Ithaca College
ER-9: Sustainability Learning Outcomes

Environmental Science
Environmental Studies

Student learning outcomes for sustainability education:

Systems thinking - Demonstrate the ability to analyze and understand complex, multi-dimensional problems using approaches that consider the interactions and relationships of the parts to the whole (systems thinking).

Interdisciplinary thinking - Make explicit cross-disciplinary connections between course material and other disciplinary learning, and apply to deepening understanding of course concepts as expressed in class discussions, papers, lab reports, etc.

Place-based learning - Demonstrate how a course concept applies to understanding the place and time where the learning is taking place, and how this understanding relates to the global and historical context.

Community-based learning - Demonstrate application of course concepts through experiential and service learning.

Learning community - Demonstrate collaborative learning skills, including the ability to define the scope of a project cooperatively and the processes necessary for a group to complete agreed-upon goals. Demonstrate active learning skills, such as the ability to pose relevant questions and seek answers.

“Agent of change” - Define values related to course content, and define and pursue an action using course learning that expresses one or more of these values.

“Critical” thinking - Use a variety of sources (written and verbal, experience, observation, reflection, etc.) and the skills of evaluation, analysis and synthesis to form a solid judgment on an issue related to course content. Demonstrate clarity and precision in thinking, accuracy and fairness, and the ability to choose relevant, significant and credible references and arguments.