Teaching Social Action
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Sustainability in Practice

Sustainability in Practice

Email
Breakout Group
When Taught

I hope Spring 2027 but could be Fall 2027

Status
Talking With
Semester Teaching
Phone
Call notes

Book Sent
Doing it!
School
No access
Course Plan
Existing Course
Interest

I have long worked in my teaching -- particularly my environmental issues course, and now also in the new sustainability in practice course that I piloted in Spring 2026, to engage students where we live and make connections between decision making, policies, and actions to the consequent impacts there may be. I am also committed to including experiential, hands-on learning in my environmental/sustainability courses. The age of AI and overabundance of life on computers/remote connection makes in-person discussion, exploration and hands-on doing all the more important in my mind. So, I would love to have the opportunity to be more schooled myself and learn from others how to support students even more in understanding and exercising the power they have to instill change for the better where we live. Teaching and learning about the state of our environment, climate change and all the negative impacts that have come from a consumer rather than citizen prioritized society is really hard. Students (and I) struggle to manage eco/climate anxiety when it all can feel very daunting to address.

People
No access
Experience

I don't know if I've framed it exactly as social action -- but I certainly have used the framing of civic engagement, taking action. I've had one element of one of my upper division Environmental Issues course be a focus on Ogden River that runs through our city. Students research and share with the class about the history, use, quality and issues with the river -- deciding what is of interest to them to investigate. As a class, and working with partners on campus and in the community we conducting a trash clean up one day along its banks. Students are also required to complete 6 additional service hours (not the same as a social action campaign, I know). Engaged learning is certainly something I've done. In my new course on Sustainability in Practice (piloted Spring 2026) students were asked to engage with both individual scale sustainability action/challenges (for themselves), as well as to create a campus community facing event during Worldwide Climate Education Week. This is the class syllabus I've included here -- thinking toward Spring 2027, as I think that would be a good one to pilot the social action campaign structure, though I could implement it in my long-standing Environmental Issues course as well/instead.

Engagement Description

They could choose from a wide range of sustainability matters rooted in our local/regional setting: Biodiversity and supporting local food/local insects/wildlife, waste reduction/repair, water use/conservation and Great Salt Lake decline, air quality improvement (tied to water and energy issues), climate action education, fostering community resilience - which includes building community connections. The importance of community and our relationships within it became very evident to students when I first piloted this class in Spring 2026.

Community Engagement
Social Action
Profile URL
https://www.weber.edu/anthropology-geography-sociology/faculty-staff.html (you have to go to my picture/profile as it's a pop-out, not a separate page)
Syllabus?
Fiscal Year
How did you hear about opportunity

Email from Dr. Meyers-Lipton

Grant Category
Publish?
Highlight
Title

Associate Professor Geography & Director Sustainability Practices & Research Center

Call date
Mtg Category
SA Institute
Mtg Semester
Fall
Mtg Year
2026
SA Day 1
SA Day 2
SA Day 3
Submitted By

amulder@weber.edu

Minutes per Session
150 min
Sessions per Week
1x/week
Type of Community Engagement
Social Action
Weeks in Semester
15
Mode
In Person
Questions

Is the social action campaign created as a whole class, or are individual students each planning and implementing one? What needs to be in place and scheduled to be ready to help students efficiently decide on a focus, plan and have structure for social action campaign in the framework of a 15 week semester? What is realistic to expect as the time/work necessary? (which relates to how to weight and assess such a project).

Discipline
MailingAddress

2472 Custer Ave, Ogden, Utah 84401

State Name