| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65.15 |
| Liaison | Emma Blandford |
| Submission Date | Feb. 29, 2024 |
Georgia Institute of Technology
AC-7: Incentives for Developing Courses
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Emma
Blandford Portfolio Manager Office of Sustainability |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Does the institution have an ongoing program that offers incentives for academic staff in multiple disciplines or departments to develop new sustainability courses and/or incorporate sustainability into existing courses? :
Yes
A brief description of the incentive program(s):
To stimulate cooperation in emerging areas of education and research, Georgia Tech has established centers that cut across traditional academic disciplines and focus on sustainability. Drawing upon human and technical resources throughout the university, the centers provide an interdisciplinary setting for addressing basic and applied problems of interest to government and private enterprise. They also provide a mechanism for interdisciplinary thrusts in graduate and undergraduate education.
For example, the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems is an interdisciplinary education and research center focused on sustainability, and helps develop and provide materials, curriculum, and pedagogy for the betterment of learning at Georgia Tech. It has an established network of Brook Byers Professors, Key Affiliated Faculty, visiting scholars and students, and local students to promote sustainability education, research and collaboration at Georgia Tech. Brook Byers affiliated faculty receive additional recognition and funding opportunities through their partnership with BBISS, and as members of the Center, are encouraged to develop curriculum that addresses sustainability topic areas.
An additional example is the formation of a new Center at Georgia Tech, the Center for Sustainable Communities Research and Education (SCoRE). SCoRE is an independent Center within BBISS and is part of cluster of sustainability-focused Interdisciplinary Research Institutes (IRI) which include BBISS, the Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI), and the Strategic Energy Institute (SEI). SCoRE partners with these IRIs to lead an interdisciplinary community of faculty fellows to develop new ideas for engaged research and teaching, including new course development.
Incentives for developing courses are also offered through Serve-Learn-Sustain, SCoRE’s education programs and initiative. Serve-Learn-Sustain is an Institutional effort to equip Georgia Tech students to learn and serve around the theme “creating sustainable communities” through engagement with content and context. Incentives to support development of courses that include sustainable communities content are a component of the Plan.
Finally, the Education for Sustainable Development portion of Georgia Tech’s Sustainability Next Plan (SNP) included a new position within Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) to support faculty development in Sustainability Education across all six colleges with the aim of expanding sustainability integration across the curriculum: Assistant Director, Faculty Development for Sustainability Education Initiatives.
Incentives for developing courses are also offered through Serve-Learn-Sustain, SCoRE’s education programs and initiative. Serve-Learn-Sustain is an Institutional effort to equip Georgia Tech students to learn and serve around the theme “creating sustainable communities” through engagement with content and context. Incentives to support development of courses that include sustainable communities content are a component of the Plan.
For example, the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems is an interdisciplinary education and research center focused on sustainability, and helps develop and provide materials, curriculum, and pedagogy for the betterment of learning at Georgia Tech. It has an established network of Brook Byers Professors, Key Affiliated Faculty, visiting scholars and students, and local students to promote sustainability education, research and collaboration at Georgia Tech. Brook Byers affiliated faculty receive additional recognition and funding opportunities through their partnership with BBISS, and as members of the Center, are encouraged to develop curriculum that addresses sustainability topic areas.
An additional example is the formation of a new Center at Georgia Tech, the Center for Sustainable Communities Research and Education (SCoRE). SCoRE is an independent Center within BBISS and is part of cluster of sustainability-focused Interdisciplinary Research Institutes (IRI) which include BBISS, the Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI), and the Strategic Energy Institute (SEI). SCoRE partners with these IRIs to lead an interdisciplinary community of faculty fellows to develop new ideas for engaged research and teaching, including new course development.
Incentives for developing courses are also offered through Serve-Learn-Sustain, SCoRE’s education programs and initiative. Serve-Learn-Sustain is an Institutional effort to equip Georgia Tech students to learn and serve around the theme “creating sustainable communities” through engagement with content and context. Incentives to support development of courses that include sustainable communities content are a component of the Plan.
Finally, the Education for Sustainable Development portion of Georgia Tech’s Sustainability Next Plan (SNP) included a new position within Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) to support faculty development in Sustainability Education across all six colleges with the aim of expanding sustainability integration across the curriculum: Assistant Director, Faculty Development for Sustainability Education Initiatives.
Incentives for developing courses are also offered through Serve-Learn-Sustain, SCoRE’s education programs and initiative. Serve-Learn-Sustain is an Institutional effort to equip Georgia Tech students to learn and serve around the theme “creating sustainable communities” through engagement with content and context. Incentives to support development of courses that include sustainable communities content are a component of the Plan.
A brief description of the incentives that academic staff who participate in the program(s) receive:
Faculty receive incentives to support modification of existing courses to include SC content and the development of new curriculum. The Serve-Learn-Sustain plan mentions flexible schedules, input and ownership of curriculum design, and positive input for the promotion and tenure process. Incentives include course development funding, course release support, and course mini-grants to support community partnerships.
Currently, Sustainability Next and CTL support and expand sustainability across the curriculum through the following initiatives:
* Undergraduate Sustainability Education Innovation Awards: In 2023, the SNP awarded 30 course design/redesign grants to faculty totaling roughly $200,000. The grants, up to $10,000 each, support intensive course design or redesign to incorporate sustainability and the SDGs across core courses, mid-level courses, and capstone courses, including first-year courses required of all students in computing and health and wellness. With these course redesign and new course design projects, virtually every student at Georgia Tech will experience courses with significant sustainability and SDG content integrates into disciplinary knowledge and skills.
* Faculty Development supporting sustainability across the curriculum: In addition to the programming led by SLS and CTL described above, new Georgia Tech Communities of Practice created in 2023 provide ongoing CTL course design support and peer mentoring for faculty across disciplines. Faculty are supported in community-engagement by SCoRE staff, and in course design and pedagogy by CTL. The Georgia Tech Community of Practice also supports culture change in teaching and learning and outreach to faculty not yet engaged in sustainability course integration.
Currently, Sustainability Next and CTL support and expand sustainability across the curriculum through the following initiatives:
* Undergraduate Sustainability Education Innovation Awards: In 2023, the SNP awarded 30 course design/redesign grants to faculty totaling roughly $200,000. The grants, up to $10,000 each, support intensive course design or redesign to incorporate sustainability and the SDGs across core courses, mid-level courses, and capstone courses, including first-year courses required of all students in computing and health and wellness. With these course redesign and new course design projects, virtually every student at Georgia Tech will experience courses with significant sustainability and SDG content integrates into disciplinary knowledge and skills.
* Faculty Development supporting sustainability across the curriculum: In addition to the programming led by SLS and CTL described above, new Georgia Tech Communities of Practice created in 2023 provide ongoing CTL course design support and peer mentoring for faculty across disciplines. Faculty are supported in community-engagement by SCoRE staff, and in course design and pedagogy by CTL. The Georgia Tech Community of Practice also supports culture change in teaching and learning and outreach to faculty not yet engaged in sustainability course integration.
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