Enhancing sustainability curricula through faculty learning communities

Abstract

Purpose Although the number of higher education institutions adopting sustainability-focused faculty learning communities (FLCs) has grown, very few of these programs have published evaluation research. This paper aims to report findings from an evaluation of the University of Vermont’s (UVM’s) sustainability faculty fellows (SFF) program. It discusses how utilization-focused program evaluation is an important tool for developing and improving sustainability-focused FLCs. The SFF program aims to enhance sustainability education by bringing faculty members together to expand their knowledge of sustainability concepts and offer pedagogical support for integrating those concepts in higher education curricula. Design/methodology/approach A utilization-focused evaluation framework guided the evaluation’s design and implementation. Multiple methods were used to collect evaluation data, including in-person interviews and an online survey with SFF program participants. Findings The evaluation’s findings suggest that UVM’s SFF program expanded faculty understanding of sustainability concepts, encouraged curricular and instructional reform and made progress toward developing a community of faculty interested in sustainability education. The evaluation’s utilization focus was instrumental in providing useful information for improving the SFF program. Originality/value Evaluation findings expand what we know about the potential effectiveness of sustainability-focused FLCs, as well as challenges institutions might encounter when adopting such an approach to faculty development. Findings also point to ways in which utilization-focused evaluations can inform program development and improvement efforts.

Do Pre-service Teachers Dance with Wolves? Subject-Specific Teacher Professional Development in A Recent Biodiversity Conservation Issue

“…These could for example also be assisted by media contents. In addition, students and especially in-service teachers could be brought together in learning communities with a specific scope [133]. Such communities could provide new knowledge, teaching materials or social connections, which are further requirements for sufficient motivation to teach ESD issues [134].…”

Faculty Integration of Sustainability Learning Outcomes Into Curriculum: A Case Study of a Faculty Learning Community and Teaching Practices

“…The Sustainability Faculty Fellows (SFF) program at UVM was designed to cultivate a sustainability‐focused faculty learning community (FLC) where participants learn how to incorporate sustainability concepts into their curriculum and teaching within a community of peers (Kaza, Natkin, and Rowse 2015; Natkin and Kolbe 2016). Cox (1999) defines a faculty learning community as “a cross‐disciplinary group of ten or so teachers who engage in an extended (typically yearlong) planned program to enhance teaching and learning, and which incorporates frequent activities to facilitate learning, development, and community building” (40).…”

“…Faculty learning communities can increase sustainability content taught by helping to overcome common challenges, such as not enough planning time, tight curriculum, feeling uncertain about sustainability issues, and insufficient resources, through building instructor capacity to teach sustainability with the support of their peers (Barlett and Rappaport 2009; Jones, Trier, and Richards 2008; Natkin and Kolbe 2016). A property of faculty engaged in learning communities is the emergence of a supportive and collaborative environment around teaching and learning.…”

“…At UVM, faculty must be trained to effectively teach the General Education Sustainability Learning Outcomes in order to meet the demand of the university requirement in sustainability. SFF has trained an extensive population of faculty to teach sustainability and is hosted by the Center for the Teaching and Learning (Kaza, Natkin, and Rowse 2015; Natkin and Kolbe 2016). The SFF program meets the goals of a faculty learning community (FLC) as it has built a university‐wide community through teaching and learning and has increased faculty collaboration across the disciplines under a general education framework (Cox 2004).…”

“…The two‐day institute is the program's cornerstone (Natkin and Kolbe 2016; Table 7.2). The institute's second day introduces UVM's General Education Learning Outcomes and discusses course design and teaching strategies from a backwards design framework.…”