GEOLOGY AND SMARTPHONES: TRANSDISCIPLINARY CURRICULUM FOR A MORE EQUITABLE, ZERO-WASTE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

The emergence of the Anthropocene – regardless of the definition – leaves no doubt about the remarkable and unsustainable human impact on the Earth. Therefore, earth science literacy is a necessity for meeting the highly interconnected U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, especially in an increasingly resource-constrained and globally connected economy. However, even broad STEM literacy and an understanding of commerce are insufficient to address the wicked problems of sustainability, which do not abide by disciplinary boundaries. Many of these environmental and social problems arise from a linear “take-make-waste” economy, which includes planned or perceived obsolescence of goods like smartphones, whose lifecycle begins with extraction of earth materials. Developing truly transdisciplinary curricula that can develop the requisite knowledge and skills to reduce waste while improving quality of life and growing economies is difficult. Until now, universities have had limited success in educating students even at the intersection of STEM disciplines, much less including disciplines from business or social sciences in curriculum development and instruction on issues related to sustainability.

We present a model for co-development of such a transdisciplinary curriculum. Business and Science: Integrated Curriculum for Sustainability (BASICS) is an NSF-funded partnership among faculty at different institutions that has produced two transdisciplinary curriculum modules. The modules, which comprise a collaboratively designed “common exercise,” and course-specific exercises to provide disciplinary context, are freely available for use on the BASICS website (https://serc.carleton.edu/basics/). This presentation will focus on the incorporation of the module, “The Wicked Problem of an Equitable, Zero-Waste Circular Economy” in an undergraduate laboratory course, NASC 130 Principles of Geology.

Assessment results demonstrate the modules are successful in building student knowledge and skills around sustainability. Equally important, the BASICS project develops faculty understanding, skills and practices, and commitment to transdisciplinary curriculum development and teaching, promising as one means to transform higher education to better meet the needs of students and society.