Workshops and Webinars
Jess Gerrior, SCC Director of Learning & Practice: The intellectual work of designing, delivering, and evaluating transdisciplinary sustainability curriculum, together with the practical work of enacting sustainability knowledge and skills in the physical environment are both essential to education for sustainability. But unless the “head” and “hands” are connected with the “heart” – the cultural, sociopolitical, moral values of learning communities – they can only reach so far. In this webinar we exchanged ideas and practices for tapping into what moves educators/leaders – teaching sustainability from the inside out.
2. Creating Curricular Coherence
Krista Hiser, Professor of Composition and System Sustainability Curriculum Coordinator, University of Hawaii System, tells the epic tale of a ten year implementation of a system-wide designation for sustainability-focused courses. Any campus implementing or considering implementing similar STARS-based criteria at a campus or system level will relate to the ups, downs, and details of an S Designation. The UH system is currently benchmarking courses throughout the system with a goal to catalyze a rapid diffusion of sustainability content, pedagogy, research, and cultural and community engagement.
3. Stop Dooming & Glooming: Engage Students in Solutions
Debra Rowe has long been recognized as one of the leaders in the sustainability in higher education movement in the US. Her tireless work for our community of practice has been an inspiration for us all. Debra has agreed to share her perspectives on the current state of ESD at this critical juncture, especially with respect to climate policy after the Paris Agreement and the transition to the Trump administration.
4. What University-Level Educators can Learn from K-12
This webinar will be a practical session designed to explore with faculty the ways in which we can embed the attributes of Education for Sustainability into our curriculum/courses and our teaching. We will draw from the “Educating for a Sustainable Future: Benchmarks for Individual and Social Learning” and the Cloud Institute’s “EfS Enduring Understandings, Standards and Performance Indicators” as the references for the essential elements of Education for Sustainability.
PRESENTOR: Jaimie Cloud is a thought leader in the field of Education for Sustainability. She has authored The Cloud Institute’s EfS Framework, and several peer-reviewed journal chapters and articles on Sustainability and the significance of Education for Sustainability.
5. Background of the Sustainable Human and Environmental Systems (SHES) Foundation: Part I
Part I of this three-part series focuses on the background of the SHES Roundtable including the forces that brought it together and informed its work, and the fundamentals of the SHES view of the academic field including the SHES vision, mission, and goal. This webinar will also introduce the important principles of the SHES approach, including systems thinking, social learning (including ethics and stakeholder values), supradisciplinarity, and complexity.
PRESENTORS: Michael A. Reiter is Professor and Chair of the Department of Integrated Environmental Science at Bethune-Cookman University. Richard Smardon is SUNY Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in the Department of Environmental Studies at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Michael L. Humphreys is Associate Professor of Ethics in the School of Graduate and Professional Studies at Bethune-Cookman University.
6. Sustainable Human and Environmental Systems (SHES) Pedagogical Approach & Examples: Part II
Part II of this three-part series focuses on the pedagogy of the SHES approach to sustainability education, including the general outlines of the approach, specific pedagogical strategies that can be used to implement it in the classroom, and an example of a course that illustrates its use.
PRESENTORS: Paul Baressi is Professor of Political Science and Environmental Law in the School of Arts and Sciences at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, NH. Kimberly D. Reiter is Associate Professor of History at Stetson University in DeLand, FL.
7. Sustainable Human and Environmental Systems (SHES) Administration & Assessment: Part III
Part III of this three-part series will focus on the administration and assessment of SHES-style programs, including support for SHES faculty and curricula, possible designs for SHES-style programs, institutional support and recognition for SHES faculty and programs, and assessment strategies applicable to interdisciplinary and higher-order SHES programs. The seminar will present administrative examples as well as suggestions for moving existing programs toward designs supportive of a SHES-style approach to sustainability education.
PRESENTORS: Michael A. Reiter is Professor and Chair of the Department of Integrated Environmental Science at Bethune-Cookman University. Richard Smardon is SUNY Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in the Department of Environmental Studies at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Stephen S. Mulkey is an environmental scientist dedicated to developing undergraduate and graduate programming to build society’s capacity for environmental mitigation, adaptation, and resilience.
