CI 5540 Institute on Education for a Sustainable Future

July 7 - 18, 2008

Learn about a new and developing field of education.

The institute will provide information and resources regarding the sustainability of the human enterprise.

The course is applicable to the M.Ed. program in science education and may be applicable other graduate programs with the approval of your adviser. The more complete description of the institute is provided at the end of this message.

Description of the institute

Our present century offers the toughest challenge yet to survival of the human enterprise. The long-term carrying capacity of our planet for all humans at some reasonable quality of life may already be significantly exceeded. If we care about the sustainability of the human enterprise, if we care about the quality of the future for our grandchildren, we most definitely need to help educate students about the issues, challenges, and opportunities they will face in the coming decades.

The Sustainable Future Institute provides an opportunity for educators to examine the challenges, possible solutions, and educational innovations associated with the topic of sustainability in a workshop setting. During the workshop will examine sustainability issues, curriculum materials and instructional approaches that can be used in effective teaching about the challenges and opportunities available to attain a sustainable future, under state and national standards. Focus issues will address:

• selected problems related to sustainability of the human enterprise,
• realistic possible technological and behavioral solutions to the problems, and
• the roles educators can play to enhance the possibilities for a sustainable future.

Sustainability topics include principles of sustainability, environmental ethics, population growth, climate change, water resources, energy resources, land use, disease demography, agricultural resources, biological resources, mineral resources and waste management. These topics will be addressed from a multidisciplinary perspective drawing from both the natural and social science faculty largely from the University of Minnesota.

Development of educational practices will include educational policy formulation, community engagement, and the design and use of innovative instructional activities such as problem analysis, online gaming, school-to-school interactions, case studies, simulations, interacting with environmental data, field studies, and adventure learning.

Dates

The Institute is for U.S. and international teachers and others who are interested in preparing students for a sustainable future for the human enterprise. Classes are 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, July 7 - 18, 2008. Fridays will be dedicated to field experiences.

Tuition

The Institute workshop can be taken for 3 graduate credits at standard tuition rates.

Opportunity for sponsored tuition

There is a unique opportunity for 16 people (primarily middle school or secondary school teachers) who wish to participate in developing, testing, and revising eight curriculum modules related to sustainability during the 2008-2009 academic year. Teams of two people will develop one module each. Ultimately, a subset of the modules will be used in future summer institutes and hopefully in an online version of the institute. The tuition for the institute will be paid for those who wish to be involved in the larger project. Those who wish to be involved in the larger project will participate in a series of 8-10 work sessions over the course of the year during which we will consider the objectives, instructional strategies, format and ways of assessing the usability of the module. Preference for selection will be given to those who apply as a team of two.

If you are interested in participating in the larger project, please send an e-mail indicating your interest. Include the following:

• name of the school in which you are teaching
• grade levels and subjects you are teaching
• years of teaching experience
• areas in which you are licensed to teach
• a paragraph giving the reasons you are interested in the project
• your teammate's name and e-mail address (if you are applying as team of two)

E-mail this document to Fred Finley at finle001@umn.edu before April 25, 2008.

If you are applying for participation in the larger project and the associated tuition payment, DO NOT register through One Stop. Registration will be done in a different way on the first day of the institute.

Registration

If you are registering for just the Institute, register online through One Stop for CI 5540 section 5. (If you are applying for participation in the larger project and the associated tuition payment, DO NOT register through One Stop. Registration will be done in a different way on the first day of the institute.)

If you have further questions please contact Fred Finley, finle001@umn.edu.

Sponsors

Program sponsors are the College of Education and Human Development, the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, and a gift from a private donor.

April 2008