{"id":348,"date":"2010-03-31t13:25:11","date_gmt":"2010-03-31t13:25:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.vanderbilt.edu\/cft\/?p=348"},"modified":"2010-07-29t18:29:59","modified_gmt":"2010-07-29t18:29:59","slug":"highlights-from-recent-sustainability-across-the-curriculum-workshop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/2010\/03\/highlights-from-recent-sustainability-across-the-curriculum-workshop\/","title":{"rendered":"highlights from recent \u201csustainability across the curriculum\u201d workshop"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright\" style=\"margin: 8px;\" title=\"wind energy in panama\" src=\"http:\/\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2212\/2236367463_62013e10fe_m.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"240\" \/>on tuesday, march 30th, the cft hosted a workshop titled &#8220;sustainability across the curriculum&#8221; featuring four faculty panelists: <a href=\"http:\/\/sitemason.vanderbilt.edu\/site\/jonl9c\" target=\"_blank\">cecelia tichi<\/a> (english), <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/anthro\/faculty#conklin\" target=\"_blank\">beth  conklin<\/a> (anthropology), <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cee.vanderbilt.edu\/facultystaff\/clarke.html\" target=\"_blank\">james clarke<\/a> (civil &amp; environmental  engineering), and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/vcems\/barkenbus.html\" target=\"_top\">jack  barkenbus<\/a> (vanderbilt center  for environmental management).\u00a0 cft graduate teaching fellow john morrell facilitated the session, and cft assistant director derek bruff <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/vandycft\">live-tweeted<\/a> the session.\u00a0 below are some highlights from the discussion from derek&#8217;s tweets.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">first up, <strong>jack barkenbus<\/strong>, vu institute for energy  and environment, <a class=\"tweet-url web\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/is.gd\/b7bna.\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/is.gd\/b7bna.<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">jack barkenbus is also executive director of the  tennessee higher education sustainability association (thesa): <a class=\"tweet-url web\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/thesa.utk.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/thesa.utk.edu\/<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">thesa&#8217;s 4th annual statewide conference starts  tomorrow at trevecca-nazarene here in nashville: <a class=\"tweet-url web\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/is.gd\/b7c9e.\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/is.gd\/b7c9e.<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">barkenbus: sustainability in the curriculum is  often nested within particular majors (e.g. env. studies), not *across*  the curriculum.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">keynote at the thesa conference: paul rowland,  director of assoc. for the adv. of sustainability in he (aashe), <a class=\"tweet-url web\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.aashe.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.aashe.org\/.<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">rowland&#8217;s ponderosa project at northern arizona  univ is a bottom-up approach, involving summer workshops for faculty. <a class=\"tweet-url web\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/is.gd\/b7ccy\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/is.gd\/b7ccy<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">next up, <strong>cecelia tichi<\/strong>, professor of english and  american studies: <a class=\"tweet-url web\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/is.gd\/b7cgb.\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/is.gd\/b7cgb.<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">tichi: let&#8217;s expand the notion of sustainability  beyond &#8220;just&#8221; the environment. it should include our social systems,  large and small.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">tichi: for example, what does &#8220;sustainability&#8221;  mean in looking at the us prison system? perhaps, our investment selves  vs. our civic selves.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">tichi&#8217;s expansion of  sustainability has  implications for where &amp; how sustainability appears in the  curriculum, &amp; for learning goals.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">next up: <strong>james clarke<\/strong>, civil and environmental  engineering. <a class=\"tweet-url web\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/is.gd\/b7des\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/is.gd\/b7des<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">clarke: the challenges we face in dealing with  environmental dangers (e.g. nuclear waste) are enormous, esp. in the  long run.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">clarke&#8217;s framing of this challenge indicates ample  opportunities for problem-based learning in the curriculum.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">clarke: sustainability means making decisions that  don&#8217;t tie the hands of our descendants. tough to do when dealing  w\/nuclear waste.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">next up: <strong>beth conkin<\/strong>, associate professor of  anthropology: <a class=\"tweet-url web\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/is.gd\/b7e0q.\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/is.gd\/b7e0q.<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">conklin: sustainability comes up in almost all of  her undergrad courses (the amazon, medical anthropology, indigenous  peoples).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">conklin: has taught graduate seminars on this  topic, as well, sometimes alongside earth sciences and engineering  professors.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">conklin: teaching sustainability involves  interdisciplinary teaching. except in particular technical areas,  interdisc. is unavoidable.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">conklin: 2nd big factor is that this is a topic in  the news, it&#8217;s timely and relevant.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">conklin: 3rd big factor in teaching sustainability  is that the topic often has very personal relevance to students.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">conklin: one impact of factor #2 is that some of  the best writing is done by journalists, not academics. requires info  literacy.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">conklin: factor #1 means that the instructor can&#8217;t  know everything. requires a little humility! also, opp for less  hierarchical teaching.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">conklin: factors #1 and #2 mean that instructors  should build flexibility into their courses, room for going in  unexpected directions.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">conklin: when teaching grad students from other  disciplines, they have particular things they want to get out of the  course&#8230;<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">conklin: &#8230;which means they sometimes don&#8217;t  engage w\/common readings as they would in a seminar in their own  discipline.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">conklin: that means that she needs to pay more  attention to accountability structures in these interdisciplinary grad  courses.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">conklin: factor #3 (personal relevance) provides  ample ways to draw students into conversations&#8230;<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">conklin: &#8230;but this can make it hard to move  students from personal anecdotes to dealing criticallly w\/social issues.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">now for <strong>discussion<\/strong> at the workshop. how to help  students appreciate the problem w\/out feeling too guilty abt their own  consumption?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">conklin: counter a student&#8217;s sense of guilt by  sharing one&#8217;s own struggles in this area. or confront this conflict head  on w\/students.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">conklin: this is complicated by the ways in which  students&#8217; identities are formed by their consumption patterns, esp.  college students.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">students sometimes feel helpless to make changes,  esp. when living in a constrained environment like a college campus.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">conklin: however, that tension can be used to help  students start understanding societal constraints, ones that affect  personal choices.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">beth conklin recommends carleton college&#8217;s serc  site on the affective domain in teaching: <a class=\"tweet-url web\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/is.gd\/b7g9q.\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/is.gd\/b7g9q.<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">barkenbus: some students encounter despair w\/this  topic. others are empowered by it to invest, build careers around  sustainability.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">american studies will be coordinating a year-long  theme of sustainability in courses in 2011-2012. look for faculty  workshops next may.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"status-body\"><span class=\"status-content\"><span class=\"entry-content\">any vu faculty interested in participating in  american studies&#8217; year of sustainability should contact teresa goddu: <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/is.gd\/b7g2h\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/is.gd\/b7g2h.<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>image: &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/23065375@n05\/2236367463\/\">wind energy<\/a>&#8221; by flickr user thinkpanama \/ creative commons licensed<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>on tuesday, march 30th, the cft hosted a workshop titled &#8220;sustainability across the curriculum&#8221; featuring four faculty panelists: cecelia tichi (english), beth conklin (anthropology), james clarke (civil &amp; environmental engineering), and jack barkenbus (vanderbilt center for environmental management).\u00a0 cft graduate teaching fellow john morrell facilitated the session, and cft assistant director derek bruff live-tweeted the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":452,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[44],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348"}],"collection":[{"href":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/452"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}