Program Overview
This Faculty Learning Community (FLC) helps faculty members deepen their knowledge about climate change and resilience and learn how to teach these topics in classes across the disciplines. Participants will learn from experts about the science behind climate change, the solutions available to counter it, and the need to incorporate climate justice into their curriculum.
Program Details
Participants will receive class materials that are well researched, relevant, and relatable. Working in disciplinary groups, they will discuss how to integrate this knowledge into their teaching in a way that reduces student anxiety around climate change. Conversations will be driven by the questions that emerge from participants’ existing classes. What is keeping you from discussing climate change more in your classes, and how can we address those challenges together?
The FLC consists of in-person and Zoom sessions with CSUN colleagues with colleagues from across the CSU system. The in-person meetings will help us build an interdisciplinary community of climate-change educators at CSUN, while the Zoom sessions will help us build a systemwide network of colleagues. Participants will apply what they have learned by redesigning at least one element of an extant course, such as an assignment, learning module, or class activity.
When is it?
The FLC consists of two in-person meetings at CSUN and five Zoom sessions. Because the sessions are interactive and involve small-group discussions in breakout rooms, participants must be present during the live Zoom sessions. It is not possible to participate by watching Zoom recordings.
The meetings take place on Tuesdays from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m.
Dates:
1. January 30: Opening session for CSUN faculty (in-person session at CSUN)
2. February 13: CSU-wide Introductions (Zoom)
3. February 27: Climate Solutions (Zoom)
4. March 5: Climate Anxiety (Zoom)
5. April 9: Climate Justice (Zoom)
6. April 23: Climate Curriculum (Zoom)
7. May 7: Closing session for CSUN faculty (in-person session at CSUN)
Who is facilitating the FLC?
Amanda Baugh
Professor and Associate Chair, Religious Studies Department
Director, MA Program in Sustainability
Is there funding?
Faculty members who attend all program sessions and submit evidence of course redesign to integrate climate change and resilience into one of their classes will earn funding of $1,000.
Who should apply?
This FLC is open to CSUN faculty members across all colleges, departments, and programs, including lecturers and tenured/tenure-track faculty.
How do I apply?
Applications for spring 2024 are no longer being accepted.
Is there anything else I should know about this program?
CSUN’s Teaching Climate Change & Resilience FLC is co-sponsored by FacDev, the Institute for Sustainability, and the College of Humanities. The CSU-wide program is offered through the support of Chico State’s Office of the President and College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, and the Office of the Chancellor’s Innovative Teaching & Learning Programs.
This CSU-wide program is developed by Mark Stemen, Professor Geography and Planning at Chico State, in consultation with Zach Justus, in the Office of Faculty Development at Chico State, with support and engagement from the CSU Office of the Chancellor. Previous iterations of this FLC have been featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education. The FLC has received the Campus Sustainability Achievement Award by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), and most recently received recognition from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.