Faculty-led Inquiry into Reflective and Scholarly Teaching (FIRST)
Date of this Version
Summer 6-2-2023
Document Type
Portfolio
Citation
Meredith, Gwendwr. (2023). "Portfolio for SOCI 346: Environmental Sociology." UNL Faculty Portfolios
Abstract
Environmental sociology, SOCI 346, is the study of how social systems interact with ecosystems. As such, it is a very broad course that is tasked with understanding complex and often controversial questions about the social causes, consequences, and responses to environmental disruption. In this teaching portfolio, I enumerate how I use a backward design for crafting assessments that cater to my specific teaching goals and learning objectives for the course. In the first stage of this process, I reflected on what learning outcomes I wished to achieve and determined that structuring the course in modules aligned with the learning objectives would be a transparent way for students to delve into complex socio-environmental issues. I then designed a collection of in-class and at-home assignments that were tailored toward a variety of learning styles. Given one of the overarching goals of the course is to improve students’ understanding of the interwoven nature of systemic causes, consequences, and responses of environmental degradation, much of the assessment data is qualitative in nature. This portfolio highlights some of the assessments I used in this course and reflects on how they can be improved for future cohorts of students.
Included in
Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Higher Education Commons, Higher Education and Teaching Commons, Human Ecology Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Nature and Society Relations Commons, Place and Environment Commons
Comments
Copyright © 2023 Gwendwr Meredith