Office for General Education
Office for General Education

Events

PENN STATE'S SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION INITIATIVE
Sustainability in General Education Workshop
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA
May 31 - June 2, 2023

Penn State's Sustainability Institute will partner with the Office for General Education to host a workshop to develop sustainability coursework at the University Park campus. Faculty across Penn State's Commonwealth campuses, University Park Colleges, and all disciplines are encouraged to attend. Dr. Peter Buck (Sustainability Institute) and others will lead discussions of materials ranging from research on planetary boundaries, environmental justice, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, curricular planning, and more. Guest faculty will attend sessions, discussions, and take field trips with experts in sustainability education and practice. 

Expected outcomes: 

  • Understand and develop a common language for sustainability.
  • Connect it to their disciplines and incorporate it in the delivery of General Education coursework.
  • Explore new perspectives of sustainability in interactive activities.
  • Visit Penn State community's sustainable assets.
  • Develop units and whole courses that span the disciplines and creative integration of sustainability.
  • Build a supportive community of practice from different disciplines and backgrounds.

Expected deliverables:

  • Guest faculty are expected to fully participate in the three days training and activities.
  • By the end of the workshop, guests are expected to give a presentation to illustrate and share ideas of how they will embed sustainability concepts into their courses, and their new approaches to teach those courses.
  • Upon completion of the workshop, participants will have a plan to deliver their changes.
  • The intention of this workshop is to infuse sustainability into the existing General Education curriculum. While development of new courses is possible, we strongly encourage faculty to use this as way to refresh or reframe current courses.

More details will be discussed during the workshop.

Expenses: Attendees will receive $500 of supplemental pay for developing new or revised materials. They will be expected to share these materials with the group at a later date. For faculty located at locations other than University Park, the Office for General Education will cover lodging and travel-related expenses for the workshop. 

Capacity: The workshop attendance will be capped at fifteen.

Application: Applications will be available for any full-time faculty member who regularly teaches General Education courses. Apply here: https://forms.office.com/r/mWUWqpZBuH before April 23, 2023.

If you have questions, please contact Peter Buck at PeterBuck@psu.edu.