HELPING STUDENTS ADVOCATE FOR THE EARTH USING INTEGRATE MODULES (Invited Presentation)

Sustainability and civic education share an emphasis on building student: 1) systems thinking, 2) interdisciplinary problem solving, 3) reflection on their role and the role of others in making meaningful change. InTeGrate modules reinforce these learning gains through engaging approaches and scaffolding to grow expertise. But how do we maximize our students’ roles in local problem solving or national policy decisions? As instructors, we have the opportunity to make linkages with our own community’s needs to directly serve them. This session asks the audience to explore links between the content of InTeGrate modules and major sustainability issues faced in their community or in the national policy realm. The audience will engage an activity from an InTeGrate agricultural-soils sustainability module. They will then reflect on how the activity connects with local issues, potential partners, and/or national policy. This is the starting place for using InTeGrate materials to support community and broader outcomes. Action projects designed around shared learning goals of sustainability and civic education featured in InTeGrate modules result in gains for students including significant increases in community service attitudes and gained professional opportunities.