About the Course
The 4- day workshop emphasizes real-world stewardship and scientific inquiry through the lens of local and global sustainability challenges. It investigates the scientific principles, concepts, and methodologies required to understand the interrelationships of the natural world. Unlike traditional lecture-based formats, the PBL curriculum uses sustained investigations and simulations where students take on authentic roles—such as conservationists, policymakers, or urban planners—to address environmental problems. Workshop participants will foster agency and environmental know-how, moving students from theoretical awareness to direct action. During the week, we will explore how to organize and prepare a successful and engaging course.
- Enhance Field and Data Literacy using professional tools to collect, analyze, and synthesize environmental data.
- Identify and analyze vague problems, such as climate change or resource management, and evaluate solutions from multiple stakeholder perspectives.
- Guide teams to carry out authentic projects, like community recycling networks or biodiversity catalogs, and present findings to professional audiences.
- Support students in articulating how worldviews and social systems shape perceptions of environmental problems and evaluate the ethical considerations of environmental decision-making.
- Foster student commitment to sustainability and stewardship, applying classroom concepts to improve local ecosystems.