Fostering Sustainable Behaviors, since 2016
- Lecturer name: Alice Reznickova
- Dates: offered since Fall 2016/ongoing
- Length and format: elective, 16 weeks, 2 x 75 minutes
- Associated credits and evaluation: 3 credits (1 credit hour = 3 hours of work); participation assignments & projects
- Towards what degree: Bachelor, Sustainability minor cross-listed with Interdisciplinary Studies and Sociology
- Student profile: Interdisciplinary Studies/Sociology (but a mix of other majors)
- Class size: 30
- Background on teacher(s): One professor, interdisciplinary background (Environmental Studies)
- Learning outcomes: Students are able to:
- Name the different sustainability discourses (status quo, reform, transformation; weak/hard sustainability etc.) and explain their implications for human behaviors
- Know how individual/societal factors facilitate/prevent sustainable behaviors; become familiar with leading behavior theories and sustainable behaviors research
- Connect sustainability to their own discipline and participate in an interdisciplinary dialogue to create solutions
- Practice communication strategies by presenting sustainability related issues to the public
- Create a behavior change portfolio that illustrates various strategies for behavior change with practical applications
- Utilize this new understanding to propose behavioral interventions on campus or in the student’s own community; this includes writing a proposal, conducting research, and presenting results
- Syllabus: Download
- Key reading materials: see Syllabus
- Types of assignments:
- Portfolio: Short reflections on various topics to aid discussion/build knowledge to be used in projects
- News: Short reflections on current news related to sustainable behaviors/presented to class
- Three projects:
- Communication (create an infographic communicating problem/solution effectively to target audience)
- Intervention (design/evaluate an intervention to promote sustainable behaviors on campus)
- Final paper on sustainability/society (outline/evaluate large scale solutions – policy, economy, social movements, urban planning etc. to promote sustainability)
- Innovative approaches:
- Adding context to a course that’s usually taught as a psychology/sociology course
- Intervention on campus
- Sharing news
- Communications project with a poster session
- Feedback from students: Built on an existing course, this new version of the course has changed significantly and has yet to be evaluated.
