Okay, so 2+2=4. If that’s the question, I can probably grade it. But most of what I teach is sustainability and “right” answers are a lot less clear. I’ve been doing research into self-reflection and sustainable assessment recently for a project and I think it applies here. Sustainable assessment, described by Boud and Falchikov (2007), … Continue reading
I tend to set up the courses I teach in ways that students aren’t always used to. I do this based on research about effective strategies and I talk to my students about that research and the reasons why I have chosen a particular approach. I find these conversations are really important because, like most … Continue reading
I’ve been working on a project related to the introductory sustainability course that I teach. Systems thinking is an incredibly valuable approach to assessing complex situations and challenges. However, it can be very challenging to grasp. As I developed the systems thinking material for my course, I created an open educational resource (OER) on the … Continue reading
When I first got into environmental education the idea that kids would share what they learned with their adults at home and influence their attitudes and decisions was common. A new study by Hartley et al (2021) examined whether kids could influence adults outside of their immediate family. To sum up, kids got the power. … Continue reading
I’m working on creating the next level of sustainability course for the university where I teach sustainability. Part of my plan is to integrate some community engaged learning or work-integrated learning opportunities. There are several reasons that I want to do this but among my leading reasons is a firm belief that learning that never … Continue reading
As an athlete I know that mistakes are part of how I improve. I fall when figure skating, I eat the wrong food at a dragon boat festival, I forget to put my goggles down for the first lap of a triathlon swim. These were all part of my learning process and the point was … Continue reading
I have always found grading students uncomfortable, so I adjust or change the assessment in courses whenever I can. I inherited a course once that had a paper, but writing a paper wasn’t a relevant skill for the course so I took it out and replaced it with a video which related to the presentation … Continue reading
The introduction to sustainability course I teach has one group assignment that students need to do if they want an A in the course. (I use a grading approach called specifications grading where letter grades are determined by the amount and type of work rather than the overall quality which all must meet a particular … Continue reading
I have an 8 week old puppy in the house and he’s making writing my blog post this week a little more challenging, so I thought I may as well use him for inspiration. I’ve noticed that if he can see the training food pieces he doesn’t really care that I have one in my … Continue reading
The first question people ask me when they find out that my one wrist is basically a disaster at the end of an arm is “are you right or left handed?” I find this question kind of frustrating because there are very few parts of my life which only require one hand. Sure, I can … Continue reading
