Environmental Education in the 21st

Century

Background material for CEDD SessionMay 21, 2009

Stephanie Pfirman, Barnard College

Pfirman et al., Chronicle Feb 11, 2005

1

EDUCATIONAL TRENDS

2

LEAP: Proportion of employers who say colleges and universities should place more

emphasis than they do today on:

Concepts,new developments in science and technology …….. 82%Teamwork, collaborate with others in diverse group settings 76%Apply knowledge and skills to real-world settings through internships or other hands-on experiences …………………..……… 73%Effectively communicate orally and in writing …………..…………. 73%Critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills ……………………… 73%Global issues, developments, implications for the future ……… 72%Locate, organize, evaluate information from multiple sources 70%Innovate, think creatively ………….…..…………..………………………… 70%Solve complex problems ……………………………………….……..…..….. 64%Work with numbers and understand statistics …………….……….. 60%

http://www.aacu.org/LEAP/index.cfm3

Pedagogy for the 21st Century1. Learner at the center

– Multiple learning styles– Adapts education to learning needs of each individual

2. Repertoire of teaching strategies and skills– Traditional education systems fostered the obedience

demanded of the manufacturing workforce– Future education must nurture creative and

collaborative skills. Knowledge available at the click of a mouse -- learning to apply it requires teachers who instruct, facilitate, guide, and support

Equipping Every Learner for the 21st Century, 2008Developed by the Centre for Strategic Education, Cisco Systems, Inc., and McKinsey &

Company

4

3. Interdisciplinary and project-based work– In complex areas, learn how to draw on multiple

disciplines and recognize interdependence – Working in teams, link between 21st century

skills and the pedagogy used to impart them4. Authenticity

– Appeal to existing interests– Integrate real-life experiences into lessons:

students do not just make an architectural drawing, they actually build a structure on the school lawn.

– Learning that extends beyond the classroom into the community, the wilderness, the workplace, and the virtual worldEquipping Every Learner for the 21st Century, 2008

Developed by the Centre for Strategic Education, Cisco Systems, Inc., and McKinsey & Company

Pedagogy for the 21st Century,

continued

5

3. Interdisciplinary and project-based work– In complex areas, learn how to draw on multiple

disciplines and recognize interdependence – Working in teams, link between 21st century

skills and the pedagogy used to impart them4. Authenticity

– Appeal to existing interests– Integrate real-life experiences into lessons:

students do not just make an architectural drawing, they actually build a structure on the school lawn.

– Learning that extends beyond the classroom into the community, the wilderness, the workplace, and the virtual worldEquipping Every Learner for the 21st Century, 2008

Developed by the Centre for Strategic Education, Cisco Systems, Inc., and McKinsey & Company

Pedagogy for the 21st Century,

continued

6

“Environment” Moving Beyond “Earth Systems Science”

Presented by Tim Killeen, NSF AD for Geoscience, CEDD winter meeting, 2008

7

Growth in “Environment/Sustainability/ Sustainable Development”

How has environmental student enrollment changed over the past five years?

Vincent and Focht (CEDD Curriculum Study, in prep.)

8

Potential for New Environmental Masters

Degrees

Shukla and Freeman9

ENVIRONMENTAL ALUMNIResults from Harvard/CEDD Pilot Survey

10

When did you decide to pursue an Environmental / Natural

Resources degree?Shukla and Freeman: The Alumni Career Survey --National Bureau of Economic Research, Harvard Science and Engineering Workforce Project (http://www.nber.org/~sewp/), Council of Environmental Deans and Directors. Phase I of survey administered by 15 schools to their alumni from the class of 2005,:157 responses,Response rate 27%

11

What was the primary reason you decided to enter an Environmental / Natural Resources

program in college?

www.sierraclub.org/grassroots/stories/00025.asp

12

Employment

Shukla and Freeman13

Career ChoiceIf you are NOT currently in an Environmental / Natural Resources career, which of the factors below influenced you to consider work

outside of your field?

Lack of jobs in field35%

Other22%

Change in career or professional

interests22%

Better location4%

Better working conditions

0%

Higher pay or promotion

opportunities17%

Shukla and Freeman14

In college, who gave you the most VALUABLE advice about potential career

options?

