presenters: deborah mcnamara, directo r of organizational partnerships, northwest earth institute

Shared Learning, Shared Story, Shared Action: Curricular & Co-Curricular Tools for Engaging the Social Dimensions of Change

AASHE Conference, October 7th, 2013

Presenters: Deborah McNamara, Director of Organizational Partnerships, Northwest Earth InstituteLacy Cagle, Director of Curriculum & Community Engagement, Northwest Earth Institute

Briefing Objectives

Introduce NWEI’s sustainability-focused courseware as a curricular and co-curricular tool for your campus/classroom

Discuss NWEI’s Pedagogy & Theory of Change

Highlight implementation ideas

  National non-profit leader in the

development of innovative sustainability courseware for over 20 years

145,000 people engaged, over 300 higher education institutions, 4,000+ students, faculty, staff engaged each year

Offerings: Course books, EcoChallenge, Online Platform

About Northwest Earth Institute

About Northwest Earth Institute

Course books = discussion/dialogue based

We believe change starts at the personal level

Change is most effective in a social context

Content = accessible, stories, investigative journalism, opinion pieces, thought leaders in sustainability field

Course Book Topics:

Choices for Sustainable Living Menu for the Future Hungry for Change: Food, Ethics &

Sustainability Sustainable Systems at Work Voluntary Simplicity Discovering a Sense of Place Reconnecting With Earth A World of Health:

Connecting People, Place and Planet

Change By Degrees: Addressing the Climate Challenge

Discussion questions included Inquiry based, participatory

learning Additional resources, action

planning tools and action assignments included

Pedagogy & Theory of Change

“The volume of education continues to increase, yet

so do pollution, exhaustion of resources,

and the dangers of ecological catastrophe. If still more education is to save us, it would have to

be education of a different kind: an education that

takes us into the depth of things.” 

-E. F. Schumacher

Recognizing, examining, and recreating our assumptions about the systems of which we

are a part Critical reflection

Interpretive, learner-centered approach to education

Collaborative construction of knowledge Skill development

Pedagogy & Theory of Change

Transformative Learning

“Information alone is just noise; it has to be applicable, it has to be interesting, it has to be doable, it has to have personal relevance. That is the power of the NWEI method. Because it’s not a question of ‘what did the author say about so-and-so?’ It’s ‘What do you think? How can you use it? And what was your reaction?’”

- Lena Rotenberg, Educational Consultant

Shared discovery: Use both dialogue & discussion to drive critical thinking and action. Share perspectives & experiences.

Personal reflection: Included discussion questions are personal, connect material to real life, community, values. Identify & assess your own assumptions.

Positive action: Apply your learning. Consensus is not the goal.

Why It Works 

80% feel a greater sense of personal obligation for solving environmental challenges

73% more regularly make reductions in energy and water consumption

72% take more seriously the challenges of biodiversity loss, climate change, rising personal consumption and limited natural resources

60% more frequently volunteer for environmental causes and make alternative transportation choices

70% buy more local and organic produce 87% feel the small group discussion process was helpful in creating

change

RESULTS:Community, Self-reflection, Interaction, Active learning, Increased sense of responsibility

Implementation

Classroom/Supplement to existing course Introductory – as stand alone course

text, supplemental process 300+ level – as supplemental text and

process Capstone Courses

Implementation Faculty and staff professional

development Student life: Residence Life, EcoReps Green Teams Sustainability Office Programming Study Abroad Service Learning Freshman Orientation/First Year

Experience Libraries/Reference 

Implementation

Birmingham-Southern College: Year-long, cross-disciplinary Dialogue Series on Food Illinois Wesleyan University: Sustainability training for Residential Advisors/Office of Res Life University of Portland: Food Justice Internship University of Florida: University Green Team Captains’ training 

Visit www.nwei.org

Contact: deborah@nwei.org, lacy@nwei.org

*Visit our booth in the Expo Hall, Books in Bookstore