Teaching Environmental Literacy: Across Campus and Across the Curriculum (Scholarship of Teaching and Learning)

235 Pages·2010·2.11 MB·English

by  Heather L. Reynolds

Te a ch i n g

Environ mEntal
LiTera c y

Across cAmpus

And Across the

curriculum
TEACHING
ENVIRONMENTAL
LITERACY
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Jennifer Meta Robinson
Whitney M. Schlegel
Mary Taylor Huber
Pat Hutchings
editors
TEACHING
ENVIRONMENTAL
LITERACY
ACROSS CAMPUS AND ACROSS THE CURRICULUM
Edited by
Heather L. Reynolds, Eduardo S. Brondizio, and
Jennifer Meta Robinson with
Doug Karpa and Briana L. Gross
Indiana University Press
Bloomington § Indianapolis
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Teaching environmental literacy : across campus and across the curriculum / edited
by Heather L. Reynolds . . . [et al.].
p. cm. — (Indiana series in the scholarship of teaching and learning)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-253-35409-9 (cloth : alk. paper) —
isbn 978-0-253-22150-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Environmental education. I. Reynolds, Heather L.
ge70.t38 2009
333.72071—dc22 2009022302
1 2 3 4 5 15 14 13 12 11 10
To my parents, John and Ann, who taught love
and respect for, and citizenship with, nature.
And to Dave, for his constant love and support.
—H. L. R.
To my daughters, Maíra and Júlia, and to their
cousins and friends, who always remind me to
appreciate and enjoy the world around us, and
to respect the rights of their kids to also do so.
—E. S. B.
To my parents, Sam and Catherine,
for Adirondack summers, and
to Je√ for the flowers.
—J. M. R.

We are not likely anytime soon to dispense with disciplinary knowledge, nor
do I propose to do so. What I do propose is that we seek out ways to situate
disciplinary knowledge within a more profound experience of the natural
world while making it more relevant to the great quandaries of our age.
—david w. orr, Earth in Mind
The ecological crisis is upon us because we never imagined that there were
limits to the Earth’s bounty and resilience. We now know that such limits exist,
and we are faced with a grand challenge: How do we live sustainably?
Universities could provide the model by serving as loci of hope and
transformation—‘‘do tanks’’ for thinkers. If ever there was an interdisciplinary
problem, this is it. It will require not just our scientists and engineers, but also
sociologists, geographers, anthropologists, philosophers, economists, artists,
and word-smiths, working across disciplines with students in an ennobling
endeavor.’’
—christopher uhl, amy anderson, and garrett fitzgerald,
‘‘Higher Education: Good for the Planet?’’

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments § xi
Introduction: The Rationale for Teaching Environmental Literacy in
Higher Education § Heather L. Reynolds, Eduardo S. Brondizio, Jennifer
Meta Robinson, Doug Karpa, and Briana L. Gross § xiii
PART ONE § A MODEL FOR GRASSROOTS, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
FACULTY INQUIRY § Jennifer Meta Robinson and Heather L. Reynolds § 1
PART TWO § CORE LEARNING GOALS FOR CAMPUS-WIDE
ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY
Overview § Heather L. Reynolds (Biology) § 17
1 At the Forest’s Edge: A Place-Based Approach to Teaching Ecosystem Services
Keith M. Vogelsang and Eric J. Baack (Biology) § 29
2 Population, Energy, and Sustainability
Bennet B. Brabson (Physics) § 39
3 Population, Consumption, and Environment
Emilio F. Moran (Anthropology) § 50
4 Economics and Sustainability § Christine Glaser (Economics) § 61
5 A Sense of Place § Scott Russell Sanders (English) § 72
6 Environmental Justice and a Sense of Place § John S. Applegate (Law) § 77
7 Environmental Literacy and the Lifelong Cultivation of Wonder
Lisa H. Sideris (Religious Studies) § 85
8 Teaching Environmental Communication Through Rhetorical Controversy
Phaedra C. Pezzullo (Communication and Culture) § 98
PART THREE § STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING ENVIRONMENTAL
LITERACY: BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM
Overview § Doug Karpa (Campus Instructional Consulting) § 111
9 E√ective Education for Environmental Literacy
Craig E. Nelson (Biology) § 117