1. ENVIRONMENTAL Scientific Perspective Examples of Student Responses INPUTS  amount and type of fertilizer  pesticides  seeds and their origins “…the small-scale community garden uses less pesticides and fertilizer compared to the large-scale industrial corn, because they’re producing a lot of it at one time.” “They’re all going to be growing in the exact same process. In every single one you’re going to have the soil, you’re going to have the nutrients; you’re going to get the sunlight, the water. It’s just the scale, I think, that you do it.” “Well, the farmer probably planted seeds. I know that corn is subsidized. So they get the seeds from the government…they just keep growing it every year. ” PROCESSES  plant growth processes that use soil minerals  relationships among plants in the “Three Sisters” (legumes fixing nitrogen)  human labor, care “…because they grow these next to each other…they like give off like beans do like nitrogen fixation, so they like bring nitrogen into the ground, and then that shares with the plants around it. So, instead of spraying it with chemical nitrogen, the beans are doing that naturally for the plants around it also.” “…the Native American Method would be the most sustainable because that one was around before all the modern technology became available. So if that worked a long time ago, it would more than likely work now. It's probably…has more nutritional value and you get three crops. So let's say you have a certain amount of land, but you're able to grow three different things on that same plot of land. Whereas the large scale, you just have one thing growing. So it's kind of more productivity too.” “And you have to make sure you rotate the crops because you don't want to deplete the soil from growing in the same area each year.” OUTPUTS  amount of corn yield  runoff of fertilizers and/or pesticides  changes in soil fertility (adding/depleting minerals or organic matter) “Because it [chemicals] runs off into lakes or rivers and things like that. And there are animals living in these lakes and rivers around them that drink the water, and they’re going to become sick. And then it’s going to screw up the whole ecosystem.” “You don't want the chemical fertilizer. Preferably natural fertilizer, but like the chemicals can run off and just ruin a lot of your other crops or the land around it or soak into the soil and ruin the whole soil, I guess area plot as a whole.” “I think about myself and I also try to think about the large scheme of things. I know if I buy something organic, well this is good for the environment. It's good for me.” CHOICES “I would buy the community garden one because it's supporting the community, as well as you're getting healthy food. And at least you see where your money is going or you know where it's going.” “Because it's better for our bodies. If they know that it's better, healthier, then they're more likely to say, "Well this is…even though it costs more, in the long run, it's better for me.” Developing a Learning Progression for Sustainability Elizabeth de los Santos, May Lee, and Andy Anderson Department of Teacher Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48864 SOCIAL “energy and food security [and] rural health” ECONOMIC “profitability and the basis for farmer, refiner, and policy decisions about what to plant where and when” Contact Information Andy Anderson andya@msu.edu Elizabeth de los Santos delossa9@msu.edu May Lee leemay1@msu.edu Acknowledgements Support for this project is provided by POSOH and GLBRC. We thank Josh Rosenberg, Joyce Parker, and Jonathan Schramm for their contributions to this project. Part of this material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. DGE 0707432. Materials are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Next Steps  We plan to interview middle school and high school students at the end of this month.  We also plan to continue analysis of the interviews. Patterns in Student Responses  All students exhibited gaps in their understanding of supply chains (e.g., where corn seeds come from, difference between field corn and sweet corn).  Few students trace matter through systems from input → processes → outputs → processes → input.  Few students connect soil fertility with the nitrogen cycle (e.g., crop rotation is good for fertility).  As students compare different production systems, they bring in social and economic aspects in their explanations. Interview Protocol Part I: CORN  Where does corn come from?  What happens to the corn when you eat it?  Corn can be grown in many different ways. What is similar and different about growing corn in a small-scale community garden, a large-scale industrial farm, and a Native American method called the “Three Sisters”? Part II: FUEL  Where does gasoline, ethanol, and the electricity for a electric vehicle come from?  What are the environmental impacts of each?  Rank them from least to most sustainable. Part III: SUSTAINABILITY  What do you think sustainable means? Which of these is most sustainable, and why?  In order for a practice or system to be most sustainable, how far into the future do you think we should be concerned about? Overview We present preliminary data and analysis from interviews of undergraduate students about their ideas on sustainability. Within the context of ongoing collaborations with POSOH (UW Madison) and GLBRC Education & Outreach, we focus on the supply and waste chains for corn and gasoline. Preliminary results indicate that students show varying levels of understanding of the inputs, processes, and outputs associated with the production and disposal of corn and gasoline. ENVIRONMENTAL “climate stabilization, water and nitrogen conservation, and the delivery of biodiversity services”