1. 1. SkinDeep 2011experiential knowledge and multi sensory communication Transformative Learning & Sustainable Education Jody Joanna Boehnert University of Brighton AHRC supported PhD CandidateEcoLabs - www.eco-labs.org
2. 2. The Visual Communication of Ecological LiteracyJody Joanna Boehnert - MPhil - School of Architecture and DesignWhy? Context Levels of Learning & EngagementPresently humanitys ecological footprint exceeds its regenerativecapacity by 30%. This global overshoot is growing and ecosystems are 1st: Education ABOUT Sustainabilitybeing run down as wastes (including greenhouse gases) accumulate inContent and/or skills emphasis. Easily accommodatedthe air, land, and water. Climate change, resource depletion, pollution, into existing system. Learning ABOUT change.loss of biodiversity, and other systemic environmental problemsACCOMMODATIVE RESPONSE - maintenance.threaten to destroy the natural support systems on which we depend. 2nd: Education FOR SustainabilityWhat? Systems, Networks, Values Additional values emphasis. Greening of institutions.Problems cannot be understood in isolation but must be seen as Deeper questioning and reform of purpose, policy and practice.interconnected and interdependent. We must learn to engage with Learning FOR change. REFORMATIVE RESPONSE - adaptive.complexity and think in terms of systems to address currentecological, social and economic problems. Images can be usefultools to help with this learning process.3rd: SUSTAINABLE Education Capacity building and action emphasis.How? Transformational Learning Experiential curriculum. Institutions as learning communities. Learning AS change. TRANSFORMATIVE RESPONSE - enactment.The value / action gap permeates education for sustainability and isobvious in environmental coverage in the media. The gap between Stephen Sterling, 2009our ideas about what we value and what we are actually doing toaddress the problem is the notorious value / action gap. This projectuses transformational learning to move from values to action. Thisapproach is integrated into cycles of action research and practicebased design work. ECOLOGICALActions GOODDESIGNIdeas / Theories ECONOMICSOCIAL Norms / AssumptionsBeliefs / Values Paradigm / WorldviewMetaphysics / CosmologyTransformational Learning Values, Knowledge, Skills A: SEEING (Perception ) An expanded ethical sensibility or consciousness The world is a complex, interconnected, nite, ecological-social- B: KNOWING (Conception) psychological-economic system. We treat it as if it were not, asEcological literacy - the understanding of the principles of organization A critical understanding of pattern, if it were divisible, separable, simple, and innite. Our persistent,that ecosystems have evolved to sustain the web of life - is the rst consequence and connectivity intractable, global problems arise directly from this mismatch.step on the road to sustainability. The second step is the moveDonella Meadows, 1982towards ecodesign. We need to apply our ecological knowledge toC: DOING (Action)the fundamental redesign of our technologies and social institutions,The ability to design and act relationally,so as to bridge the current gap between human design and the integratively and wisely. References Fritjof Capra. The Hidden Connections. London: Flamingo. 2003 Stephen Sterling. Whole Systems Thinking as a Basis for Paradigm Change in Education. University of Bath. 2003ecological sustainable systems of nature.Stephen Sterling. Transformational Learning. Researching Transformational Learning. University of Gloucestershire. 2009Fritjof Capra, 2003 Stephen Sterling, 2009 j.j.boehnert@brighton.ac.uk | jody@eco-labs.org This poster can be downloaded on this website: www.eco-labs.org
3. 3. Contents1. Ecological Literacy and Epistemological Error a. Ecological literacy: theory and history b. Epistemological error and epistemic learning c. Bateson and Sterlings communication and learning levels2. Experiential and Transformative Learning a. Transformation learning: theory and history b. Mezirows ten phases of transformational learning c. Value / action gap3. A Case Study: The Teach-in a. The event: The 2012 Imperative Teach-in b. Ten phases of TL for sustainable design education c. Conclusions - four princples
