2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Faculty Workshop on Teaching Sustainability

Presented at Faculty Development Division (FDD) Technical Session 5

Lessons Learned Paper Despite the urgent need to integrate sustainability throughout the engineering curriculum, most faculty have little to no training or confidence in doing so. We report on a 4-day pilot faculty workshop delivered in January 2023 by an interdisciplinary group of faculty at a large mid-Atlantic R1 university designed to help engineering instructors do this. After substantial effort to create a mutual understanding around the diverse approaches we as faculty bring from our respective disciplines, we decided to follow a “spiral model” for the workshop, in which an initial introduction of a concept, skill, or consideration was later revisited, sometimes multiple times, to deepen the conversation in each iteration and to show their interconnectedness. In addition to introducing sustainability learning outcomes (LOs), including LOs for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), we demonstrated tools such as life cycle assessment and socio-technical integration, considered new ways to think about assessment, and shared information about various sustainability topics. Emphasis was placed on the development of students’ critical thinking, socio-technical systems thinking, and sense of agency. Demonstrations were integrated as a method of teaching, and mental models were introduced. Examples were shared by faculty who had already begun to incorporate sustainability concepts into their courses. During the workshop, the participants planned concrete changes to their own courses and discussed changing the curriculum across the 4 years of the undergraduate experience.

Lightning Talk

Authors

Prof. Elisabeth Smela http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3921-2265 University of Maryland College Park [biography]

Received a BS in physics from MIT and a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. Worked at Linköping University in Sweden and then Risø National Laboratory in Denmark as a research scientist before joining Santa Fe Science and Technology as the Vice President for Research and Development. Joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland in 2000. Served as the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, Diversity Officer, and Equity Administrator for the Engineering School, then as a Jefferson Science Fellow at the U.S. Department of State in 2019. Her research focuses on sensors, combining organic materials, including polymers and biological cells, with conventional devices.
Dr. Vincent Nguyen University of Maryland, College Park [biography]

Vincent P. Nguyen is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is a founding member of the Environmental and Socially Responsible Engineering (ESRE) group who work to integrate and track conscientious engineering aspects throughout the undergraduate educational experience across the college. His efforts include formally integrating sustainability design requirements into the mechanical engineering capstone projects, introducing non-profit partnerships related to designs for persons with disabilities, and founding the Social/Environmental Design Impact Award. He manages several outreach and diversity efforts including the large-scale Get Out And Learn (GOAL) engineering kit program that reaches thousands of local K-12 students.
Dr. David Isaac Bigio University of Maryland, College Park
Dr. Natasha Andrade University of Maryland, College Park [biography]

Dr. Natasha Andrade is a Senior Lecturer and the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Maryland College Park. Her responsibilities include overseeing the undergraduate program and teaching various undergraduate courses in civil and environmental engineering.
Dr. Nicole Farkas Mogul University of Maryland, College Park [biography]

Nicole Mogul is a professor of engineering ethics and Science, Technology and Society at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Dr. David Tomblin University of Maryland, College Park [biography]

David is the director of the Science, Technology and Society program at the University of Maryland, College Park. He works with STEM majors on the ethical and social dimensions of science and technology. David also does public engagement with science and
Andrew Elby University of Maryland, College Park [biography]

Andrew Elby's work focuses on student and teacher epistemologies and how they couple to other cognitive machinery and help to drive behavior in learning environments. His academic training was in Physics and Philosophy before he turned to science (partic

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