Sustainable Development Goals: Curriculum Modules for Engineering

The Pennsylvania State University is updating engineering first-year seminars (FYS) to include ethics and humanities by incorporating more sustainability and human rights concepts. My research with Penn State’s Drawdown centered around creating new curriculum for Penn State FYS that incorporates the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Lesson plans were created over the course of eight weeks and include information received from Penn State faculty and students, as well as the experiences I’ve had throughout my own academic career. The lessons cover a variety of topics including the SDGs, Rooftop Solar, Farmland Irrigation and Architecture, and EBikes and Biking Infrastructure from the following sources: the College of Engineering at Penn State, the UN’s SDGs, and Project Drawdown research. FYS students will develop their skills in sustainability through projects and assignments that help students work creatively on solving issues related to energy use, climate change mitigation, Penn State infrastructure design, etc. Faculty and students participated in a focus-group, interviews, and projects on what they find socially and academically beneficial to a course, which helped shape the format/structure/content of the curriculum. The National Council for Science and the Environment hopes to utilize this curriculum and shape it to fit the needs of other schools in the future.

Day
Monday Poster Session
Authors
Gabbie Batzko
Related Conference Themes
Built Environment
Electricity Generation
Materials & Waste
Transportation
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