Shukla and Freeman, CEDD/Harvard Alumni Pilot

“New Green Economy”NCSE January 2010

15

Interdisciplinary Student Advising

• Students in interdisciplinary programs tend to be less well served than students in departments – Advisors with dual affiliations are more comfortable

advising about courses and careers in their own disciplines

• This is especially unfortunate given that women and minorities appear to be disproportionately attracted to these programs (Jill Schneiderman, Vassar)

– Institutions … have a responsibility to provide them with more advising and career services than is standard for other departments, and to support that advising through increased staffing (Hempel and Pfirman, program review) 16

CURRICULAR CONTENTCEDD Curricula Survey

17

CEDD Survey of U.S. Environmental Programs: Curriculum Models and Core Competency Areas

• Identified 840 programs at 652 institutions awarding 1183 degrees

• Response rate 31% - 260 programs at 238 institutions awarding 343 degrees– 73% baccalaureate – 20% masters – 7% doctoral

• Sample representative in Carnegie Class, census region/division, program type (level, name)

Distribution of Institutions with Environmental Programs

18

CEDD Curriculum SurveyVincent and Focht (2009)

Cluster analysis discovered three clusters for both undergraduate programs and graduate programs:

1) a natural science focused cluster 2) a social science and humanities focused

cluster *3) an interdisciplinary, problem-solver cluster *

* These undergraduate programs had higher percentage of growth than those in the natural science focused cluster

A total of 260 program leaders at 238 institutions participated in the survey for a response rate of 31%. They provided information on 343 degree programs (69% named Environmental Sciences or Environmental Studies).

19

Vincent and Focht (2009): Ranked Consensus Factors for Undergraduate

Degree Programs

Knowledge : (1)social sciences

and humanities, (2) sustainability,

applied sciences and management,

(3) interdisciplinary understanding

(4) life sciences(5) physical sciences

Skills: (1) management skills (2) technical research

and communication skills

(3) cognitive skills (4) social research

and communication skills

(5) decision-making skills

20

CEDD Environmental Curriculum Study Survey Findings Relevant to Sustainability:

Shirley Vincent and Will Focht

• ca. 30% of all ID environmental degree programs consider sustainability a core principle in their curricula

• > 50% include sustainability concepts in required coursework

-----• 86% rate the importance of sustainability

in program curricula as modest to high

Vincent, S, and Focht, W. (2009) US Higher Education Environmental Program Managers’ Perspectives on Curriculum Design and Core Competencies: Implications for Sustainability as a Guiding Framework, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education (in press).

21

Sustainability/Climate

• Undergraduate environmental programs that include sustainability report higher rates of growth over the past 5 years (ca. 238 institutions)– Vincent and Focht (CEDD Curriculum Survey)

http://sierraclub.typepad.com/scrapbook/2007/11/power-shift-

200.html

• November 2007, 6,000 students traveled across the country to participate in the three day Power Shift Conference outside Washington, DC, to learn about global warming and to lobby Congress– 10,000 are expected in 2009

22

23

Academic Preparation

Do you wish you had received more training in how technology developments in the following fields relate to the

environment?

Energy40%

Other17%

Medicine/ Health6%

Biotechnology3%

Nanotechnology0%

Computer Sciences34%

Shukla and Freeman24

CURRICULAR STRUCTURE

25

Beyond Earth Systems Science

Presented by Tim Killeen, NSF AD for Geoscience, CEDD winter meeting, 2008

26

Structuring Curricular Content

  Disciplinary Interdisciplinary Bloom's

Taxonomy?

  Funnel Fan Sandwich Buffet  

Introductory D or ID D ID IDKnowledge,

Comprehension

Intermediate D ID or D D IDApplication,

Analysis

Capstone D ID ID IDSynthesis, Evaluation

27

28Measuring researcher interdisciplinarity

Alan L. Porter, Alex S. Cohen, David Roessner and Marty Perreault, 2007, Scientometrics

How to Develop

Expertise?

Importance of Capstone Experience

I guess, I just wanted to see what you are up to, and also to thank you because as I look back to Barnard, one of the memories that come up in my mind most often is all the classes that I took for the Environmental Science major, and even writing my thesis...(which I must admit, back then, I could not understand the purpose of writing one, but now as I look back... I realize that a lot of the projects that I am working on now resemble small theses... the research, the timing, the developing of the ideas... the editing and the collection of all thoughts into one small project...)." January, 1999.

This student graduated in 1997 and – last we knew – was working as a Sr. Statistical Analyst for an Investors Service

29

ACADEMIC HOME

30

31

Environmental Program AnalysisBarnard, Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Colgate, Colorado College, Hobart & William Smith, Lewis & Clark, Middlebury, Mount

