Project Team
Part of the InTeGrate Gustavus Adolphus College Program Model
Julie Bartley (Gustavus Adolphus College)
Julie's areas of expertise are in geology, sedimentology, stratigraphy, paleontology, and earth history, and the courses she teaches address the interactions between life and environment through time. Julie served as the co-director of this program model.
About the project: Our project has been an adventure in thinking about interdisciplinary teaching. Our most important moments didn't come from the climate science that we were teaching to our students, but in the interactions we had with our colleagues across campus. Spending time talking about learning and teaching with faculty from other disciplines was energizing and challenging. In the end, I think we developed a model for collaboration that can work with a wide variety of topics across every discipline on campus.
Laura Triplett (Gustavus Adolphus College)
Laura's areas of expertise are in geology, biogeochemistry and environmental science; she also teaches courses in hydrogeology, geomorphology and climate change. Laura served as a co-director of this program model.
About the project: We ventured into this Project because we wanted our students to learn about climate change through a wider variety of contexts and perspectives. During the work, though, I found that we faculty members were learning an enormous amount, too! I have loved collaborating with my colleagues in other disciplines, from English to Religion to Economics, and appreciate their enthusiasm for this challenging work. I have become such a better teacher and communicator because of those interactions.
James Dontje (Gustavus Adolphus College)
Jim is the Director of the Johnson Center for Environmental Innovation and Program Director for the Environmental Studies Program at Gustavus Adolphus College. His work focuses on various aspects of environmental sustainability with a focus on agriculture and renewable energy.
About the project: I particularly enjoyed the interaction with diverse faculty who were seeking better ways to teach about climate science. I was able to deepen my own understanding of the topic both through preparing modules and through observing the work of others. Climate science is best viewed through multiple lenses and this work on the InTeGrate project exposed me to several new perspectives.
Jeff La Frenierre (Gustavus Adolphus College)
Jeff La Frenierre teaches in the Department of Geography and the Environmental Studies Program. He teaches courses in geographic information systems, hydrology, weather and climate, and global environmental change. La Frenierre's research examines the processes and consequences of glacier change, including its impact on downstream water supply. Most of his work takes place in the Andes of Ecuador.
About the project: Global climate change is the ultimate interdisciplinary problem, and developing classroom experiences accessible to students from any discipline that examine the causes and consequences of climate change is essential if society is to successfully understand, adapt, and mitigate. The module I developed helped bring the science of climate change to a course, Religion & Ecology, that explored the ethical implications of human-environment interactions. In this module, students learned about the particular challenges already facing people I have met while undertaking climate change research in Andean Ecuador. My hope is that the students with whom I engaged are now better able to understand these challenges - and those that may ultimately impact them directly. Equally, it has been very important to me, as a climate change scientist, to be able to share what I have learned with students outside of my own classrooms and to give voice to those Ecuadorians who have shared their stories with me.
Jeff Jeremiason (Gustavus Adolphus College)
Jeff is an environmental chemist who studies the movement of trace metals and organic contaminants in primarily aquatic environments. He teaches in both the Environmental Studies Program and the Chemistry Department at Gustavus. His courses include introductory environmental studies, chemistry, and geochemistry courses, along with Environmental Chemistry and the Environmental Studies Senior Seminar.
About the project: Having taken a sabbatical in Sweden and led a semester abroad in Sweden, I found developing the climate module about the Arctic particularly rewarding. I was happy to share my expertise on climate change while learning more about the Sami culture, language, and society from my colleague in Scandinavian Studies.
Michele Koomen (Gustavus Adolphus College)
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Michele Hollingsworth Koomen is an Associate Professor in the Education Department at Gustavus Adolphus College where she teaches courses in methods and content of science and in methods in mathematics to teacher candidates. She completed her doctorate at the University of Minnesota in science and mathematics education, with a minor in environmental sciene. Michele's scholarly endeavors focus on professional development using citizen science with in-service science teachers, disciplinary literacy in science and mathematics education, and learning by underrepresented youth in science and math classrooms, including youth with exceptionalities and second language learners in regular education classrooms.
About the project: Many British literature courses read select texts by Virginia Woolf. Using on of her texts to integrate concepts of global climate change is something that is not common. The module I worked on comprised a two-day mini-unit integrating concepts of global climate change in Virginia Woolf's Orlando: A Biography.
Tom Huber (Gustavus Adolphus College)
Tom Huber has been teaching physics at Gustavus since 1989. He received his Ph.D. in nuclear physics from the University of Wyoming, and his current research interest involves imaging of ultrasonic and acoustic fields using a laser interferometer. In addition to teaching the full range of undergraduate physics courses, he has frequently taught a general education course on energy sources and climate change.
About the project: The InTeGrate project at Gustavus was an exciting opportunity that will have a long-term impact. It allowed faculty from a wide range of disciplines to come together to develop novel ways of incorporating climate change into non-traditional courses. I developed a module that focused on scientific certainty and climate change, and the impact of climate change on biodiversity. Component of this module have been used in several courses, and it has been interesting to observe students looking at climate change from different perspectives.