4. 4. 1a: Ecological literacy: theory and historyeEco-Literacy Map A tube map based on the literature review of my AHRC funded PhD research,The Visual Communication of Ecological Literacy at the University of Brighton. Humanti cTufte HornMacyCrompton RoszakSewall Kasser ReasonHolmgren Plumwood Bohm Goethe LeopoldKuhlFriere Sterling Mezirow Naess Shiva Kahn BatesonSpratnekCapra LakoffOrrLukeCohen CarsonFullerHopkins BirkelandDiamondCoxBourdieu Fry / Willis ManziniEhrenfeld BuchananKey to Stations: In uential Thinkers Meadows Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832) writer, polymath David Orr (n/a) environmental and political scientist Aldo Leopold (1887 - 1948) ecologist, conservationist Herman Daly (b.1938) ecological economist Thomas Samuel Kuhn (1922 - 1996) physicist, philosopher Val Plumwood (1939 - 2008), ecofeminist activist, philosopher Donella "Dana" Meadows (1941 - 2001) environmental scientistCharlene Spretnak (b.1946) ecofeminist activist, philosopher Humanti c: Elizabeth Pastor (n/a) designerTom Crompton (n/a) change strategist, communications scholar Key to LinesDalyJackson Sachs Humanti c: GK VanPatter (n/a) designerTim Kasser (b.1966) psychologist, communications scholar Gregory Bateson (1904 - 1980) anthropologist, social scientist, cyberneticist John Ehrenfeld, John (n/a) industrial ecologist Rachel Carson (1907 - 1964) biologist, ecologistBuckminster Fuller (1895 - 1983) engineer, designer, inventor, futurist ecological literacyphilosophy David Bohm (1917 - 1992) quantum physicist, philosopher Janis Birkeland (n/a) architect, writer, scholar Arne Nss (1912 - 2009) philosopher, activist Manzini, Ezio (n/a) design theorist sustainable developmentcritical ecopedogogy Rob Hopkins (b.1970) ecologist, permaculture designer, author Buchanan, Richard (n/a) design theorist David Holmgren (b. 1955) ecologist, permaculture designer Pierre Bourdieu (1930 - 2002) sociologist, anthropologist, philosopher communications critical social theory Edward Tufte (b.1942) political scientist, statistician, information design writerReason, Peter (n/a) action researcher, social theorist, sustainability scholar Robert E. Horn (n/a) political scientist, information designerLukes, Steven (b.1941) political and critical social theorist communication / perception transition movementRobert Cox (n/a) professor of rhetorical studies, communications scholarCohen, Stanley (n/a) sociologist Jared Mason Diamond (b.1937) scientist, authorKahn, Richard (n/a) critical theorist, education scholar visual communication ecological economics Anne-Marie Willis (n/a) design theorist, philosopherFreire, Paulo (1921 1997) radical educator, critical social theorist Tony Fry (n/a) design theorist, philosopher Sterling, Stephen (n/a) educator scholar, sustainability scholar design ecopsychologyTim Jackson (n/a) professor of sustainable development, eco-economist Jack Mezirow (n/a) educator scholar, social theorist Wolfgang Sachs (b.1946) , sociologist, social scientist Theodore Roszak (b.1933) professor of history graphic design science Failure to become familiar with the major lines during your journey will increase the likelihood of serious environmental damage. Fritjof Capra (b.1939) physicist, systems theoristLaura Sewall (n/a) visual psychologist The information gathered on this map has been gathered from different sources and cannot be guaranteed to be fully correct. January 2010Vandana Shiva (b.1952) physicist, ecologist, philosopher, activist, eco feministJoanna Macy (b.1929) author, Buddhist scholar, activist Introduction Ecological Literacy and DesignKey to Lines: Summary of Disciplinary Lines Selected Bibliography This poster presents an overview of the literature review in my AHRC fundedAt its best, design is an integrative applied transdisciplinary eld that bridgesEco-literacy Eco-literacy (EL) is an understanding of the principles of organiza-Design Design is uniquely positioned to engage in a process of moving from Critical Social Theory Critical social theor y offers powerful tools of Bateson, G., Steps to an Ecology of Mind. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1972 doctoral research project on the visual communication of ecological literacy theory and action in pursuit of practical outcomes. Pioneers have widened the tion of ecological systems (Capra 201). David Orr coined the term ecologicaltheory to practice and moving between sectors to facilitate trans-disciplinary analysis that expose how and why ecological literacy remains marginal. Social Bourdieu. P., Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture. Cambridge: Polity Press. 2000 (eco-literacy). This practice-based project will create an original body of work scope of design problems over recent decades such that design processes and literacy in 1992 in a book where he explained that all education is environmental actions. (Buchanan 20). Design offers approaches to address complex problems theory demonstrates how power functions in our culture. Steven Lukes and Pierre Capra, F., The Web of Life. London: Harper Collins. 1997 that visually communicates eco-literacy while also designing learning processesdesign thinking address social and environmental problems as well as designs education (Orr 90). Ecological literacy implies that each discipline must recognizeincluding the potential to create powerful social learning processes (Manzini 78). Bourdieu describes how dominant discourses re ect the interests of powerful Capra, F. and Henderson, H., Qualitative Growth. London: ICAEW. 2009 in which these visuals will be used. The research will demonstrate how visualmore traditional economic function. These attempts often involve a shift from human embeddedness in the wider ecological system and transform its theory andpolitical interests. Stanley Cohens explains that a proclivity towards denying Cohen, S., States of Denial. Cambridge: Polity. 