Wondering how you can bring sustainability learning to the fore?
This article encourages you to consider carefully whether your subject contributes to the Sustainable Practices Graduate Learning Outcome. Also, consider whether your student assessment task provides evidence of the attainment of Sustainable Practice learning outcome.
The Division of Learning and Teaching has completed a substantial amount of work on supporting the Graduate Learning Outcomes (GLOs). By confirming that the GLOs are explicit in individual subjects and ensuring they are demonstrated in assessment tasks, we can be assured that our graduates have attributes our university has committed to and we meet external audit requirements. The GLOs are intended to future-proof our students by equipping them with the necessary skills and knowledge essential for an ever changing workforce and society.
There are many examples of the way you could connect to sustainability at CSU’s Sustainable Practices Hub.
Still hesitant about how you can make an explicit connection to sustainability in your subject? Here are some questions for you to consider:
1. Does your subject clearly articulate one or more of the Sustainable Practices learning outcomes within the existing subject learning outcomes?
- Refresh my memory – what are the Sustainable Practices learning outcomes?
- Yes – There are three things to do:
- i) please email us as we would love to share it as an example to others;
- ii) tick the box stating your subject contributes the Sustainable Practices GLO in the Subject Outline Tool; and
- iii) check to see students are given an opportunity to demonstrate them as a criterion in an assessment task (with a significant apportioned weighting).
- Unsure – if you want make Sustainable Practices explicit in your subject and assessment task, please do not hesitate to talk with us and we will be more than happy to discuss a change that best suits your needs and makes what you are trying to do explicit.
- No – go to question 2. You might also consider not ticking the Sustainable Practices GLO box in the Subject Outline Tool. Remember, not all subjects in a course require GLOs in them.
2. Does your subject already have a connection to Sustainable Practices through content and/or pedagogy?
- Yes –
- i) please email us as we would love to share it as an example to others;
- ii) tick the box stating your subject contributes the Sustainable Practices GLO in the Subject Outline Tool; and
- iii) check to see students are given an opportunity to demonstrate Sustainable Practices as an criterion in an assessment task (with a significant apportioned weighting).
- If you are looking for assessment ideas so you can modify your subject, DLT can help. See the CSU Sustainable Practices Hub or contact Jonathon Howard jhoward@csu.edu.au.
- Unsure – please contact us for a chat.
- No – There is no requirement for every subject to meet a GLO, as long as each GLO is covered within an entire course. Talk to your course director to confirm that your subject does not need to meet a GLO. Go to question 3.
3. Do any of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals resonate with the content I am currently providing to students?
- Refresh my memory – what are the Sustainable Development Goals?
- Yes – go to question 1: do you have subject learning outcomes associated with this content? If not, go to question 2.
- Yes – if you want to tick the box in relevant GLO box in the Subject Outline Tool, then it is important that students are provided with opportunities to demonstrate that graduate learning outcome. Please contact us for assessment ideas; we would love to work with you to develop a solution that best suits your needs.
- Unsure – please do not hesitate to contact DLT. We will be more than happy to help clarify any questions you have and provide resources.
- No – consider whether you might incorporate any Sustainable Development Goals in the subject by revisiting the examples and/or content. If that is desirable, also consider making the connections to content more explicit in the unit outline.
An extensive list of resources has been developed and collated to provide support for you to utilise in your subject via the CSU Sustainable Practices Hub. We are always looking to add to it, so please let us know if you would like to contribute to the resources in any way. The Learning and Teaching Sustainability website is a multi-institution collaboration site that has a section dedicated to teaching materials on sustainability.
Contributed by Jonathon Howard, Graduate Learning Outcome Advisor in Sustainable Practices, Learning Academy, Division of Learning and Teaching.
Email: jhoward@csu.edu.au