Creating Sustainable Communities An Interdisciplinary First-Year Honors Experience 2018 California Higher Education Sustainability Conference University of California, Santa Barbara Gregg Fiegel, PhD, PE (Civil Engineering) Tom Trice, PhD (History) Ryan Alaniz, PhD (Sociology) University Honors Program California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, CA 93407 July 10, 2018

Today's Presentation Honors Program and Curriculum Objectives and Motivation Course Learning Objectives Course Development Student Work and Activities Lessons Learned Acknowledgments 2018 CHESC – Creating Sustainable Communities

Honors at Cal Poly Sept 1999: University Honors Program implemented at Cal Poly June 2013: Academic Senate Resolution to "show cause" (my words) Sept 2013: Begin staff changes, strategic planning efforts, and program redesign May 2017: Approval of a new program and curriculum for fall implementation June 2018: Completion of the first year of new Honors Program Current: Program supports about 600 students from nearly 60 different majors 2018 CHESC – Creating Sustainable Communities

Honors Curriculum Today's Presentation… 2018 CHESC – Creating Sustainable Communities

Objectives and Motivation Address Honors PLO: "Make reasoned decisions based on an understanding of diversity, sustainability, global perspectives, technology, and ethics" Replace a 2-unit single-quarter orientation course (HNRS 100) required for all Honors students – developed by Trice in 2010 Limited time for inspiring community Few contact hours to address learning outcomes Desire to implement group service projects Appeal to improve Honors advising efforts Charge to improve Honors student persistence and retention 2018 CHESC – Creating Sustainable Communities

Course Learning Objectives Students in Creating Sustainable Communities (HNRS 161/162/163) investigate environmental, social, economic, and political facets of sustainability using both a historical and contemporary lens. Course learning objectives (shown) are addressed during the 3-quarter, yearlong sequence. 2018 CHESC – Creating Sustainable Communities

Development and Features A lecture-activity delivery with 2-unit courses scheduled in fall (HNRS 161), winter (HNRS 162), and spring (HNRS 163) When combined, HNRS 161 and 162 fulfill GE Area D3 - Comparative Social Institutions Regular group discussions and reflection on assigned readings and viewings An interdisciplinary instructional team consisting of several faculty and student learning assistants Use of block registration and scheduling to enroll first-year students 2018 CHESC – Creating Sustainable Communities

Development and Features Incorporation of service learning hours, projects, and reflection A student-led peer mentoring program Collaboration with numerous campus and community partners including Kennedy Library, Facilities, Student Affairs, Office of University Diversity and Inclusion, Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology, and others Student learning and activities mapped to the university, program, diversity, and sustainability learning objectives Introduction to and development of electronic portfolios 2018 CHESC – Creating Sustainable Communities

Learning Opportunities What is Sustainability, Anyway? Equity, Environment, Economy Systems and Design Thinking Cradle to Cradle Design Consumption and Consumerism Sustainable Development Interdisciplinary Collaboration A Global Stakeholder Society Ethics and Leadership Global Perspectives "Developing Nations" Corporate Responsibility Supply Chain Sustainability "Just Sustainability" Local Issues and Perspectives Personal Habits and Choices Sharing Cities Sustainability Criteria Social Change and Justice Organizing We're In this Together Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Social Identities Environmental Racism and Justice Social Institutions 2018 CHESC – Creating Sustainable Communities

Student Work and Activities Sustainability intersects with the paths of students in all majors at Cal Poly. Therefore, focusing on this topic provided a wonderful opportunity to bring together, engage, and inspire members of the learning community. Example Activities: Research and evaluation of peer-reviewed sources in support of written reflections and group discussions Design of an infographic describing the local SLO community in relation to environment, economy, and equity Analysis and evaluation of personal consumption habits and choices related to sustainability Development of personal and program statements on sustainability, diversity, inclusion, and equity First-Year Class 2017 2018 CHESC – Creating Sustainable Communities

Community Projects Each student worked on an interdisciplinary team to complete a project for a local community partner organization. Some of the eleven projects included… Sustainable Living Guide for Cal Poly Students Design of Sensory Garden for Patients with Dementia Advocacy for Survivors of Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence Solar Energy Jobs Guidebook Planning a Campus Community Garden for Cal Poly Sustainable Volunteerism for Helping the Homeless in SLO County 2018 CHESC – Creating Sustainable Communities

Community Projects Group Oral Presentation on Project Status Regular Status Reports Poster Presentation on Final Product Annotated Bibliography E-Portfolio Entry and Individual Reflection Group Work Products 2018 CHESC – Creating Sustainable Communities

Lessons Learned First-year students tend to have a narrow definition of sustainability Students tend to be extrinsically rather than intrinsically motivated Areas for improvement: information and research skills, visual communication skills, time and workload management, and learning assistant development A yearlong experience provides flexibility in sustainability learning and teaching Project-based and service learning approaches are effective in teaching sustainability Students appreciate the opportunity to work and learn in an interdisciplinary environment 2018 CHESC – Creating Sustainable Communities

Acknowledgements Special thanks to faculty and/or staff from the following: Academic Senate Curriculum Committee, General Education Governance Board, Academic Senate Sustainability Committee, Kennedy Library, Center for Teaching and Learning, Office of University Diversity and Inclusion, Center for Service in Action, Center for Leadership, University Advising, University Housing, Facilities Management and Development, and Career Services. A course such as this requires an interdisciplinary instructional team. Therefore, we collaborated with faculty members and student learning assistants from all six of Cal Poly's colleges in developing and teaching the new curriculum. We appreciate the support of these individuals. We thank Honors staff member Shane McKeague and student assistants Sarah Larkin (CD) and Madison Meredith (AEPS) who helped develop and coordinate the first-year peer mentoring program. 2018 CHESC – Creating Sustainable Communities

Questions? 2018 CHESC – Creating Sustainable Communities