2001 communication can contribute to the development of new understanding,designing artifacts, graphics and buildings to designing processes, systems and practice to make sustainability a reality. The interconnections and interdependenceGraphic Design Using visual language (Horn 5), graphic design aims todisturbing facts is the normal in an information-saturated society and describesCox, R., Natures Crisis Disciplines: Does Environmental Communication Have an Ethical cognitive skills and social capacities.sustainable ways of living. This movement has become more pronounced as itbetween social, economic and ecological systems must become an educational strategically change human understanding and/or behavior through the use ofstrategies that can work to circumvent this denial. Duty?, Environmental Communication. Vol. 1, No. 1, May 2007becomes increasingly obvious that the material expansion of the economicstaple. Critical eco-literacy builds on cultural literacy for a more robust analysis ofvisual devices, which can powerfully communicate complex concepts andCrompton, T., Common Cause. London: WWF, 2010 One of the major premises of this project is that fragmentary thinking is an system is fundamentally unsustainable (Daly, Meadows, Simms, Jackson) and the connections between social and ecological systems (Kahn 11, 66). information. Graphic design can address the crisis in environmental communi- Transition Transition is a social movement based on local responses to climateDaly, H., A Steady-State Economy. London: Sustainable Development Commission, 2008 obstacle to sustainability and that reductive attitudes towards knowledgeradically new models of development must be created for sustainability tocations by visualizing complex webs of interdependence.change and peak oil. Transition has is origins in permaculture which developedDiamond, J., Collapse. New York: Penguin, 2005 cannot adequately address problems associated with ecological systems (orbecome possible. Design is uniquely positioned in academic and professional Sustainable Development Current models of development based onstrategies for the design of systems for local resilience and energy descent. It is Freire, P., Pedagogy of the Oppressed. London: Penguin, 1970 other complex systems). Responding to this dilemma, this project uses a wholeculture to engage in a process of moving from theory to practice and betweenendless quantitative economic growth are unsustainable (Capra and Henderson 8).Science Several pioneers of ecological thought (Capra, Shiva, Bohm) startedrelevant to ecological literacy because unlike mainstream discourses, it is informedFry, T., Design Futuring. Oxford: Berg, 2009 systems approach based on the powerful concept of eco-literacy. This researchdisciplines and sectors to facilitate a transition to sustainability. Instead, development must re ect growth in nature (Sachs 3) where physical their careers as physicist. Using Kuhns theory of paradigm shifts in science, by the ecological reality of the depletion of fossil fuel reserves (ITPOES 4).Horn, R., Visual Language. Brainbridge Island: Macro VU Press, 1998 posits that visual communications offer a means of helping audiences under-growth occurs to maturity then levels off to maintain a steady state of dynamicecological thinkers advocate the notion of the emergence of a new ecological Jackson, T., Prosperity without Growth? London: Sustainable Development Commission, 2009 stand context, interrelationships, dynamics and other features of whole systemsAs design expands the scope of its enquiry a new type of understanding is equilibrium. Most fundamentally the economy must function within the carryingparadigm as a central theme to support a transition to sustainability. Develop-Ecological economics is economic theory based on the recognition of the Kuhn, T., The Structure of Scienti c Revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1962 thinking necessary for eco-literacy. required to inform this process of transition. Designers must learn a whole capacity of the ecological system (Daly 1).ments such as post-normal and holistic science suppor t ecological literacy. geo-physical fact that the economic system is embedded within, and is a sub-Lakoff, G. and Johnson, M., Philosophy in the Flesh. New York: Basic Books. 1999systems perspective. Ecological literacy is a foundation for sustainability system of the ecological system. The economic system must function within the Meadows, D., Wright, D. ed., Thinking in Systems. London: Earthscan. 2008 David Orr coined the term ecological literacy in the early 1990s and since thisnecessary to allow us to break out of destructive patterns of unsustainable Communications Communications mediate the human-nature relationshipPhilosophy Insights from cybernetics, cognitive science, deep ecology andcarrying capacity of the earth. This imperative must be supported by ecologically Orr, D., Ecological Literacy. Albany: State of New York Press. 