Sustainable literacy?

The stuff people want you to give up is always things that they have already chosen not to do or wouldn’t ever want to do, or couldn’t afford. Nobody says: “I could have been a racing driver, but I ride a bike now for the butterflies.” It’s always: “I’m a vegan. Stop murdering animals, you b*****ds.”

A.A. Gill (Sunday Times, 10 June 2007)


Outline






Starting points

Perceived need for increased sustainbility literacy

Need (?) to break out of traditional discipline-led pedagogic approaches

Enhancement themes


Starting points (ii)

Teaching at present Environmental Science Sustainable

development module (Honours years)

Sustainbility issues in Environmental history modules (Honours years) Environmental Science modules (Semester 4)


Starting points (iii)

Research Environmental History Environmental Science

Wish-list for outcomes of research-led teaching: critical and systemic thinking interdisciplinarity, cross-disciplinarity and

transdisciplinarity issues → collaborative learning make connections – especially with respect to

processes sense of other (geographical locale)


What we are not trying to achieve! New course/module. Replacement for parts of an existing

module So, why do it?


Why?

Introduce concepts to wider range of disciplines

Feedback between expanding teaching to other domains vs. development of cross-disciplinary research

…..?


Benefits and ideas?


Outline



Discuss methods of delivery “Welcome to the Sahel”



“Welcome to the Sahel” - an interdisciplinary resource-bank of

sustainable development perspectives for English, environmental science, history, and religious studies undergraduates.

Aims to: increase awareness of sustainable development

issues; extend field-led or documentary-led experiences of

undergraduates; consider the sustainability of societies from a remote,

environmentally sensitive region: the West African Sahel; and

allow contrasts with more immediate local issues to be developed.

Sahel

Past and future rainfall trends(NOAA CM2 model)

Held et al., (2005) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 102, 17891-6

1950-2000 2000-2050 2000-2050


Zilum area – NE Nigeria

Ancient water management or defence from other peoples?


Technical details

Database - DSpace typically used for online institutional

depositories of theses and other IP Dublin Core Metadata Element Set

descriptors of resource future proofing

Local server Secured i.e. locked-down access

Protection of IP


What is going in the resource… (i) Screencasts digital recording of computer screen

audio commentary MicroSoft Producer for Powerpoint Camtasia Studio plug-in to Powerpoint

Good for visually-rich subjects such as the environmental sciences where visual aids important

Podcasts digital media file (audio or video) which is distributed

and shared over the web so that users can subscribe to digital content; the term Podcast can refer to either the media file itself or the way in which it is delivered.


Podcasts at Stirling


What is going in the resource… (ii) Digitised archival materials suitable for

download datasets historical resources cartography

Ethnographic film


Promotion and monitoring

Promotion: Launch event Undergraduate targeted conference - follows

“Inexhaustible abundance? Environmental History, Educators and Sustainable Development” jointly supported by University of Stirling and the HEA Subject Centre for History, Classics and Archaeology.

Monitoring committee Outwith discipline-specific staff-student

committees Range of expertise


Outline






Reflective activites - Outreach Linking Research to Outreach

Museum activities Awareness of science DTI initiatives in examining future

technologies for young adults (future UGs)

Seeking different audiences Development of Research – Teaching –

Outreach continuum

Developing Sustainability Literacy cross-discipline resources Dr Paul Adderley RCUK Academic Fellow...

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