| Overall Rating | Reporter - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | |
| Liaison | Deborah Steinberg |
| Submission Date | Aug. 1, 2011 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Carnegie Mellon University
ER-13: Sustainability Literacy Assessment
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
Reporter |
David
Dzombak Hamerschlag University Professor and Department Head CEE: Civil & Environmental Engineering |
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Has the institution conducted a sustainability literacy assessment?:
Yes
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Did the assessment include a baseline evaluation of students and then a follow-up evaluation of the same cohort?:
No
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A copy of the questions included in the sustainability literacy assessment:
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A copy of the questions included in the sustainability literacy assessment :
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A brief description of how the assessment was developed:
Funded by the Henry Luce Foundation from 2003-2006, the Greening of Early Undergraduate Education project was a university-wide effort in environmental education primarily for first-year and second-year undergraduates. Over the three years, the project resulted in innovative modules or full courses that introduced concepts central to environmental literacy and built a learning community of the project faculty. A total of 35 courses had been affected, and the environmental material developed has been integrated permanently to the content of courses ranging from Writing and History to Art and Design to Architecture and Engineering. This innovation continues to touch over 300 students each semester.
Three overarching features were embedded into the courses as foundations for ecological thinking: systems thinking, life cycles, and self as agent.
Systems Thinking:
Connections and influences between ideas, people, and communities.
Life Cycles:
Respect for the role of time in nature, human activities, and our lives.
Self as Agent:
Knowledge and uncertainty as a basis for decision making.
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A brief description of how the assessment was administered:
Environmental literacy is a way of thinking as much as it is
knowledge of facts and methods. Seeking to capture how students think about and understand environmental
issues, the project tried an interview protocol, in which students verbally discussed an environmental case study with
a moderator. From these interviews, the researchers devised an essay question based on a case study to illuminate
students’ additional thought processes.
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A brief summary of results from the assessment:
The assessment has strengthened the faculty’s
understanding of the challenges of teaching for environmental literacy.
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The website URL where information about the literacy assessment is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Carnegie Mellon University has initiated its development of environmental education in its curriculum through the Greening of Early Undergraduate Education project from year 2003 to 2006. The project included literacy assessment of students and is described below.
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