1992 time it has developed into a core concept within sustainable education, creating practice. Ecological literacy is a basis for the design new ways of living within and thus have a vital role to pay in responding to current conditions. Robert Coxeco-feminism create the philosophical grounds of ecological literacy. Key concepts literate economics theory and practice. Prosperity must be delivered throughITPOES, The Oil Crunch. London: UK Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil and Energy Security. 2008 a conceptual basis for integrated thinking about sustainability. Eco-literacy must the ecological carrying capacity of the planet. Without a basic understanding describes environmental communications is a crisis discipline(5). Response toinclude the epistemological error of the current paradigm (Bateson 493), embed- other means than quantitative growth (Jackson 5). Plumwood, Val., Environmental Culture. Oxon: Routledge. 2002 now be embedded in theor y and practice across individual disciplines. Myprovided by ecological literacy, design solutions are likely to reproduce and signals of environmental danger is the key to avoid social collapse (Diamond 10).dedness of human society within ecological systems (Spretnak 72) and a critique Roszak, T., Gomes, M., and Kanner, A. ed., Ecopsychology. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books. 1995 research develops visual displays of information making ecological literacy both exacerbate problems.Issues of power are at the crux of environmental communications resulting in whaton dominant western models of rationality (Plumwood 4).Ecopsychology Eco-psychology analysis, tools and therapies address ourSachs, W., Planet Dialectics. London: Zed Books,1999 tangible and accessible. This work places itself in the middle of a fast movingBourdieu calls symbolic violence. Crompton describes the need for values basedpsychological relationship with Nature. Gregory Bateson explored the ecological Shiva, V., Reductionist science as epistemological violence, In Science, Hegemony and Violence. discourse on transition and sustainability. The project demonstrates how designenvironmental communications, with an explicit focus on strengthening intrinsicCritical Ecopedagogy Critical pedagogy is an educational movement that roots of mental illness in the pivotal book Steps to an Ecology of Mind. Eco- Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988 skills can facilitate a wide reaching social learning process for ecological literacyJoanna Jody Boehner t - January 2011relative to extrinsic values. Research indicates that facts are of limited value inoriginated from Paulo Freires educational practices in South America focused on psychology is informed by TEK (traditional ecological knowledge) of indigenousSterling, S., Whole Systems Thinking as a Basis for Paradigm Change in Education. PhD: in design education. j.j.boehner t@brighton.ac.uk | jody@eco-labs.orgin uencing behaviour in regards to the environment, instead George Lakoff advicesconscientization. These methods have been integral to the profound changepeoples who almost universally holds that psychological health is dependent University of Bath. 2003This poster can be downloaded at: www.eco-labs.orgcommunicators to, Know your values, and frame the debate.witnessed in social movements globally including womens liberation (Meizrow 19).on a balanced relationship with your habitat / ecological system. References not found on this list can be found on the website below.www.eco-labs.org
5. 5. Ecological LiteracyAll education is environmental education. By what is included or excluded,emphasized or ignored, students learn that they are part of or apart from thenatural world. Through education we inculcate the ideas of careful stewardshipor carelessness (Orr 1992, p.90)....to understand the principles of organization, common to all living systems,that ecosystems have evolved to sustain the web of life. (Capra 2003, p.201).Critical eco-literacy is linked to cultural literacy for a more robust analysis ofthe connections between social and ecological systems (Kahn 2010, p.66).
6. 6. 1b: -Epistemological error and epistemic learning Epistemological Error In the seminal book Steps to an Ecology of Mind Gregory Bateson explained that the dominant map of reality is a poor reflection of reality itself; most of us are governed by epistemologies we know to be wrong. Reductive modes of understanding are incapable of understanding complex ecological, social or economic systems. Problems arise as our perceptual and cognitive modes of understanding perpetuate epistemological error, error that is deeply entrenched in contemporary thought. Communication designers and educators have the potential to address these collective misunderstandings through experiential, multi-sensory communication, informed by critical pedagogy.
