THE GREEN THREAD

The Green Thread Initiative is intended to infuse issues of ecological, social, and economic sustainability into courses across the UM curriculum. A key component of sustainability literacy is faculty development. Through a two-day summer workshop for UM faculty members, the initiative seeks to help faculty integrate issues of sustainability into their general education courses. Consistent with the very idea of sustainability, the initiative ultimately seeks to enhance students' understanding of the interconnectedness of ecological, social, and economic issues.

VISION

A two-day workshop held during the week following the conclusion of Spring Semester. This first day will focus on the idea of sustainability and its implications within and across disciplines. The second day will focus on integrating issues of sustainability into existing courses and envisioning pedagogy that enables student learning. Short presentations by mostly non-UM experts on sustainability and pedagogy will be used to stimulate discussion on Day One. On Day Two, faculty will break out into small interdisciplinary groups and are facilitated to envision/discuss how each respective discipline can embrace sustainability topics. Faculty then leave with tangible ideas as to how to review one of their current courses or develop a new course over the summer; they will share the outcome of their work with one another during a ½ day retreat at the inception of the Fall Semester.

BENEFITS

The initiative promotes faculty development and cross-disciplinary conversation. The workshop intends to convene 15-20 UM faculty members from a variety of disciplines and encourage discussion about how issues of sustainability connect with their disciplines. In addition, they will discuss pedagogical strategies that facilitate student learning about those issues.

See Also: Workshop Agenda | History