SedSD - State of Education for Sustainable Development: A Research Project to Investigate Methods of Embedding Sustainability in Engineering Education

For additional background information refer to: Desha, C., Hargroves, K., Smith, M., and Stasinopoulos, P. (2007) The Importance of Sustainability in Engineering Education: A toolkit of information and Teahcing material, Engineering Training and Learning Conference, 12th & 13th September 2007, Brisbane, Australia.

Introduction to SedSD

The Natural Edge Project (TNEP), hosted by Griffith University and ANU, proposes to undertake a research project on education for sustainable development to investigate methods of accelerating the process of embedding sustainability in engineering education. Deliverables for this special project comprise a Tier 1 Journal Publication, a special Issue (6 peer reviewed, academic papers) of the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education (IJSHE), and an ‘Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Curriculum Audit Manual’ which will form the basis of a subsequent research application (2008) to investigate curriculum renewal elements and frameworks.

Overview of the SedSD Research Outputs

Output 1 - TIER 1 Paper: ‘Elements of a Curriculum Renewal Framework for Embedding Sustainability into Higher Education'.

This paper will outline the basic elements of a curriculum renewal framework and in particular its relevance to applied science and engineering education. This paper is intended to build profile and recognition for the special journal issue to follow that will explore the elements of the framework in more detail, in the context of embedding sustainability into higher education. The principal investigators will form the leaders for this paper, and will invite contributing authorship from internal Griffith staff and externally (ie nationally and internationally) as required, to ensure a high level of academic rigour and appropriate credibility to warrant publication in a Tier 1 journal.

Output 2 – International Journal Special Issue.

Publication of a special issue (including 6 academic internationally peer-reviewed papers) of the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education (IJSHE) (September 2008). The following papers will include input by colleagues established in the field, in Australia (including Griffith University ) and internationally where appropriate:

• Paper 1: ‘Embedding Sustainable Development into Engineering Curriculum – An Overview of International Progress' - As the opening paper to the special issue, this paper will provide the context for curriculum renewal for education for sustainable development, together with an overview of relevant international progress in the higher education sector. The paper will also present research on the parallels between curriculum renewal in other disciplines and its relevance to engineering education. Finally the paper will briefly outline the main elements of a curriculum renewal framework, to be developed in subsequent papers in the special issue.

• Paper 2: ‘Utilising Agreed Student Attributes and Preferred Competencies to Inform aRapid Transition towards Embedding Sustainable Development into Engineering Curriculum' - This paper outlines a Scoping Workshop methodology and documents experiences on how to constructively critique existing curriculum in a non-confrontational manner for staff. It is intended that this will include case study summaries of the Griffith School of Engineering experience and the ENS Faculty.

• Paper 3: ‘An International Gap Analysis of new requirements to engineering education brought by sustainable development' - This paper will present the results of a global survey of a mixture of randomly selected and specifically selected university engineering departments' current engineering curriculum. It will include qualitative and quantitative analysis of survey results short case study summaries of best practice examples. It is intended that the questionnaire method (adapted from the NFEE survey currently underway through the CSIRO flagship grant) will provide a robust set of results with an upper and lower boundary of what is happening globally.

• Paper 4: ‘Undertaking an Assessment of existing programs to identify areas of focus as part of a Rapid Transition towards Embedding Sustainable Development into Engineering Curriculum' - This paper will outline the core process of undertaking the audit process on a course by course basis, to underpin a successful transition to engineering education for sustainable development. A key component for the success of this element in the curriculum renewal framework is direct involvement by teaching staff, to enable curriculum renewal to be an effective enhancement of the existing offering. The main context provided for the audit process will be engineering, however leading efforts in other fields (including information technology, business, political science) will also be investigated.

• Paper 5: ‘Lessons from the development and delivery of an online, open-source toolkit of information and teaching material for engineering education for sustainable development' - This paper will present the results of a pilot project to develop peer-reviewed sample curriculum for use by engineering departments. It will describe a toolkit of information and teaching material called the Engineering Sustainable Solutions Program . The paper will include results of semi-structured interviews with selected colleagues in the field (ie users), on their experiences with the materials.

