Sustainability Science: A Call to Collaborative Action

Sustainability science is an emerging field directed at advancing sustainable development. Informed by recent scholarship and institutional experiments, we identify key roles for economists and encourage their greater participation in this research. Our call to collaborative action comes from positive experiences with the Sustainability Solutions Initiative based at the University of Maine, where economists collaborate with other experts and diverse stakeholders on real-world problems involving interactions between natural and human systems. We articulate a mutually beneficial setting where economists’ methods, skills, and norms add value to the problem-focused, interdisciplinary research of sustainability science and where resources, opportunities, and challenges from science bolster economic research specifically and land/sea grant institutions broadly.

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THE PLANNING OF INTEGRATED STEM EDUCATION BASED ON STANDARDS AND CONTEXTUAL ISSUES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDG)

Journal of Nusantara Studies (JONUS) ◽

10.24200/jonus.vol4iss1pp300-315 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 300

Author(s):

Loh Su Ling ◽

Vincent Pang ◽

Denis Lajium

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Stem Education ◽

Real World ◽

Sustainable Development Goals ◽

After School ◽

Curriculum Standards ◽

Global Issues ◽

Integrated Stem ◽

Development Goals ◽

Real World Problems

Two important features in Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) education are integration and solving real world problems. Despite the efforts to promote STEM education awareness and interest among students and teachers, documented studies on how to explicitly integrate the existing STEM subjects curriculum standards in solving real world problems are limited. This paper describes the planning of after-school STEM education program focusing on relevant global issues related to Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that integrates the existing curriculum standards of three STEM subject in the lower secondary level. The data collection is mainly through document analysis of the three individual STEM subjects’ standard documents and the planned curriculum map for the school, along with the document on ‘Education for Sustainable Development Goals Learning Objectives’. Four possible design challenges were formulated based on the themes in SDG incorporating selected standards from the three STEM subjects as well as addition of a few new related concepts and skills. The description offers a way to assist educators in planning similar STEM education lesson or programmes or activities through integration of the existing individual STEM disciplines curriculum standards for different level and context relevant to the students. Keywords: Contextual problem solving, integration, standard-based, STEM education, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Cite as: Loh, S. L., Pang, V., & Lajium, D. (2019). The planning of integrated STEM education based on standards and contextual issues of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Journal of Nusantara Studies, 4(1), 300-315. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol4iss1pp300-315

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Fuzzy and Probabilistic Object-Oriented Databases

Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, Second Edition ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-026-4.ch254 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 1606-1611

Author(s):

Tru H. Cao

Keyword(s):

Probability Theory ◽

Fuzzy Logic ◽

Hybrid System ◽

Real World ◽

Interdisciplinary Research ◽

Intelligent Systems ◽

Research Effort ◽

Object Oriented ◽

Object Oriented Databases ◽

Real World Problems

For modeling real-world problems and constructing intelligent systems, integration of different methodologies and techniques has been the quest and focus of significant interdisciplinary research effort. The advantages of such a hybrid system are that the strengths of its partners are combined and complementary to each other’s weakness. In particular, object orientation provides a hierarchical data abstraction scheme and a mechanism for information hiding and inheritance. However, the classical object-oriented data model cannot deal with uncertainty and imprecision pervasive in real world problems. Meanwhile, probability theory and fuzzy logic provide measures and rules for representing and reasoning with uncertainty and imprecision. That has led to intensive research and development of fuzzy and probabilistic object-oriented databases, as collectively reported in De Caluwe (1997), Ma (2005), and Marín & Vila (2007).

