InTeGrate Modules and Courses >Future of Food > Student Materials > Module 1: Introduction > Module 1.1: The Future of Food: Course Overview > Formative Assessment
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These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
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These student materials complement the Future of Food Instructor Materials. If you would like your students to have access to the student materials, we suggest you either point them at the Student Version which omits the framing pages with information designed for faculty (and this box). Or you can download these pages in several formats that you can include in your course website or local Learning Managment System. Learn more about using, modifying, and sharing InTeGrate teaching materials.
Initial Publication Date: January 3, 2018

Formative Assessment

Environment and Food Issues

Instructions

Look over Food Tank's "101 organizations to Watch in 2014".

Choose one organization from this website that treats the combination of environment-and-food issues. You'll need to be selective since some of the organizations specialize in food-related issues but have little emphasis on environmental one. Also, read the assignment from Colin Sage, pp. 1-7 on "Introduction: Why environment and food?" in Environment and Development that is one of the required readings for this module (see the assignments page)

Then,

  1. Write a brief overview description of the organization you chose from the Foodtank website, its summary goals in relation to environment and food issues - distinct from the more detailed description of issues and factors below, funding source or sources, location and scope (local, national, and/or global), longevity (including when it was founded), and what you perceive as its intended audience and/or client or target population.
  2. After addressing these overview questions for the organization, continue and address briefly the following two questions where you can draw on the assigned reading from C. Sage:
    • What factors or issues of importance to environment-food systems does it address - a more complete elaboration of its summary goals in the previous overview? (1 paragraph)
    • How is sustainability defined and addressed by this organization? (1 paragraph)

Your writing should be between one and one and a half pages long, and no longer than two pages. When appropriate, you can relate the work of this organization to the other material in this introductory module regarding multidisciplinary approaches or the concept of the Anthropocene. Be sure to describe what types of environment and food issues are being addressed by this organization, as well as the wider factors and sustainability questions.

Grading Information and Rubric

Your assignment will be evaluated based on the following rubric. The maximum grade for the assignment is 25 points.

Rubric
CriteriaScore of 5Score 3Score 1
Answer adequately addresses the organization's relationship to the environmental AND food issues as well as its understanding of sustainability and sustainability goals.Clear description of both environment and food issues and sustainability and how the organization interprets the linkages between.Some mention of both environmental and food issues addressed by the organization, and how sustainability is understood.Little mention of any element or one of the elements missing.
Answer addresses summary details of the organization as requested in the assignment (e.g. food/environment goals, longevity, target audience or client group, etc.)Complete mention of all elements clearly explained.Mentions most elementsMentions less than half of the elements.
The answer is legible, correct and clearly written.Clearly structured writing organized into themes, easily readable, with very few grammatical errors.Some gaps in clarity or grammar errors, but significant effort is indicated, easily readable.Difficult to read or many grammatical errors.
The answer relates the organization description to course content and reading.Shows an understanding of environment and food issues as addressed by course materials, as well as relating these to other material in the module – multidisciplinarity or the Anthropocene.Shows an understanding of environment and food issues as addressed by course materialsShows incomplete understanding of environment and food issues as described in the course materials.
LengthWriting is sufficiently long and provides an adequate and interesting level of detail about the organizationInsufficient length to fully engage the topic.Writing is only a 1-2 sentences on all topics or relies on quick, outline-style response.
These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
Explore the Collection »