School of Sustainability Graduate Culminating Experiences
Student capstone and applied projects from ASU's School of Sustainability.
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Description
In the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District (MPUSD), we ask our students to ‘dream big and dare greatly,’ but threats like climate change, population growth, and technological automation are threatening the realization of those dreams. Therefore, we must implement Sustainability NOW—an interdisciplinary, project-based curriculum that can help us address these threats while improving our local educational system. Sustainability NOW is an innovative, project-based, and STEM-centered curriculum that represents a strategic lever for the Educational Partnership Center (EPC) in achieving expanded outcomes that benefit the greater social good. But Sustainability NOW is more than a curriculum, it is a full-fledged organizational strategy. This report illustrates how a sustainability education program was designed and strategically mapped for MPUSD and the EPC.
ContributorsMutshnick, Christopher (Author)
Created2019-05-15
Description
Incorporating a Sustainability (S) focus curriculum through a sustainability lens, across all degree pathways in higher educational institutions using Indigenous Knowledge as a foundational learning platform can increase successful student learning outcomes. By realizing shared values of open communication, respect and diversity, and high expectation of knowledge explorations; Science, Sustainability, and Indigenous Knowledge systems can build upon curriculum that supports the college, students, our community, and global awareness of unsustainable practice. Higher education institutions have relied mainly on empirical evidence that supports reasoning and logic while Indigenous Knowledge systems uses experiential observations and learning. Being Indigenous Native Hawaiian and doing academic research from scholarly works of Native Hawaiians and their methodology in Science observations; I realized that a sustainability systems model share common value systems, but there is a disconnect between these two powerful systems. Building a coalition of experts in each field of study can create a new learning paradigm through curriculum as a holistic approach to systems thinking. All of the key components to creating a Sustainability focus curriculum are already in place at universities, and now is the time to bridge them together through collective shared values.
ContributorsKakalia, Gordean (Author)
Created2019-05-15
Description
This paper recounts a project journey that was taken to explore how replacing plastics with less harmful materials can drive positive environmental impact. The project examined the scope and impacts of plastic pollution attributable to healthcare delivery and the adverse impacts it has on population health. Identifying potential options to replace plastics was accomplished by obtaining access to one of the world’s leading materials databases. This access enabled identification of several alternative materials with documented uses as plastic replacements. Evidence of successes that have been achieved in replacing plastics with less harmful materials was gathered by conducting interviews with international materials experts and senior executives from several different industries. These examples are combined with the research findings on alternative materials to construct a case that taking action can yield financial benefits while doing less harm to people and the planet. The completed project presents a framework that can be followed in future efforts to replace plastics. While the scope of the project focused on the plastic pollution problem from a healthcare perspective, the framework that was created is portable and can be adapted for use in any organization or industry seeking to replace plastics and drive change to create a healthier future.
ContributorsO'Brien, Patrick (Writer of accompanying material)
Created2019-12-03
Description
The purpose of this paper is to identify the absence of sustainability teachings within our private school systems, introduce a program for the school systems to incorporate into existing curriculum, and present the process that would be needed to be followed for introduction of this program. There is a growing interest in the topic of sustainability and how it potentially will affect the next generations. Today some large companies and even some countries around the world are engaging in sustainability practices. Currently this is a very small piece of action regarding what needs to take place to hope to promote change around the world. Layering sustainable teachings and practices into children in their formidable years through graduation from high-school will bring about individuals that incorporate sustainable living into their everyday personal and professional lives. Repeating this practice generation after generation will ensure a sustainable planet.
ContributorsJanner, Brian D. (Author)
Created2018-04-24