Abstract: This article describes the importance of having students study the relationship between climate change and migration as phenomena currently impacting millions of people now and more so in the future. Teachers can have students examine how their communities develop resilience or mitigation practices to cope with climate change impacts to reduce the need to migrate, study the history of migration due to different reasons, the use of positive and negative language employed to describe migrants, and the portrayals of migration in literature as well as in the media, movies, or documentaries, in ways that lead to their perceiving the need to address the climate crisis.
Continue Reading
Abstract: Gen-Z students care deeply about sustainability in the face of anthropogenic climate change, and many undergraduates at college want to gather the knowledge, skills, and motivation to create a more sustainable future. Therefore, educational institutions must equip students with the tools to practice and enact sustainability. However, it is unclear if sustainability education provides students with the necessary competencies to enact change. Here, we employ a novel student-led approach to assess a department’s curriculum through a multi-domain Ecosystem Health Competency Framework (EHCF) lens to identify gaps in the curriculum that can be filled by making domain-based recommendations. Also, we analyzed the efficacy of undergraduates as curriculum assessors to determine the applicability of this model to future contexts. Overall, we identified multiple domain-based gaps across the Biology Department’s curriculum, including for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice in Ecosystem Health (Domain 2), Values, Morals, and Ethics (Domain 9), and others. Based on the identified gaps, we suggested potential courses to ensure that the Biology Department covers all EHCF domains across the entire curriculum. Based on the success at identifying EHCF domain-based gaps, generation of course recommendations, and the receptiveness and enthusiasm of faculty, we believe this unique approach to curriculum assessment can be a widely applicable model for future curriculum assessments.
Continue Reading
Abstract: This paper introduces Gemba-based learning as a novel framework for workplace education in sustainability by integrating principles of decentralized leadership, place-based education, and experiential learning. The essay explores the theoretical foundations of Gemba- based learning, drawing from the diverse pedagogies of workplace education, sustainability education, organizational development, adult learning theory, critical pedagogy, and ecological literacy. While delineating the significance of Gemba-based learning, this framework offers structured insights into its application within organizational contexts, emphasizing its potential to drive tangible improvements in sustainability practices. Furthermore, the paper discusses potential avenues for future research to substantiate the theory and contribute to evidence-based practices in workplace sustainability education.
Continue Reading
Abstract. This article centers around photos that I took during the 2009 Toronto garbage strike, revealing how garbage transformed Toronto’s busy streets. While these photos are more than a decade old, they remain relevant and symbolic of a broader socio-political issue: municipal solid waste, known as everyday trash. It is the stuff that fills garbage bags and recycling bins like newspapers, plastic water bottles, and food waste. Municipal solid waste is a major global issue, with more than a billion tonnes created annually around the world. In this article, I take a metaphorical dumpster dive into this trash crisis. I list resources and activities that educators can use to start talking trash in K-12 and post-secondary classrooms. Special emphasis is placed on what I am calling, ‘Trash Dialogues’.
Continue Reading
Abstract: Nature journaling creates an opportunity for students to observe, wonder about and reflect on the natural world and their place in it. We explored student experiences of nature journaling in third and sixth grade elementary classrooms in a Title I elementary school located in the desert southwest. Data sources included student interviews and their journals. Through a thematic analysis, we identified several benefits of nature journaling. We found that students appreciated freedom of movement, spaciousness and awakening of their senses when learning outdoors. They described positive emotions when reflecting on their journaling experiences and conveyed a strong sense of place about their gardens. Their journal entries demonstrated evidence that some students were developing systems thinking (understandings about organisms and abiotic factors of ecosystems, relationships, and change over time). This study extends prior literature on nature journaling in K-12 settings by interviewing students from 4 classes about how they feel about nature journaling in addition to analyzing their journals.
Continue Reading
Abstract: The present survey-based study assesses the cognitive, affective, and behavioral outcomes associated with student participation in a virtual, bi-national, mentored undergraduate research experience focused on sustainability issues in the regions of southeastern Europe through which the Danube River flows. The perceived gains in ability, beliefs, and benefits enabled through this fully virtual iteration of the pedagogical model suggest that programs that integrate multiple high-impact practices (in this case, undergraduate research and global learning), have the potential to be transformative for participating students, regardless of their country of origin, and to contribute towards the growth of an increasingly diverse and globally oriented STEM workforce and to foster the next generation of global citizens actively engaged in the work of environmental sustainability. Findings also reflect upon the growing need to develop similar virtual exchange modalities to tackle systemic equity and access issues in sustainability education, and the need to advance assessment tools that are both culturally responsive and broadly relevant in bi-national/transnational courses and/or programming.
Continue Reading
Journal of Sustainability Education is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. 
