Project Goals/Deliverables
Enhance campus-wide coordination for sustainable curriculum collaborations
Increase interest and commitment to sustainability/climate integration in the undergraduate curriculum
Create a flexible framework to support departmental reflection and planning
Develop supportive resources for implementation
Project Team
Laura Deakin, Continuing Lecturer (Chemistry) | Associate Dean of Science, Student Relations (Faculty of Science)
Abby Loewen, Sustainability Curriculum Specialist
Mathew Thijssen, Director (Sustainability Office)
Johanna Wandel, Associate Professor (Geography and Environmental Management) | Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies (Faculty of Environment)
Project Timeline
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2022
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Sep
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Project approved for (Beta) Teaching Innovation Incubator
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Sep
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2023
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Jan
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Project plan developed
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Mar
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Sustainability Curriculum Specialist hired
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Preliminary course analysis on sustainability conducted
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Apr
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Working group members recruited
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May
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Working group meetings began
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Jun
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Peer scan of U15 schools and peer leaders completed
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Draft framework and toolkit design began
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Developed first draft of sustainability integration framework
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Jul
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Working Group members consulted on the framework
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Aug
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Literature review of best practices and theory in the field
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Oct
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Consultations with students and academic support units
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Widespread consultations on campus with chairs and associate chairs
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Jan
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2024
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Mar
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Finalized initial toolkit and resource materials
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Drafted report with recommendations for implementation
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Toolkit website UX testing with CEL support
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Mar
Project Summary
No career is likely to be unaffected by climate change and sustainability considerations. Our graduates need core competencies and discipline specific knowledge of climate change and sustainability if they are to be global citizens prepared to thrive in an age of rapid change.
This project will aim to consider how curriculum offerings could be adapted to allow all students to develop foundational and discipline specific sustainability competencies. Our goals are to create opportunities for collaboration, interdisciplinary work, and shared resources by reaching out to faculty, staff and students to better understand the range of supports programs may need to build these student competencies.
Project Updates
Integrating Sustainability into the Curriculum - Campus Consultations Wrap Up
The Working Group helping to support the Accelerating Integration of Sustainability into the Curriculum project has wrapped up campus consultations. The project team now moves onto the next phase of the project, preparing a report with key recommendations to share with the campus community about these findings.
Consultations with campus community set to begin this fall
The “Accelerating integration of sustainability and climate change in campus undergraduate programs” is working to identify a flexible framework through which climate and sustainability competencies can be integrated into any program of study as they are relevant, and identify processes and tools to support program administrators, chairs, instructors, and central support units to utilize the framework.
Thus far, a cross-functional, interdisciplinary working group of faculty, staff, and students has designed a draft version of a five-step framework and accompanying toolkit to aid units in determining how sustainability education might align with existing program outcomes, and which tools or resources can be incorporated to further integration of sustainability.
Consultations with Chairs and Associate Chairs, Undergrad, will be scheduled throughout the fall term to receive input and feedback on this model. In year 2 of the project, this framework and toolkit will be piloted with partner programs to test its feasibility and generate best practices to guide future interest in integrating sustainability into the curriculum.
Working Group Members
Christine Barbeau, Lecturer (School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability) | Associate Dean, Teaching (Faculty of Environment) | Teaching Fellow (Faculty of Environment)
Julia Burke, Liaison, Faculty of Environment; Accounting & Finance; Political Science; Economics (Centre for Teaching Excellence)
David Ha, Co-Director (Master of Accounting)
Frances Hallen, Student
Nadine Ibrahim, Lecturer (Civil and Environmental Engineering) | Turkstra Chair in Urban Engineering
Shabnam Ivkovic, Director, International Strategic Initiatives (HIRE Waterloo)
Ceileigh McAllister, Student
Maya Morton Ninomiya, Student
Kirsten Müller, Professor & Chair (Biology)
Derek Rayside, Associate Professor (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
Michael Waite, Professor (Applied Mathematics)
Diane Williams, Continuing Lecturer (School of Public Health Sciences) | Associate Director, Undergraduate Studies
Project Artifacts
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