Sustainability Across Curriculum Workshop

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Project-Based Learning on Campus and in the Community

May 17, 2019

The primary goal of the Sustainability Across Curriculum Workshop is to inspire and support faculty from all disciplines to: revise existing or create new curriculum and/or develop research and project based learning initiatives that use campus and community partnerships to teach sustainability. Through a day of activities, presentations, discussions, reflection and planning, participants will begin thinking about sustainability as it relates to their discipline, and be introduced to ongoing and potential class or research projects on campus or in the community.  

This Sustainability Across Curriculum workshop is designed to capitalize on the expertise of participating faculty, staff, and community partners by facilitating activities that spark creativity and provide space for conversation and collaboration to develop ideas for their own classes and research. To receive the $250 stipend, faculty must attend the workshop and submit a progress report summarizing how the curriculum will be revised and a timeline for implementation to be reviewed by the Sustainability Steering Committee’s Education and Research Working Group. The workshop will include lunch and refreshments.

For this workshop, sustainability in curriculum means: This course teaches students about sustainability – about how meeting current needs does not sacrifice future well-being as it pertains to natural systems, human communities, and economic viability”.  Sustainability includes both environmental and social dimensions, and curriculum revisions should make this connection and/or directly address a UN Sustainable Development Goal.

Target Audience: Radford University faculty who aspire to integrate sustainability into curriculum and research through campus and community partnership projects.

Desired Outcomes:

  • Generate new ideas and innovative means of integrating sustainability into courses
  • Encourage project-based learning around sustainability
  • Foster new partnerships and interdisciplinary collaborations
  • Create curriculum that challenges students to think about sustainability and their connection to earth, campus, people around the world, or the environment
  • Expand sustainability-learning outcomes to new courses and disciplines


Tentative Agenda

8:45AM – 9AM...................... Informal Gathering, Coffee

9AM – 9:15AM...................... Introductions, welcome, and overview

9:15AM – 9:45AM................. Sustainability Values 

9:45AM – 10:15AM............... Using a Spot Exercise 

10:15AM – 10:30AM………….. Small Group Discussion: Connecting to Your Projects Debrief & Share 

10:30AM – 10:45AM............. Break

10:45AM – 11:30AM............. Experiences Using Campus as a Living Lab – Dr. Allison Wisecup – Recycling Project and Sustainability Dashboards

11:30AM – 12:00PM………….. Working with Campus Partners Discussion 

12:00PM – 12:45PM............. Lunch

12:45PM – 1:00PM..………….. The New River: An Overview (TBA: Faculty or Community Partner) OR Other Community Non-profit

1:00PM – 1:30PM.................  Outdoor, Place-Based Activity

1:30PM – 1:45PM.................. Discussion of New River Activity

1:45PM – 2:00PM.................. Break

2:00PM – 2:30PM………………. Creating a Sustainable Radford: (City of Radford Partners)

2:30PM – 3:00PM................. Discussion: Community Sustainability Project Opportunities (City of Radford Partners)

3:00PM – 3:30PM................. Social Dimensions of Sustainability

3:30PM – 4:30PM................. Whole group reflection and synthesis; Next Steps; Plans for continuation; announcements, stipends, and final thought


Call for Applications: 

Participants will receive an honorarium of $250 for attending the workshop and revising/developing curriculum. The stipend will be awarded when participants submit a progress report on their curriculum revision. Lunch and refreshments will be provided. For more information, contact Josh Nease, Sustainability Manager, at 540-831-5223 or jnease@radford.edu.

RU Sustainability Across Curriculum Participants agree to:

  1. Read some materials prior to the workshop.
  2. Participate in the one-day workshop on May 17, 2019.
  3. Revise or create new curriculum for at least one course OR design a new course project or activity.
  4. Complete a brief progress report on the status of the curriculum, research, or project.  

2019 Workshop application entries closed. Next workshop: Spring 2021

Contact jnease@radford.edu for any additional questions.