Sustainability in General Education Courses
Here’s how we did it!
HOW TO INCORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY
See the ways our Penn State faculty have incorporated sustainability into their general education courses
Gail Good
Associate Teaching Professor of Agriculture
Penn State, Altoona
THE COURSE
AG 160: Introduction to Ethics & Issues in Agriculture
This course provides students the opportunity to explore major ethical issues related to agriculture through class discussions, assigned readings, team assignments, and community projects. Students will become more aware of how agriculture affects society on an everyday basis at the local, national, and international levels.
Michele Grinar
Assistant Teaching Professor
Penn State, Abington
THE COURSE
BISC 004: Human Biology
This is a straightforward overview of human anatomy and physiology.
Glenna Malcom
Associate Teaching Faculty in Biology
Eberly College of Sciences
Penn State, University Park
THE COURSE
SC 120N: Plants People and Places
Students learn about plants from the perspective of sustainability, agriculture, food, genetics, textiles, and medicine, across history and around the globe, after spending a few weeks learning about basic plant biology. Students engage with a group project in collaboration with other students to deepen their understanding and appreciation of plant biological and historical connections with human civilization. Students share these projects with the class in a peer-teaching and learning exercise in the final weeks of class.
Mary Murphy
Assistant Teaching Professsor of Biology
Penn State, Abington
THE COURSE
SC 120N: Plants People and Places
Students first learn about plant biology then deepen their understanding and appreciation of plant biological and historical connections with human civilization by exploring plants from the perspective of sustainability, agriculture, food, genetics, textiles, and medicine, across history and around the globe.
Kathy Shaffer
Teaching Professor, Science
Penn State, University Park and Shenango campuses
THE COURSE
CHEM 5: Kitchen Chemistry
CHEM 5 focuses on an elementary discussion of the chemistry associated with foods and cooking. It incorporates lectures and videos, reading, problem-solving, and “edible” in class and at home experiments to facilitate students’ understanding of chemical concepts and scientific inquiry within the context of food and cooking.
Leana Topper
Teaching Professor
Eberly College of Sciences
Penn State, University Park
THE COURSE
BIOL 110H: Basic Concepts and Biodiversity
This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements.(BA) Honors study of the evolution of the major groups of organisms including the fundamental concepts of biology. This is the first biology course taken by students who intend to major in biology. It provides a foundation for the basic concepts that govern life. In addition, these concepts are used to explain the processes of evolution that contribute to the biodiversity that we observe today. The course objectives seek to provide students with a fundamental understanding of: 1) features of life; 2) how basic genetic processes provide continuity between generations; 3) how genetic variation arises and contributes to evolutionary processes; 4) how structure relates to function; 5) how the diversity life is studied and explained by evolution.