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AN ONLINE EVENT AS A PRODUCT OF THE ACTIVE LEARNING METHODOLOGY: AN EXPERIENCE VIA PBL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BRASILIA-BRAZIL

Journal of Management and Business Education ◽

10.35564/jmbe.2018.0017 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

pp. 240-257

Author(s):

Ari Melo Mariano ◽

Joao Mello da Silva ◽

Simone Borges Simão Monteiro ◽

Adriana Regina Martin

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Active Learning ◽

Real Time ◽

Real World ◽

Production Engineering ◽

External Agents ◽

Digital Portfolio ◽

The Many ◽

The University ◽

Real World Problems

The objective of this study was to suggest an alternative for managing the knowledge gained and resulting legacy from the application of the Problem Based Learning (PBL) method in a higher education context. The legacies of the PBL method are found to be more profound and diverse than those related to either the students' experience or the projects developed to solve real-world problems presented by external agents (the partners of the UnB Production Engineering course). The Production Engineering course has, since 2011, adopted the PBL method as an active learning methodology. Although each semester presents new opportunities in the process of consolidating this method, it’s been perceived that the many phases and results of this process are often utilized in real time only, contributing to the participating individuals exclusively as they occur. This is seen as a type of temporal result, seen only at a given "T" moment in the discipline’s lifecycle. Correspondingly, part of this knowledge is currently seen as perishable, since it is not possible to store it for future moments. In an attempt to extend this experience, starting in 2016 the University of Brasilia’s Production Engineering course has begun to develop an extension of PBL products by means of distinct events. The results haven been satisfactory, thus far involving 458 students and 7910 participants. As a legacy, it was possible to create a platform for the presentation of active learning methodologies and the exchange of experiences. Thus, the project presentations, once seen as distinct landmarks, became part of a legacy through a specific event, assisted and accessed as a course memory and a student’s digital portfolio.

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Beyond problem-based learning: using dynamic PBL in chemistry

Chemistry Education Research and Practice ◽

10.1039/c4rp00248b ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. 251-259 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Tina L. Overton ◽

Christopher A. Randles

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Real World ◽

Dynamic Problem ◽

Problem Based Learning ◽

Learning Activity ◽

First Year ◽

Learning Approach ◽

Data Sets ◽

Transferable Skills ◽

Real World Problems

This paper describes the development and implementation of a novel pedagogy, dynamic problem-based learning. The pedagogy utilises real-world problems that evolve throughout the problem-based learning activity and provide students with choice and different data sets. This new dynamic problem-based learning approach was utilised to teach sustainable development to first year chemistry undergraduates. Results indicate that the resources described here motivated students to learn about sustainability and successfully developed a range of transferable skills.

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Designing rigorous and relevant learning experiences for future teachers

MATEC Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/matecconf/201929013002 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 290 ◽

pp. 13002

Author(s):

Daniela-Maria Creţu

Keyword(s):

Real World ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Student Assessment ◽

Learning Experiences ◽

Preschool Education ◽

Two Dimensions ◽

Future Teachers ◽

Application Analysis ◽

The University ◽

Real World Problems

Teaching and learning at the university should help students develop complex thinking about the issues they are dealing with and practice skills needed to solve real-world problems. The Rigor/Relevance Framework, developed by the staff of the International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE), is a useful tool for designing learning experiences that increase the rigor and the relevance of the curriculum. This model integrates Bloom’s taxonomy with its six levels (remembering, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation) with the Application Model, which has five levels (knowledge in one discipline, apply in discipline, apply across disciplines, apply to real-world predictable situations and apply to real-world unpredictable situations). The combination of these two dimensions results in four quadrants: Acquisition, Application, Assimilation, Adaptation, in which learning experiences can be designed to raise the rigor and relevance of instruction. The aim of this study is to exemplify the use of the Rigor/Relevance Framework in designing the learning experiences offered during two courses for future teachers for primary and preschool education. The implications of selecting appropriate instructional strategies and student assessment methods are discussed.

