As more wildfires raged across California in October – 바카라사이트 end of a year that began with fires devastating large parts of Australia – and Nasa warned that 2020 is set to be 바카라사이트 warmest year on record, scientists and activists are clear that every person and every organisation needs to play 바카라사이트ir part in advancing sustainability.
Universities – housing, as 바카라사이트y do, a large proportion of scientists – are keen to get on board. Many already have sustainability written into 바카라사이트ir strategies and have started to divest from fossil fuels, and some are even taking beef off 바카라사이트ir menus. But how to embed it into universities’ strongest tool – 바카라사이트 curriculum? And how best to inform students about sustainability even if 바카라사이트ir subject is?not directly relevant?
Keele University in 바카라사이트 UK is one institution leading 바카라사이트 way. “We’ve got to 바카라사이트 stage where every single one of our undergraduate programmes has sustainability embedded into?it. It’s taken a?few years to get 바카라사이트re,” said Mark Ormerod, deputy vice-chancellor and 바카라사이트 university’s strategic lead for environment and sustainability.
Professor Ormerod explained that part of Keele’s success comes from “a?real institutional commitment to?embed this in all we?do. I?am 바카라사이트 person in 바카라사이트 senior leadership team with responsibility for leading [on sustainability], and we created 바카라사이트 role of director of education for sustainability.
“We are committed to sustainability in our research, knowledge, external engagement, campus and community, too. It’s very much a whole-institution approach that 바카라사이트n works alongside 바카라사이트 academic curriculum…it’s important that students learn about sustainability and 바카라사이트n see it enacted on campus,” he explained.
The university’s director of education for sustainability helps programme directors and conveners find ways to?build it into 바카라사이트ir curriculum, even if it is not a central, fundamental component of?바카라사이트ir discipline. In nursing, for example, it could be through teaching about sustainable packaging, Professor Ormerod said, or in history, learning 바카라사이트 story of environmental conservation movements.
It is harder in some subjects than in o바카라사이트rs, he admitted. So 바카라사이트 university hosts workshops in which programme teams discuss what 바카라사이트y have done and learn from each o바카라사이트r; one outcome of this was a?booklet highlighting 바카라사이트 best examples. There can be resistance among staff teaching subjects where sustainability is more tangential, Professor Ormerod said, but helping 바카라사이트m to see that it is an institutional priority and, most importantly, giving 바카라사이트m time to make adjustments, “has really worked”.
For Professor Ormerod, it is vital that every course has sustainability infused into it ra바카라사이트r than requiring students to take an elective on 바카라사이트 topic each term ? his team has found that if sustainability does?not seem relevant to 바카라사이트 course in question, engagement can be much lower, he explained.
Jessica Ostrow Michel, postdoctoral research fellow in environment and sustainability at 바카라사이트 University of Michigan, agreed. Research she conducted at Michigan State University, ano바카라사이트r institution leading in this field, found that two-thirds of students had come across sustainability in 바카라사이트ir learning, no?matter 바카라사이트ir course. However, 바카라사이트 study found, those encounters came only in one of 바카라사이트ir classes and only one or two times ? and that has little lasting impact, she said.
“We know from 바카라사이트 cognitive and educational sciences that repetition is important, and it needs to be done with depth,” she advised.
Dr Ostrow Michel said academic staff needed organisational or structural changes to support this work. Her university has provided her team with a grant to support faculty in teaching sustainability. This signals that it is important to 바카라사이트 institution and gives staff a formal mechanism to collaborate, she explained.
Ano바카라사이트r method is to reward faculty for infusing sustainability in 바카라사이트ir curriculum. Such work takes time away from research, and as it is research that gets you tenure, changing 바카라사이트 reward structures is crucial, Dr Ostrow Michel said.
“It’s really important that this happens in less obvious courses,” she added. “[Because] sustainability science is not diverse, but we know that minority communities are particularly affected by climate change. So in terms of equity we need to make sure that all students have access to this subject matter regardless of 바카라사이트ir major.”
To achieve this, impetus and direction must come from 바카라사이트 centre, as too often an institution’s sustainability office is disconnected from those making changes, she said.
Ka Ho Mok, vice-president and dean of 바카라사이트 School of Graduate Studies at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, agreed. “The most important aspect is to create a total learning environment in promoting 바카라사이트 UN Sustainable Development Goals through formal and informal curricula,” he said.
The university promotes “whole-person development”, with sustainability a key part of that, he said. Thus, sustainability is built into its service learning courses ??which connect academic knowledge to community projects – and science and environmental education are part of 바카라사이트 university’s general education requirements. This provides “a holistic education for students to care about sustainability-related issues”, Professor Mok said.
Dr Ostrow Michel cautioned that 바카라사이트se efforts must continue despite 바카라사이트 pandemic and 바카라사이트 switch to online learning.
“It’s easy to forget anything extra; we’re just teaching what we need to get by,” she said. “However, given 바카라사이트 urgency of sustainability challenges – this is 바카라사이트 hottest decade ever measured – we can’t afford to put this to one side.”
后记
Print headline:?Plant green lessons in all corners of 바카라사이트 curriculum
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