Holyoke, Whitman

Common Directions

• Local environmental engagement and service learning

• Interdisciplinary student research

• Building community– Common spaces and

resources – connecting via GIS

– Campus greening & programming

Jill Bubier (Mt. Holyoke) and students at a wetland research site in New

Hampshire Photo by Ralph Morang

ES&T May 2005: Pfirman, Hall, TietenbergPKAL 2005: Hall, Tietenberg and Pfirman

32

Common Challenges

• Staffing courses– Cross-departmental

commitments– Team teaching

• Staffing activities– Balancing education

and scholarship– Program

management– Service learning– Campus greening– Student internships

Diversity Faculty Students

Junior people (women) in difficult positions …

ES&T May 2005: Pfirman, Hall, TietenbergPKAL 2005: Hall, Tietenberg and Pfirman

33

Recommendations from

Mellon Review

• Institutions should take responsibility for interdisciplinary programs, students and faculty– Invest in community building (on campus and

off)– Incentives and rewards for cross-departmental

contributions– Staff programs– Institutionalize faculty career path

ES&T May 2005: Pfirman, Hall, Tietenberg

PKAL 2005: Hall, Tietenberg and Pfirman

34

Spectrum of Interdisciplinary Involvement

Commitment and Investment

Modest Intermediate Significant

Students and Curriculum

Minor Concentration,Special Major

Major

Administration Committee Center, Program InterdisciplinaryDepartment

Faculty Affiliated Hire in DisciplinaryDepartment

Adjunct,Off-ladder,Joint Hire

Tenure-track in Interdisciplinary

Department

Research Scientists

Soft-money Support for

Single or Short-term Project

Multi-year Support Institution-committed

Career Interdisciplinary

Research Scientist Line

INTERDISCIPLINARY FACULTY

Pfirman et al., Chronicle Feb 11, 2005

35

36

Stereotypes of Disciplinary vs. Collaborative, Interdisciplinary

Students/Scholars?

Disciplinary• Quantitative• Tough• Self-driven• Independent• Assertive• Self-promoting, take credit for

successes• Careerist• Risky science within the

mainstream/consensus science• Focused, task oriented• Quick to publish, get ideas out• Productive • Competitive• Command-and-control

leadership (e.g. lab hierarchy)

Collaborative, Interdisciplinary

• Relational, qualitative• Friendly, nice• Concerned about others and

their welfare• Helping• Socially sensitive, listening• Communal• Less careerist• Interdisciplinary science• Multitasking• Synthetic

• Not competitive• Consensus oriented, democratic

leadership

Cross-fertilization – adapting and using ideas, approaches and information from different fields and/or disciplines

Team-collaboration – collaborating in teams or networks that span different fields and/or disciplines

Field-creation – topics that sit at the intersection or edges of multiple fields and/or disciplines

Problem-orientation – problems that engage multiple stakeholders and missions outside of academe, for example that serve society

Intrapersonal: Cognitive Connections

Interpersonal: Collegial Connections

Inter-departmental:Cross-fieldConnections

Stakeholder:Community Connections

Different Approaches to Interdisciplinary Research and

Education

Rhoten and Pfirman, 2007a,b37

38

Support Multiple Levels of ID Res & Ed

Rhoten and Pfirman, 2007a,b

“New directions” sabbaticalsCourse development

Multiple authors, PIsCo-teaching

CentersJoint majors, linked courses

Research practice, applicationsCivic engagement

Intrapersonal: Cognitive Connections

Interpersonal: Collegial Connections

Inter-departmental:Cross-fieldConnections

Stakeholder:Community Connections

38

Convene Around Complex ProblemsEngage faculty through the affective as well as

cognitive realm

• Seminars/Workshops– MacGregor workshop– “One book” -- Chandler-Gilbert

Community College– “Global Learning” -- Whitman

• Field experiences– River Summer -- Pfirman,

Kenna, Barnard/Lamont/ Environmental Consortium of Hudson Valley Colleges and Universities 39

Recognize Initiative and Reward Success

• Everyone wants to others to recognize their significance– Citations, Book

reviews, Fellows of Professional Societies

• Create campus awards for env. teaching and research

Who will deliver on America’s Promise: The Future Professoriate

W. Plater, J. Schuster, J. Gappa, AAC&U Seattle 2009

40

Make Time: Faster – Better – Teaching?

• Use the entire campus – that fact that faculty and students are together– Link engineering, economics, psychology,

geology, ethics, business, policy, public health

• Align curricula with learning goals– Minors/Concentrations/Masters

• Sustainable Development (Columbia)• Entrepreneurship (Trinity)• Leadership (Barnard)

• Innovative pedagogy– Social networking as a learning tool?

41

Potential of New Approaches to Education“Here Comes Everybody:

The Power of Organizing without Organizations” Clay Shirky, 2008

• “Most of the barriers to group action have collapsed, and without those barriers, we are free to explore new ways of gathering together and getting things done.”

• “When a real once-in-a-lifetime change comes along we [with the experience] are at risk of regarding it as a fad.”– “… young people are taking better

advantage of social tools , extending their capabilities in ways that violate old models …” 42

LOOKING AHEAD

StudentsDevelop student capacity to meet the needs of the global community … adopt “Pedagogy for the 21st Century”?Connect to entrepreneurship?

Agencies/businessMay be getting ahead of us?

FacultyNeed to catch upDevelop the will, capacity, incentives, and administrative support for faculty to change and then take changes to scale

43