RCE Greater Atlanta - 2024

Community of Practice on Teaching with the SDGs
CSV
Basic Information
Title of project : 
Community of Practice on Teaching with the SDGs
Submitting RCE: 
RCE Greater Atlanta
Contributing organization(s) : 
Georgia Institute of Technology

Georgia State University

Kennesaw State University

University of Georgia
Focal point(s) and affiliation(s)
Name: 
Rebecca Watts Hull
Organizational Affiliation: 
Assistant Director, Faculty Development for Sustainability Education Initiatives, Georgia Institute of Technology
E-mail: 
rwattshull@gatech.edu
Format of project: 
Bi-semester seminar sessions, PowerPoint presentations
Language of project: 
English
Date of submission:
Wednesday, July 17, 2024
Web link: 
https://rcega.org/higher-education-learning-community-helc-action-group
Additional resources: 
https://serve-learn-sustain.gatech.edu/instructor-created-resources-sdg-teaching
Does this project link to any education and/or sustainable development policy or policies?: 
No
Geographical & Education Information
Region: 
Americas
Country: 
United States
Location(s): 
Greater Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Address of focal point institution for project: 
Georgia Institute of Technology, North Ave, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
Ecosystem(s):
Urban/Peri-urban
Target Audience:
Higher, Teacher Ed.
Socioeconomic and environmental characteristics of the area : 
Greater Atlanta is a diverse multicultural metropolitan urban area, with a population of roughly 6 million people.
Description of sustainable development challenge(s) in the area the project addresses: 
Impact of extreme weather events; strategies for legislative, policy, and practical changes in complex urban governance systems; and the inequity of environmental burdens.
Contents
Status: 
Ongoing
Rationale: 
Incorporating the UN SDGs into coursework in higher education fosters critical thinking and helps students make meaningful connections between local issues and global-scale goals. It requires that students make connections between course content and important societal and environmental challenges. It also encourages the students to think deeply about how their professional work intersects with the larger world, because they learn sustainability systems-thinking skills that help them understand the environmental, social, and cultural impact of their professional practice. By using the SDGs as a teaching tool, higher education institutions provide students with the opportunity to understand how their learning can contribute to creating a positive impact in their communities.
Objectives: 
The goal of this Community of Practice is to connect instructors interested in teaching with the UN SDGs. This group is open to any instructors, instructional designers, or faculty development professionals engaged in college teaching in Georgia, with the purpose of sharing resources and ideas about integrating the UN SDGs into course content.
Activities and/or practices employed: 
Members of the Community of Practice met twice in Fall 2023 and twice in Spring 2024. Each meeting included a series of presentations followed by break-out and plenary discussions.

Session 1: “Empowering Students to Lead Change through SDG Teaching”

- “Using the SDGs to frame research teams”

- “Empowerment in Hard Times: Hope, Activism, and Being in the Moment”

- “The UN SDGs as a Study Abroad Framework”

Session 2: "Strategies for Addressing Barriers to Curricular Integration of the SDGs"

- “Challenges of Community of Engagement Teaching and Research”

- “(Re)defining Sustainable Fashion Education Through Activism and Care”

- “Bringing Context and Emotional Learning: A Social-Technical Project-Based Approach with SDGs”

Session 3: “Leveraging Sustainability-Focused Events to Enhance Teaching with the UN SDGs”

- “Leveraging SDG Week to engage more instructors in SDG teaching: Faculty-led initiatives at Georgia Tech”
Members of the Community of Practice met twice in Fall 2023 and twice in Spring 2024. Each meeting included a series of presentations followed by break-out and plenary discussions.
Session 1: “Empowering Students to Lead Change through SDG Teaching”

- “Using the SDGs to frame research teams”

- “Empowerment in Hard Times: Hope, Activism, and Being in the Moment”

- “The UN SDGs as a Study Abroad Framework”



Session 2: "Strategies for Addressing Barriers to Curricular Integration of the SDGs"

- “Challenges of Community of Engagement Teaching and Research”

- “(Re)defining Sustainable Fashion Education Through Activism and Care”

- “Bringing Context and Emotional Learning: A Social-Technical Project-Based Approach with SDGs”



Session 3: “Leveraging Sustainability-Focused Events to Enhance Teaching with the UN SDGs”

- “Leveraging SDG Week to engage more instructors in SDG teaching: Faculty-led initiatives at Georgia Tech”

- “How We Made Climate a Class at Xavier University of Louisiana”

- “A Blueprint for Integrating Transdisciplinary Research Platforms within STEAM Curriculum Constraints: The Annual EQUINOX | UN SDGs Week”

Session 4: “Empowering Students to Lead Change”

- “Slowly Changing Paradigms: Helping students understand how built environment can facilitate rather than impede sustainability”

- “Teaching about Power to Produce Positive Action”

- “How to Approach Teaching about the ROl of Sustainable Business”
Size of academic audience: 
90
Results: 
Participants in the Community of Practice gained valuable knowledge through presentations, case studies, and discussions. The materials produced are available through a shared digital repository.
Key messages: 
Integrating the SDGs into course curricula is central to the implementation of Education for Sustainable Development. By sharing case studies, best practices, and innovative perspectives, faculty are better positioned to achieve these goals.
Relationship to other RCE activities: 
The “Community of Practice” is a project led by members of the Higher Education Learning Community (HELC), an action group within RCE Greater Atlanta. It evolved out of an earlier HELC project on “Building Effective ESD Teaching within Higher Education through Multi-Institutional and Community Collaborations”.
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
(https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs) and other themes of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
SDG 4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 
Direct
Theme
Curriculum Development 
Direct
ESD for 2030-Priority Action Areas
Priority Action Area 3 - Developing capacities of educators and trainers 
state: 
Direct
Update: 
No
I acknowledge the above: 
Yes