• Paper 6: ‘Key Recommendations for a strategic approach to curriculum renewal, to rapidly embed sustainability into engineering education' - This paper will overview the reality of the required timeframes to achieve curriculum renewal in the face of significant global environmental and social concerns. This will include a discussion of the time-lag between curriculum renewal and the delivery of graduates able to contribute to sustainable development and how this timeline overlaps with the scientific consensus on the timeframe for a global response to issues such as climate change, deforestation, water scarcity and energy supply. This paper will outline a number of barriers and opportunities to the scale and pace of curriculum renewal, and will draw on the experiences of international leaders in engineering and other disciplines to inform a strategic approach to curriculum renewal.

Output 3 – Development of an ‘ESD Curriculum Audit' Manual

An ‘Education for Sustainable Development' (ESD) Curriculum Audit provides a strategic and systematic approach to transitioning curriculum towards education for sustainable development, through identifying the status of courses. The inclusive and non-confrontational audit process acknowledges academic sensitivities in curriculum development and ownership. It rewards efforts already undertaken in curriculum renewal for sustainable development, and provides a risk management approach to moving forward in the curriculum renewal process.

Driving factors for an ESD Curriculum Audit include:

•  The need to address national and international industry and government demand for graduates across all discipline areas capable of contributing to the development of a sustainable society.

•  The need to meet changing student expectations on course content (ie recruitment), and

•  The need to respond in a critical timeframe of one decade. Quoting the IPCC's most recent report, ‘the world has less than eight years to arrest global warming or risk what many scientists warn could be catastrophic changes to the planet… Its conclusion that global emission cuts of between 50 to 85 per cent would be needed to stop the temperature rising beyond two degrees. It found that slashing greenhouse emissions by up to 85 percent could cost only 0.12 per cent of global gross domestic product a year to 2050.the recent IPCC report documents that global emissions must peak by 2015 for the world to have any chance of limiting the expected temperature rise to 2C, which would still leave billions of people short of water by 2050'. Minchin, L. (2007) ‘A Climate of Change', The Age, Australia.

Sustainability Desktop Audit (Summary of Manual Structure and Case Studies)

The following structure will be outlined in a Manual, in addition to introductory context (sustainability principles and practices, and curriculum renewal processes), supporting case study material and suggested templates for use:

• Audit Initiation: A ‘Sustainability Desktop Audit' is initiated through a meeting with the audit team and the Head of School to clarify logistical requirements (ie documentation, including course outlines, summary of assessment requirements; and meeting room needs).

• Staff Briefing (Collective) & Curriculum Overview: A meeting is held with the audit team, the Head of School and the various lecturers from the program, in which the program and then the program's courses are sequentially verbally summarised in short presentations by the relevant Program/ Course Convenors. During this time notes are made by the auditors using the audit checklist and clarification questions are asked where necessary. The presence of the rest of the course convenors and program convenors also provides an awareness raising opportunity for all staff members in relation to the program content and scaffolding.

• Staff Interview (Individual) & Detailed Discussion: The audit team then meets individually with each Course Convenor, with the addition of a teaching and learning staff member (eg GIHE) if considered appropriate, to review and discuss the course content and scaffolding, including the full slide set for every lecture, and a copy of the assessment briefs/ exam papers.

• Course Assessment & Assistance: Drawing on the Course Outline (ie course summary), content (eg lecture materials, online resources, textbooks etc) and assessment items (eg assignment work, exams), each Course is assessed against three main areas:

1) ‘Fundamental Principles/ Base Theory': Consideration of the discipline's fundamental principles and base theory – is the scope sufficient to underpin application to contemporary and emerging engineering applications and challenges?

2) ‘Knowledge': Consideration of the information and knowledge provided by the course – does it demonstrate how the theory and principles behave and how the students can use this knowledge to deliver sustainable solutions?

3) ‘Application': Consideration of the examples and case studies used – Do they demonstrate the application of the theory and knowledge to engineering challenges and whether the examples expose the students to contemporary and emerging applications of engineering.

• Course Classification: The final ‘score' for each Course is allocated using a ‘Course Classification Guide', according to the level of embedded sustainability content. The results of the audit are summarised in a Course Classification Summary – Overview'.

• SWOT Analysis & Recommendations: For each Course, a detailed ‘Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis is undertaken, which includes the provision of recommendations for where content may be embedded. This information is documented in a ‘Course Classification Summary – Detailed SWOT Analysis' (see Attachment).

• Draft Audit Review: The results and recommendations for each course are checked with the Course and Program convenors to check congruency of information and interpretations made by the audit team.

• Final Report Submission: The final report is presented to the Head of School.