Academic Approaches
Information Literacy and Sustainability: Mapping Learning Outcomes to The Whistleblower Case Study Assignment
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Sharon Radcliff
This paper outlines the implementation and assessment via pre/post-tests of a course designed to meet the meet Institutional Learning Outcomes in information literacy and sustainability at a medium-sized State University in California. Students in the course research and analyze a whistleblower case study, where “whistleblower’ is defined as a person who uncovers and disseminates information relating to a sustainability issue, with the goal of creating social change. Students analyzed their case studies using the three “E”s: environment, economy, social equity and the perspectives of the stakeholders involved. Some examples of topics include: Karen Silkwood: Nuclear Power; Vandana Shiva: Indian farmer seed crisis; Marc Edwards: Flint Water Crisis; LaDonna Redmond: Food Justice; LeeAnn Walters: Flint Water Crisis; Manny Calonzo: Lead Paint, (Philippines); Destiny Watford: Baltimore Incinerators; Lois Gibbs: Love Canal/Pollution; Erin Brokovitch: Contamination; Jeffrey Wigand: Cigarette Hazards; Majora Carter: Illegal Dumping/Bronx; Ramesh Agraawal: Mining (India); Wangari Maathai (Africa) Food Insecurity/ Green Belt. Other elements of the course which require students to learn about sustainability as a discipline and as a program of action and research opportunities for sustainable social action within the academic institution and local communities are also described. A review of the literature, a description of the process of developing the course by mapping learning outcomes to assignments, and a discussion of implementation and results are included.
Sustainability Policy and Educational Implications: What We Learn from Policy Gaps
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Jane Lu, Cherie Hsu
Sustainability policies are designed to reduce impact on the environment. More often regulations are passed in legislation aiming at certain urgent issues. For the general public, sustainability policies are less perceived as common regulations to be followed upon. This study intends to reveal sustainability policy gaps for educational purposes. Findings in this study can be used for administration to design strategically effective information for public education and as baseline for further research.
Empowering Students for Environmental Problem Solving Through an Interdisciplinary Summer Program: The Environmental Studies Summer Youth Institute
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Jim Ma Kinster
The Environmental Studies Summer Youth Institute is a two-week, college-level interdisciplinary summer program and course for talented high-school students. The program introduces students to the interdisciplinary nature of environmental studies with a focus on environmental problem solving. Students explore current environmental crises through scientific, social, philosophical, and humanistic perspectives. At the Institute, students develop a broad understanding of the interrelated forces that affect our environment and our relationship to the world. They come to better understand the intersection of scientific data, economic forces, ethics of social justice, and cultural perspectives. Environmental problem solving is seen as a complex process of problem identification, data collection and analysis, analysis of the interrelatedness of natural processes and human activity, and evaluation of the ethical and social implications of proposed solutions. The central goal of this course is to empower students with the confidence and tools to improve the world through collaborative efforts across many disciplines. Students leave the institute with a better understanding of themselves as agents of change, the environment as a reciprocal context for human activity, the field of environmental studies as inherently inter- and cross-disciplinary, and the dependence of a myriad careers on critical problem solving skills. Typically involving 45 students a summer, over the past 25 years, ESSYI has welcomed over 750 students from across the country and around the world to campus. In other words, ESSYI is unique in its both its approach, and its impact.
