Integrating Sustainability Across the Curriculum:
Transcript of 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
http://www.creativechange.net
Integrating Sustainability Across the Curriculum: Disciplinary Connections and Rubrics 1
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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
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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.
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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.
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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).
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Concept Sciences/Math Social Sciences/Law Humanities/Language Business/Economics Arts/Communication
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?
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Concept Sciences/Math Social Sciences/Law Humanities/Language Business/Economics Arts/Communication
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.
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Concept Sciences/Math Social Sciences/Law Humanities/Language Business/Economics Arts/Communication
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Integrating Sustainability Across the Curriculum: Disciplinary Connections and Rubrics 12 2014 Creative Change Educational Solutions / www.creativechange.net
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.
Integrating Sustainability Across the Curriculum: Disciplinary Connections and Rubrics 13 2014 Creative Change Educational Solutions / www.creativechange.net
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.
Integrating Sustainability Across the Curriculum: Disciplinary Connections and Rubrics 14 2014 Creative Change Educational Solutions / www.creativechange.net
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.