8. Sustainability Competencies
This webinar will introduce the basics of sustainability competencies to the SCC audience. Peter Buckland will draw upon his own research and thought leadership, as well as the workshops on sustainability competencies he has led with colleagues at the Penn State Sustainability Institute.
PRESENTORS: Peter Buckland works on academic and outreach programming at Penn State’s Sustainability Institute and is affiliate faculty in Educational Theory and Policy. Elyzabeth Engle, of Penn State University, main areas of interest include the critical analysis of sustainable development outcomes and environmental justice implications of community food system initiatives.
Harold M. Glasser, Professor, Environmental and Sustainability Studies, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, Western Michigan University provides an exploratory approach to learning how to change by learning about learning — one that considers both the metaphors that guide economically advantaged societies and the possibility of re-imagining formal education — outlining three fundamental learning failures and strategies to address them.
2. Education 2030 and the Future of Education for Sustainable Development
In this webinar, Kim Smith, a higher education envoy for UN University, AASHE and the US Partnership for ESD, will guide a review of the recommendations and invite feedback. Kim is known to the SCC audience as the host of our international webinar series and as a member of SCC’s Advisory Council. Given the current focus on “sustainability competencies,” Kim will share more about the competencies that are emerging from this process.Come learn about UNESCO’s proposal, how these lessons emerged and how your work helps advance the SDGs. ESD in action is citizenship in action.
3. Storytelling for Scientists: Using Narrative to Achieve more Effective Science Communication
Will Hong, SUNY-New Paltz will discuss the basics of narrative, its role in communicating science to disparate audiences, and how you might be able to deploy storytelling to draw students and laypeople alike (and other scientists!) to your work, facilitate greater understanding through metaphor, and create more memorable messaging and presentation of sustainability issues, research, and solutions.
4. Technology, Globalization and Sustainable Development: Transforming the Industrial State
Nicholas Ashford and Ralph Hall will share their experiences in teaching their graduate level course in “Technology, Globalization, and Sustainable Development: Transforming the Industrial State” at MIT, Virginia Tech, Harvard and Cambridge Universities, and the Technical University of Cyprus, utilizing their revised textbook of the same name. This transdisciplinary text addresses both national and international policies needed to promote sustainable development, which rest on three pillars: [1] delivering essential goods and services to people; [2] maintaining a good environment, and [3] creating meaningful opportunities for sufficient earning capacity for people through employment and other ways to broaden capital ownership.
5. Integrated Management: How Sustainability Creates value for any Business and any Curriculum
Integrated Management is the key driver of innovation and profitability in progressive companies. It reduces risks while pursuing new opportunities, and the checks and balances for prudent management are baked in the strategy for modern go-to-market synergy and growth. Prof. Robert Sroufe will provide an evidence based approach to integrating sustainability into courses and curriculum and he will discuss the use of the book and live projects in the top ranked Duquesne MBA curriculum.
Edward Quevedo, of Foresight+Innovation Lab, will traverse the territory at the intersection of national culture, polytechnic post-secondary education, and the evolution of the philanthropic and impact sectors. The general premise for this intervention is that the conventional philanthropy/impact model (PIM)** is fundamentally broken. It drives distorted incentives, measures marginal progress rather than meaningful long-term impact, sacrifices coherent theories of change for marginalized “missions,” and is generally failing to effectively address our nation’s most urgent economic, social, and ecological complexities.
Brooke Suter will provide a summary of the Sulitest.org elements in development, such as the Collaborative platform, Validation Assessment (local and global), Modules (geographic and topical), Quiz, Translations, and Leadership and business model. A global network of researchers is actively pursuing questions related to Sulitest and Brooke is uniquely positioned to report on progress and ongoing activities. Brooke will also share outcomes from the recent 1st Sulitest Global Assembly in Marseilles.
