Post on 10-Feb-2016
description
Collaborative Course Design
Abstract & Objectives
Course Material Inflow
Course Material Outflow
Course Material
Stock
Collaboration with Professors
Discovery of New Materials
Elimination of Old Materials
Independent Research
Independent Revision
INVESTIGATERead through course materials assigned by professors. Discover
new readings and course materials via
independent research.
ORGANIZEEliminate assigned
course materials which are not useful or have superior substitutes. Categorize readings
according to similar uses or subject matter.
ANALYZEPrepare oral and/or written summaries about pertinent
resources, their contents, and their applications.
Extrapolate from these resources to make
suggestions about course goals, structure, and content.
PROVIDE FEEDBACK
Discuss weekly findings with professors. Provide my
student perspective regarding course design,
course difficulty, assignment feasibility, and the clarity &
usefulness of readings.
COLLABORATEFor 30-60 minutes weekly,
meet with professors to discuss course goals, program objectives,
readings, assignments, and novel ideas for their
courses.
For Principles of Sustainability Science, my primary research material was Bert J.M. de Vries’ Sustainability Science, a textbook which uses a
system dynamics perspective to unify sustainability theories across the
social sciences and the natural sciences. In addition to de Vries, I
utilized numerous academic journal articles, conference papers, video lectures, and sustainability course
syllabi from other universities.
For Climate Policy & Technology, my research materials primarily included academic journal articles discussing
anthropogenic climate change, mitigation strategies, and energy technologies. To cover the policy
portion of the course, I also incorporated several industry reports,
energy use forecasts, government documents, and environmental action
plans.
Materials & Methods
Week Day Topic1 Tues. Course Introduction: Defining Sustainability
Thurs. Sustainability Science: An Emerging Discpline2 Tues. Interpretations of Sustainability
Thurs. Measuring Sustainable Progress: Eliminating the Greenwashing3 Tues. Introduction to System Dynamics
Thurs. Applications of Systems Science in Sustainability4 Tues. Modeling Complex Systems
Thurs. Systems Modeling in Sustainability: Reconstructing Lakeland5 Tues. Energy: The Unifying Principle
Thurs. World Energy Flows: Electricity, Transportation, & Uses6 Tues. Thermodynamics, Energy Efficiency, & Implications for Sustainability
Thurs. Fossil Fuel Stocks, Energy Systems, & Impacts7 Tues. Toward a Sustainable Energy System: Alternative Energy & Renewables
Thurs. Anthropogenic Climate Change: Sustainable Mitigation & Adaptation8 Tues. Earth Systems: Water, Soil, & Vegetation
Thurs. Human Impacts: Land Degradation, Eutrophication, & Pollution9 Tues. Ecosystem Dynamics in Sustainability: Population Ecology, Limits to Growth, and
Food Webs
Thurs. Sustainability & Nature: Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services10 Tues. Anthromes: Land Cover Change, Agriculture, & Agro-Food Systems
Thurs. Global Industrial Agro-Food Systems: Models & Implications for Sustainability11 Tues. Renewable Resources: Stocks, (Un)sustainable Extraction, & Economics
Thurs. Renewable Resource Systems: Resource Chains, Models, & Implications for Sustainability
12 Tues. Nonrenewable Resources: Stocks, Exploration & Extraction, Depletion, & Economics
Thurs. Industrial-Nonrenewable Resource Systems: Resource Chains, Models, & Implications for Sustainability
13 Tues. Sustainability Economics: Growth, Development, & Homo economicus
Thurs. Optimizing Our Future: Competing Goals, Visions, & Models14 Tues. Presentations/Closing Assignments
Thurs. Presentations/Closing Assignments
Integrating Sustainability Across Penn CurriculaLuke Saputelli
ISAC 2013Climate Policy & Technology
Professor Andrew Huemmler
Climate Policy & Technology• Identify available and developing strategies and technologies for mitigating anthropogenic climate change.• Analyze economic, political, and social hurdles associated with the implementation of these strategies.• Discern between those strategies which are currently viable and those which require ongoing research and development.
Principles of Sustainability Science• Characterize sustainability science as a unifying discipline centered on the analysis of interactions between complex human and natural systems. • Develop tools and methods for quantifiably measuring sustainable progress. • Apply systems modeling techniques to selected topics in sustainability and identify how these models enhance students’ understanding of sustainability science.
Principles of Sustainability ScienceProfessor Alain Plante
Social Economic
Environmental
Access to HealthcarePublic Transportation Use
Level of Education
Income Distribution
GDP Per CapitaIndustry Employment
Air, Water, & Soil QualityGHG Emissions
Biodiversity
Professor Plante and I placed a strong emphasis on
developing methods for quantifiably measuring
sustainability. We found that sustainability indicators (examples listed above) are both a flexible and effective
system for measuring sustainable progress.
The inherently interdisciplinary nature of sustainability proved an initial challenge for Professor Plante and
me. We observed that one cannot confine a sustainability issue to one field alone – all sustainability issues involve overlapping (often competing) human and natural
systems. We concluded that an integrated
systems approach is essential to studying
sustainability science.
Sustainability science necessitates bridging gaps between overlapping human and natural systems. Examples include ecosystems, economic, energy, and resource systems. This course utilizes STELLA
modeling software (shown above) to enhance visualization of these interacting systems.
The early stages of designing this course
centered on characterizing sustainability as a unique academic discipline. The
result: bridging elements of several disciplines.
Unlike Principles of Sustainability Science, Climate Policy & Technology is already an existing course at Penn.
Hence, my work with Professor Huemmler focused on top-down
restructuring rather than bottom-up construction. The primary focus of
this restructuring was updating course content in a manner that
reflects current strategies and technologies to mitigate climate
change. In the past few years alone, there have been great strides in both mitigation technologies and policies discussed in this course. In contrast,
other technologies and policies in the course have become obsolete or have
been deemed ineffective. Through reading industry reports, academic
journal articles, and attending outside conferences, I eliminated several outdated materials and
added comparable new materials which reflect current standards and
technologies.
In addition to replacing outdated course materials, my work also entailed synthesizing
new materials. These materials were generally PowerPoints or brief reports about topics which Professor Huemmler wished to incorporate more soundly into his course.
Some examples of these topics include alternative fuels, the Kyoto Protocol’s Flexible
Mechanisms, sustainable buildings, and Obama’s climate proposals. The above and
right images reflect these topics.
Integrating Sustainability Across the Curriculum (ISAC) pairs Penn students with Penn instructors in a collaborative effort to incorporate
sustainability topics into Penn courses. As an ISAC intern, I worked alongside Professors Andrew Huemmler and Alain Plante to revamp and
design their respective courses: Climate Policy & Technology and Principles of Sustainability Science. An initial task of mine was to
develop concise objectives for each course: