Sense of Place III - re-design of Introduction to Environmental Science (GEOS 130)
Background About the course redesign About the students Course redesign planning Redesign results
Dr. Kristen M Kaczynski, Geological and Environmental Sciences
Fletcher K Alexander, Sustainability Programs Manager
CSU Chico
Fletcher K Alexander, Sustainability Programs Manager
CSU Chico
Background
Course Name & Description: Introduction to Environmental Science (GEOS 130) is a lower level, General Education science course in the Sustainability Pathway. This course provides a general overview about the interconnectedness between humans and global environmental processes and human contributions and solutions to environmental problems. The proposed course re-design seeks to make the global carbon cycle a major course topic, with proposed new and updated lab activities that are linked on this theme. This course is part of the third cohort of general education courses that have been a part of the CALL program. Click here for a poster describing the Sense of Place courses.
For more information on the CALL program at Chico State, click here.
Project Abstract: The re-design of the activity portion of GEOS 130 included incorporation of the Carbon cycle theme into many lab activities. This included updated lab activities on calculating the amount of carbon sequestration in trees and quantification of energy use of common appliances and electronic devices. In addition, a new lab was created where students analyzed energy consumption of buildings across campus and determined potentials for carbon offsetting during peak energy times. Ultimately, the overarching goal is to ensure the students have a good understanding of the carbon cycle and it’s relationship with global climate change.
GE Credit (if applicable): Yes
Keywords/Tags: energy consumption, carbon offsetting, sustainability, environmental science
Instructional Delivery: two 1-hour lectures and a two hour activity
Pedagogical Approaches: clickers (in lecture)
Class Size: Fall 2016, 136 students. Lab activities capped at 24 students.
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Course Name & Description: Introduction to Environmental Science (GEOS 130) is a lower level, General Education science course in the Sustainability Pathway. This course provides a general overview about the interconnectedness between humans and global environmental processes and human contributions and solutions to environmental problems. The proposed course re-design seeks to make the global carbon cycle a major course topic, with proposed new and updated lab activities that are linked on this theme. This course is part of the third cohort of general education courses that have been a part of the CALL program. Click here for a poster describing the Sense of Place courses.
For more information on the CALL program at Chico State, click here.
Project Abstract: The re-design of the activity portion of GEOS 130 included incorporation of the Carbon cycle theme into many lab activities. This included updated lab activities on calculating the amount of carbon sequestration in trees and quantification of energy use of common appliances and electronic devices. In addition, a new lab was created where students analyzed energy consumption of buildings across campus and determined potentials for carbon offsetting during peak energy times. Ultimately, the overarching goal is to ensure the students have a good understanding of the carbon cycle and it’s relationship with global climate change.
GE Credit (if applicable): Yes
Keywords/Tags: energy consumption, carbon offsetting, sustainability, environmental science
Instructional Delivery: two 1-hour lectures and a two hour activity
Pedagogical Approaches: clickers (in lecture)
Class Size: Fall 2016, 136 students. Lab activities capped at 24 students.
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About the Course Redesign
Stage 1
Stage 1
Why Redesign Your Course?
Current Course Description: An introduction to human impact upon planet Earth. Scientific principles applied to air pollution, water pollution, and solid and radioactive waste problems. Population dynamics, world hunger, and environmental issue analysis are also covered. 2 hours lecture, 2 hours activity.
- Environmental Science is a constantly changing field and the introductory course should reflect this. As part of the re-design, the goal is to update course material to make it more current and relevant to non-science majors. In addition, there is a goal to link more of the lab activities on a general theme of the carbon cycle.
Course History/Background
- Currently a 3 unit GE foundation course in the Sustainability Pathway.
- This course starts with an overview of the underpinning science that is necessary to understand current topics related to sustainability. These include energy, matter, ecosystems, biodiversity, etc. Topics related to sustainability that are covered in this course include renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, human population growth, and conservation.
Click here to see the Fall 2015 syllabus
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About the Students
Stage 2
Stage 2
Student Characteristics
Advice I Gave My Students to be Successful
Impact of Student Learning Outcomes/Objectives (SLOs) on Course Redesign
Alignment of SLOs With Course Redesign
Assessments Used to Assess Students' Achievement of SLOs
Accessibility, Affordability, and Diversity Considerations
Accessibility
- Students who enroll in GEOS 130 are typically freshman and sophomore non-science majors. Common majors include Psychology, Business Administration, Criminal Justice, Kinesiology and undeclared majors. The majority of students who enroll in this course are taking it because it fulfills a science requirement.
- As one of the foundation courses in the Sustainability Pathway, it serves as a gateway course to get students interested in sustainability.
Advice I Gave My Students to be Successful
- Environmental science is a part of our everyday lives; it is not just something in academia – it’s relevant!
- Attend class. Research shows that students with regular attendance receive (on average) one full letter grade higher than those who don’t attend regularly.
- Take notes! You are responsible for the material presented and discussed in class, regardless of whether or not it is on the Powerpoint.
- We all learn differently. Find study methods that work best for you and practice them.
- Meet with me if you are struggling. I am here to help, and I love to talk about environmental science!
Impact of Student Learning Outcomes/Objectives (SLOs) on Course Redesign
- The outcomes of this project include: 1) Students will understand the connection between their lifestyles and impacts to the global carbon cycle; 2) Students will learn how to calculate the amount of carbon sequestered in a tree; 3) Students will understand the energy consumption of common household appliances, both work load and phantom load; 4) Students will understand the difference between energy conservation and energy efficiency; 5) Students will understand trends in building energy consumption and potential ways to offset energy use.
- Current course SLOs:
- Recognize the basic laws of matter and energy that govern the environment.
- Identify the impacts of humans on natural systems.
- Explain the process of global climate change, including proposed causes, impacts, and solutions.
- Describe the utility of science in addressing environmental problems.
- Develop critical thinking skills needed to make complex scientific and social choices related to the environment.
Alignment of SLOs With Course Redesign
- This course re-design will help students better achieve the course SLOs through the incorporation of the carbon cycle linkages in multiple activities. A subset of lab activities build on one another in a sequence as opposed to being stand-alone activities.
Assessments Used to Assess Students' Achievement of SLOs
- Future iterations of this course will include more detailed assessment, including pre and post course and pre and post activity surveys.
Accessibility, Affordability, and Diversity Considerations
Accessibility
- Lab activities are completed in groups, with the help of a lab instructor (or graduate student teaching assistant). Students work through data collection and calculations with other students. In addition, the lab instructors pause regularly throughout the lab period to make additional clarification and run through sample calculations.
- Rather than buying a lab manual, students print individual labs prior to coming to lab.
- This course utilizes a wide range of teaching styles: lecture, clickers, in lecture think-pair-share, and hands on lab activities to adapt to many different student learning styles.
Course Redesign Planning
Stage 3
Stage 3
Implementing the Redesigned Course
Which Aspects of Your Course Have You Redesigned?
- In Fall 2016 I spent additional time on the science behind climate change and human’s role in the carbon cycle. For the lab activities, I integrated the carbon cycle into two existing lab activities, updating them to make them more current, and created a new lab activity using the real-time building energy use data.
- The previous two years of the CALL program laid the foundation for my course re-design, and allowed me to build on the previous work that had been done in other courses in the Sustainability Pathway.
Which Professional Development Activities Have You Participated in During Your Course Redesign?
Click here to see the GEOS 130 Revised Syllabus
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- In addition to CALL, I worked with the Center for Excellence in Teaching (CELT) at Chico State. I will be presenting my course re-design at their Fall 2017 conference.
Click here to see the GEOS 130 Revised Syllabus
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Redesign Results
Stage 4
Stage 4
Course Redesign Impact on Teaching and Learning
Assessment Findings
Student Impact
Lessons Learned & Redesign Tips
Teaching Tips
- The GEOS 130 course re-design forced me to focus on key issues in environmental science that I felt were important for any undergraduate to know. Environmental science is a very broad field and through the incorporation and reiteration of the carbon cycle through some of the lab activities, the students had a better understanding of this important concept, and it’s links to climate change.
- After the course re-design, students had a better understanding of what carbon sequestration is and how it is used to offset carbon emissions. Students also understood the differences between energy conservation and energy efficiency and could give solid examples of both.
- Future assessment will include additional metrics related to these topics.
Assessment Findings
- In Fall 2015, prior to course re-design, only 33% of students knew what carbon sequestration was, as this was a fill in the blank question on the final exam. In Fall 2016, during course re-design, 78% of students knew what carbon sequestration was. Carbon sequestration was integrated into three lab activities during Fall 2016, whereas in Fall 2015, it was only mentioned in one.
- In Fall 2016, 85% of students could distinguish the differences between energy conservation and efficiency and give examples of both – these students received full credit on a short answer question on the final exam. Student understanding of energy conservation and efficiency was not assessed in Fall 2015.
Student Impact
- The lab activities were only a portion of the overall course re-design, therefore it is difficult to comment solely on the student impact of these activities.
- Select comments on the overall course, from the Student Evaluation of Teaching in Fall 2016:
- “The assignments weren’t too easy but also not too difficult. The material we learned was applicable to real life situations.”
- “The labs are fun and you learn from them because they apply to real life.”
- “I feel like I have the knowledge to be more sustainable now.”
- In addition, students commented on more linkages between lecture and lab activities as well as making the lab activities more clear. These are things I will continue to incorporate in future iterations of this course.
Lessons Learned & Redesign Tips
Teaching Tips
- Utilizing local, real world examples of data in lab activities will make the material more accessible to the students.
- It is challenging to try to do it all at once – starting small with improvements or creation of a few lab activities, with intentions to continually improve in future iterations of the course, can make things seem more manageable.
- All of the revised and newly created activities required quantitative skills to calculate carbon sequestration, energy use and efficiency, carbon offsetting, etc. Many students still continue to show resistance to quantitative questions however, with the inclusion of real life applications of the calculations it is the hope that some of these students will see the utility of these skills.