IAP Course: Teaching with Sustainability

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required.

Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions.

Prereq: None.

This non-credit class will provide participants with the knowledge and skills to infuse their lessons and practices with sustainability. The class will focus on identifying goals for students and actions to get there, what it means to teach sustainably, and the opportunity to plan for future lessons using sustainability as a guide. In addition, participants will learn sustainable pedagogical practices that increase student engagement, and ultimately learning, in their classes.

Sustainability education is an emergent field focused on solving complex wicked problems that are interconnected throughout social, environmental, economic and health fields. In working to address these inherently complex and wicked sustainability problems scholars have identified the need to perturb existing education systems, advocating for education of a different kind which will create a more sustainability literate population. To achieve the lasting impact necessary for true change to occur sustainability needs to be holistically integrated throughout an academic program leveraging the knowledge of instructors to build this complex connection. This class will help participants think through what sustainability means in their area of expertise, while practicing this in terms of best teaching practices.

Anyone is welcome to participate, however, the class will be tailored to individuals who are currently teaching (i.e. graduate students, postdocs, faculty, lecturers) or those who may be teaching in the future.

Signup Deadline: December 22. E-mail the instructors to sign up.

Instructors:

Liz Potter-Nelson, Sustainability Education Postdoctoral Associate at ESI, epottern@mit.edu
Sarah Meyers, Education Program Manager at ESI, smeyers@mit.edu