This webinar will focus on the administration and assessment of SHES-style programs, including support for SHES faculty and curricula, possible designs for SHES-style programs, institutional support and recognition for SHES faculty and programs, and assessment strategies applicable to interdisciplinary and higher-order SHES programs. The seminar will present administrative examples as well as suggestions for moving existing programs toward designs supportive of a SHES-style approach to sustainability education.
Michael A. Reiter is Professor and Chair of the Department of Integrated Environmental Science at Bethune-Cookman University.
Richard Smardon is SUNY Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in the Department of Environmental Studies at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
1. The Sustainability Problem: An Invitation
This presentation addresses the problem of sustainability in general, and sustainability education in particular. The limitations of several current sustainability frameworks are presented, and the “social trap” of educating within currently accepted worldviews is described. Anton will define a grounded philosophy that will enable sustainability leaders to overcome these barriers. Participants will be invited to take part in an educational pilot project in association with Jeff Bridges and his latest film “Living in the Future’s Past.”
2. Understanding Sustainable Consumption Through the Sufficiency Lens
This presentation formulates quantitative parameters for determining sufficient home size based on a minimum social floor and a maximum biophysical ceiling. It then highlights five social innovations to enable less material- and energy-intensive lifestyles through space-efficient housing.
3. Teaching to the SDGs through Sustainability Action Research and Sustainable Business Curricula
AASHE STARS Gold-rated George Mason University provides a model for how curricula from general education through to graduate education address sustainability writ large, and the SDGs in particular. After introducing this university’s diverse means for engaging students in learning and acting to advance the SDGs, this webinar will focus in on to advanced undergraduate courses – one focused on sustainability action research, the other on business and sustainability – in order to model how the SDGs can bring pragmatism and shared direction into students learning in professional development.
4. “Integrated Management: How Sustainability Creates Value for Any Business & Any Curriculum”
Integrated Management is the key driver of innovation and profitability in progressive companies. It reduces risks while pursuing new opportunities, and the checks and balances for prudent management are baked in the strategy for modern go-to-market synergy and growth. Prof. Sroufe will provide an evidence based approach to integrating sustainability into courses and curriculum and he will discuss the use of his book and live projects in the top ranked Duquesne MBA curriculum.
5. "Technology, Globalization and Sustainable Development: Transforming the Industrial State"
Nicholas Ashford and Ralph Hall will share their experiences in teaching their graduate level course in "Technology, Globalization, and Sustainable Development: Transforming the Industrial State" at MIT, Virginia Tech, Harvard and Cambridge Universities, and the Technical University of Cyprus, utilizing their revised textbook of the same name. This transdisciplinary text addresses both national and international policies needed to promote sustainable development, which rest on three pillars.
6. Teaching with the Sustainable Enterprise Fieldbook
The Sustainable Enterprise Fieldbook, engages today’s managers and leaders of organizations, in both the private sector and civil society, who are being challenged as never before to find ways to play a proactive role in understanding and addressing the risks and opportunities of sustainability. It teaches them how to apply systems thinking to turn our most intractable problems into exciting business opportunities, and offers ground breaking frameworks in new chapters on globalization, strategy, metrics, and sustainability models for collaboration, technology, and community.
7. Fighting Poverty through Management Education
This webinar will be an opportunity to share some of the Working Group’s findings and lessons learned on fighting poverty and advancing the SDGs through management education. The PRME Anti-Poverty Working Group, established in 2008 among the first PRME Working Groups, today includes more than 180 members from 150 institutions in 55 countries around the globe. The aim of this collective effort is to work towards a proposal that introduces the issue of poverty in the curriculum and the learning methods in the education of future professionals, as part of the social environment in which business and management operate.
8. “Administration and Assessment of Sustainable Human and Environment Systems: Roundtable Part III”
This webinar is Part III of this three-part series and will focus on the administration and assessment of SHES-style programs, including support for SHES faculty and curricula, possible designs for SHES-style programs, institutional support and recognition for SHES faculty and programs, and assessment strategies applicable to interdisciplinary and higher-order SHES programs. The seminar will present administrative examples as well as suggestions for moving existing programs toward designs supportive of a SHES-style approach to sustainability education.