7. 7. Epistemic learningEpistemic learning refers learning that challenges epistemologicalassumptions. Beyond the mere dissemination of information, thiswork aims to engage participants in dialogic and experiential learningprocesses toward deep learning experiences.Because the problems concerned with sustainability are both verycomplex and deeply entrenched into our culture, these deep learningprocesses are essential for the learning associated with ecological literacy.Epistemic learning is also known as transformative learning, a pedagogicpractice developed in consciousness-raising and womens education.
8. 8. 1c: Bateson and Sterlings communication and learning levelsLevels of Communication and LearningCommunications theorist Gregory Bateson first described learning levels inThe Logical Categories of Learning and Communication (1964). Drawing onBatesons theory, Stephen Sterling describes a four stage process:Levels of Learning in Education for SustainabilityNo change - no learning: ignorance, denial, tokenismAccommodation - 1st order - adaptation and maintenanceReformation - 2nd order learning - critically reflective adaptationTransformation - 3rd order learning - creative re-visioning
9. 9. Learning for sustainability must work with experiential procesesbecause information alone does not necessarily lead to change:not only does it not work, but too muchenvironmental information (particularlyrelating to the various global crises) canbe disempowering, without a deeper andbroader learning processes taking place. Stephen Sterling
10. 10. 2a: Transformation learning: theory and history Transformative Learning Tranformative learning describes a process of increasing an individual learners capacity for change by exploring and revealing assumptions behind our behaviours, beliefs and values. Through encounters with values learners become emotionally capable of change and thus develop greater agency. The results are evidenced in reflective discourse and in ultimately in action.
11. 11. Transformative LearningJack Mezirow first introduced the concept of transformativelearning (TL) in a 1978 paper titled Perspective Transformation.Mezirow describes transformative learning as a process ofbecoming critically aware of ones own tacit assumptions.This process is informed by a critical awareness of contextual,biographical, historical and cultural aspects of our collectivebeliefs and feelings in regard the problems under examination.Through transformative learning we learn to act on our ownpurposes, values, feelings, and meaning rather than those weuncritically assimilated from others.
12. 12. 2b: Mezirows 10 Phases of Transformative Learning Ten Phases of Transformative Learning Jack Mezirows Ten Phases of Transformational Learning (1978) was based on extensive research in a 1975 American nation wide study of women education. An eleventh phase was added in 1991. 1. A disorienting dilemma 2. Self-examination with feelings of fear, anger, guilt or shame 3. A critical assessment of assumptions 4. Recognition that ones discontent and process of transformation are shared 5. Exploration of options for new roles, relationships and actions 6. Planning a course of action 7. Acquiring knowledge and skills for implementing ones plans 8. Provisional trying of new roles 9. Building competence and self-confidence in new roles and relationships 10.A reintegration into ones life on the basis of conditions dictated by ones new perspectives & 11. Altering present relationships and forging new relationships
13. 13. How? Transformational LearningThe value / action gap permeates education for sustainability and isobvious in environmental coverage in the media. The gap betweenour ideas about what we value and what we are actually doing toaddress the problem is the notorious value / action gap. This projectuses transformational learning to move from values to action. Thisapproach is integrated into cycles of action research and practicebased design work.
