Faculty Scholarly Dissemination Grants
Teaching Sustainably
Department
Liberal Studies
College
Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies
Date Range
2010-2011
Abstract
Sustainability is a multifaceted approach to interacting with the world around you. To be truly sustainable, you need to address issues relating to the environment, the economy, and the socio-economic aspects of an issue. Much talk and lip-service has been given to the concept of sustainability, but we want to be more active in our classrooms by setting examples of being sustainable. Inspired by the vast amount of paper that is distributed for our classes, we decided to take an active role in conserving resources and raising awareness. We committed to not print or copy anything for our classes for one year -- thereby saving the University money in the form of paper, toner, energy and wearable components found in copy machines and printers; and raising socio-cultural awareness in our students when it comes to using those seemingly endless resources. The year has not been as simple as we originally envisioned and it has required adjustments in our pedagogy and mindset. But we have learned a great deal about how to teach effectively without printing and copying materials for our students. We have saved money and resources, and raised awareness in our students and ourselves and now wish to discuss what we have learned with others.
Conference Name
Interdisciplinary Approaches to Integrating Ethics and Sustainability
Conference Location
San Diego, CA
ScholarWorks Citation
Bartles, Kirsten and Pettibone, Justin, "Teaching Sustainably" (2010). Faculty Scholarly Dissemination Grants. 64.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/fsdg/64