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From a Disciplinary to a Transdisciplinary Vision of the University: A Space of Knowledge, Culture, Art, Spirituality, and Life

Transdisciplinary Journal of Engineering & Science ◽

10.22545/2011/00018 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Domingo Adame

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

Real World ◽

Social Transformation ◽

Academic Experience ◽

Knowledge Culture ◽

Complex Thought ◽

Integral Education ◽

The University ◽

Real World Problems

How does one understand the University situation today? Is the disciplinary paradigm viable? What are the consequences of this paradigm? In my paper, I give one answer to these questions and review, from my own academic experience in a Mexican University (Veracruzana University), strategies like Complex Thought (Edgar Morin) and Transdisciplinarity (Basarab Nicolescu) to af- firm the urgency of moving from a one-disciplinary vision to another–transdisciplinary. I maintain that only with this change will the University, especially in Latin-America, be able to offer an integral education in which both professors and students may solve real-world problems effectively and affectively. Only in this way will the University contribute to a genuine social transformation

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DEVELOPING A FRAMEWORK TO EVALUATE INDIVIDUAL LEARNING IN ENGINEERING DESIGN PROBLEMS – PART 1: TEACHING THROUGH SIMULACRA OF REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS

Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA) ◽

10.24908/pceea.vi0.13768 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Nishant Balakrishnan

Keyword(s):

Engineering Design ◽

Real World ◽

Problem Based Learning ◽

Design Problems ◽

Design Engineers ◽

Engineering Design Problems ◽

University Of Manitoba ◽

The University ◽

Selection Of ◽

Real World Problems

In the context of teaching design, engineers often have a strong preference for problem-based learning because the skills they are trying to teach are intrinsic to the solving of design problems. The proliferation of problem-based learning (PBL) in capstone and now cornerstone engineering design courses is well supported by industry and faculty and the trend has been towards seeing more PBL in engineering design courses. This paper explores the basic selection of engineering design problems and presents a fairly simple dilemma: the skills that are required to solve a problem are not necessarily the skills that are taught by the problem if the problem is truly open-ended. This paper presents the idea of using engineering problems that are carefully constructed simulacra of real-world problems with built in scaffolding to create PBL experiences for students that are educationally complete and meaningful. This paper presents examples from two courses developed at the University of Manitoba based on this approach, outcomes of and responses to the course layout, and ideas for how this model can be extended to other courses or programs.

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Riding alone on the elevator

Learning and Teaching ◽

10.3167/latiss.2017.100302 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 1-19

Author(s):

Anna M. Frank ◽

Rebecca Froese ◽

Barbara C. Hof ◽

Maike I. E. Scheffold ◽

Felix Schreyer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Sciences ◽

Global Warming ◽

Real World ◽

Natural Science ◽

Interdisciplinary Research ◽

Social Norm ◽

The Social ◽

Introductory Class ◽

Scientific Fields ◽

Real World Problems

Abstract The ability to conduct interdisciplinary research is crucial to address complex real-world problems that require the collaboration of different scientific fields, with global warming being a case in point. To produce integrated climate-related knowledge, climate researchers should be trained early on to work across boundaries and gain an understanding of diverse disciplinary perspectives. This article argues for social breaching as a methodology to introduce students with a natural science background to the social sciences in the context of integrated climate sciences. The breach of a social norm presented here was to ask people whether the experimenter could ride on an elevator alone. We conclude that the approach is effective in letting students with a natural science background explore and experience the power of social reality, and is especially suitable for a small-sized introductory class.

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Riding alone on the elevator

Learning and Teaching ◽

10.3167/latiss.2018.100302 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 1-19 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Anna M. Frank ◽

Rebecca Froese ◽

Barbara C. Hof ◽

Maike I. E. Scheffold ◽

Felix Schreyer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Sciences ◽

Global Warming ◽

Real World ◽

Natural Science ◽

Interdisciplinary Research ◽

Social Norm ◽

The Social ◽

Introductory Class ◽

Scientific Fields ◽

Real World Problems

The ability to conduct interdisciplinary research is crucial to address complex real-world problems that require the collaboration of different scientific fields, with global warming being a case in point. To produce integrated climate-related knowledge, climate researchers should be trained early on to work across boundaries and gain an understanding of diverse disciplinary perspectives. This article argues for social breaching as a methodology to introduce students with a natural science background to the social sciences in the context of integrated climate sciences. The breach of a social norm presented here was to ask people whether the experimenter could ride on an elevator alone. We conclude that the approach is effective in letting students with a natural science background explore and experience the power of social reality, and is especially suitable for a small-sized introductory class.

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