Program
Thursday
Powerpoint Slide Deck for Thursday, July 21 (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 9MB Jul21 16)
8:30 Introductions & get acquainted
8:45 - 9:00 Why are sustainability problems "wicked problems"? What do we mean by transdisciplinary inquiry and teaching?
9:00 - 10:15 Exploration of a sample module for teaching a wicked problem (Corn Ethanol).
- Corn ethanol as a renewable fuel
- Course module - common activity
Student Assignment - Corn Ethanol (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 523kB Jul18 16) - Read Scientific American Article, Is Ethanol for the Long Haul? http://academic.evergreen.edu/z/zita/articles/SciAm/Sustainability/ethanol2007.pdf
- Data plotting and analysis
- Student data file
Corn Ethanol Data File - Student file (Excel 2007 (.xlsx) 25kB Jul18 16) - Read Scientific American Commentary, Whatever Happened to Advanced Biofuels? http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/whatever-happened-to-advanced-biofuels/
- Discuss interpretations, impressions, strengths, weaknesses, challenges
- Teaching strategies
10:15 - 10:30 Break
10:30 - 11:00
- Group discussion of potential transdisciplinary sustainability modules for teaching sustainability
11:00 - 11:15
- Identify needs: what support would you need to teach any of the proposed modules (material resources, disciplinary expertise, etc.)?
11:15 - 11:25
- Homework assignment: List five potential partners of diverse backgrounds and expertise at your home institution. What disciplinary expertise could they contribute to the development of a transdisciplinary sustainability teaching module?
11:25 Road check
11:30 Adjourn for the day
Friday
8:30 Discussion of homework assignment
8:45 - 9:30 Transdisciplinary Teaching: How can we work within existing institutional structures to facilitate transdisciplinary teaching?
(presentation, small groups, report-out, discussion)
- Team teaching - too many institutional barriers
- Alternatives to team teaching
- Building a culture of cross-disciplinary collaboration in curriculum development
- Recruiting partners
- Overcoming the perception, "I'll have to cut content"
9:30 - 10:00 Module design (work in interdisciplinary groups)
Team 1 | Team 2 | Team 3 | Team 4 | Team 5
- Define a module theme
- Identify sustainability significance
- Why does it represent a "wicked problem"?
- What additional expertise would be helpful in defining and exploring the problem?
10:00 - 10:15 Break
10:15 - 11:00 Module design, continued
- Link theme to one or more course learning outcomes
- Identify module-based opportunities for student inquiry in your course
- Identify connections to other courses
- Outline learning outcomes, activities and assessments
11:00 - 11:15 Develop action plan
11:15 - 11:25 Brief report-out from groups
11:25 Workshop evaluation
11:30 Adjourn