14. 14. 2c: Value - Action Gap value / action gap Even when we understand the problems and possible solutions,it does not mean we put this knowledge into practice
15. 15. Levels of Learning & Engagement1st: Education ABOUT SustainabilityContent and/or skills emphasis. Easily accommodatedinto existing system. Learning ABOUT change.ACCOMMODATIVE RESPONSE - maintenance.2nd: Education FOR SustainabilityAdditional values emphasis. Greening of institutions.Deeper questioning and reform of purpose, policy and practice.Learning FOR change. REFORMATIVE RESPONSE - adaptive.3rd: SUSTAINABLE EducationCapacity building and action emphasis.Experiential curriculum. Institutions as learning communities.Learning AS change. TRANSFORMATIVE RESPONSE - enactment.Stephen Sterling, 2009
16. 16. Actions Ideas / TheoriesNorms / Assumptions Beliefs / ValuesParadigm / Worldview Metaphysics / Cosmology Transformational LearningValues, Knowledge, SkillsA: SEEING (Perc eption )An expanded ethical sensibility or consciousnessB: KNOWING (Conception) A critical understanding of pattern, consequence and connectivityC: DOING (Action)The ability to design and act relationally,integratively and wisely. Stephen Sterling, 2009
17. 17. Actions TheoriesAssumptions ValuesParadigm MetaphysicsStephen Sterling on transition from belief to actions: Levels of Knowing, 2009
18. 18. 3a: A Case Study: The Teach-in 300 students from over 15 different universities attended the 2012 Imperative Teach-in at the Victoria and Albert Museum 12 October 2009. The project has an ambitious goal: to embed with ecological and sustainability literacy in design education by 2012. Several hundred more watched a live Internet broadcast and over 300+ have signed up to a collaborative site to continue working towards project goals. Stats: 300 in the audience at the V&A 500+ in the remote audience 300+ people signed on to the Teach-in Ning 5,000+ Teach-in documents downloaded
19. 19. The Teach-in attempted to createconditions for transformational3rd order learning by creating aparticipatory, experiential andsocial learning process.This orientation is needed to allowlearners to re-access basic assumptionsin regards to the systemic roots ofenvironmental problems. Creatingspace for reflecting on ideas in relationto the environment creates basis foraction.
20. 20. The Teach-in challenge participants to worktowards embedding ecological literacy in thecurriculum and transform university facilitiesto reflect good environmental practice. Participatory planning processes Participatory activities at event Ning social network: http://teach-in.ning.com Speakers videos and other resources on-line Feedback, reflection and review of processesACTION PROPOSALS: 2012 Imperative action document 10 step check list for carbon reduction atuniversities
21. 21. 2012 ImperativeTo meet the challenges associated with climate change and world resourcedepletion, it is imperative that ecological literacy becomes a central tenet of designeducation. Presently the interdependent relationships between ecology and designare virtually absent in many professional curricula. A major transformation ofthe academic design community must begin today. To accomplish this, the 2012Imperative calls upon this community to adopt the following: PATH A: 2012 Imperative Curriculum Adopters of Path A commit to:Adding to design curriculum the requirement that: We will make it a requirement of ourcurriculum and design projects that they will be based on an unconditional respect for life, andfor the conditions that support life. We will only undertake projects that tend to preserve theintegrity, stability, and beauty of the biosphere. In practice we will work towards dramaticallyreducing the need for fossil fuel and the environmental footprint of the materials, products,processes and spaces that we design. To achieve these goals we will work towards completeecological literacy in design education by 2012.PATH B: 2012 Imperative Curriculum AND FacilitiesAdopters of Path B commit to: PATH A: 2010 Imperative Curriculum AND: Joining the 10:10 project (pledging to reduce carbon emission by 10% in 2010). See the 10 PointChecklist for guidance with this process. Monitoring energy use and implementing sustainable design strategies across the university.? Reducing emissions in 4 categories: grid electricity, on-site fossil fuel, vehicle fuel, and air travel. Creating a carbon reduction strategy and a Energy Descent Action Plan at your university. Appointing a senior member of staff to take responsibility for implementing the plans. Generating on-site renewable power OR purchasing renewable energy from an additional source.This project is inspired directly by the 2010 Imperative run by Architecture 2030 in 2007. The 2012 Imperativewill expand the scope of the project by bringing this agenda to all design disciplines, by incorporating actionresearch processes and by creating an on-line forum (http://teach-in.ning.com) for dialogue and for organizingactions according to the goals of the project. The 2012 Imperative has been initiated by EcoLabs (www.eco-labs.org)and launched at the 2012 Imperative Teach-in, 12 October 2009 (www.teach-in.co.uk).EcoLabs
22. 22. 10:10 for Universities 10 % carbon reduction in 201010 Point Checklist1. Create your carbon reduction team. Identify and connect with a committed, passionate,and multifaceted team who will make it happen. Include academics, lecturers, staff, management,estates and students alike. There should be no rank, or distinction between these parties, butrather, each individual should be a stakeholder on a collective mission to succeed.2. Set your first meeting. Agree at the meeting how you will establish the appropriatepermissions, and carry out the carbon monitoring. Agree also on how often you will meet to feedback how you are getting on. Remember to aim for at least 10% reductions in carbon emissionacross each of the four categories: grid electric, on-site fossil fuel use, vehicle fuel use, and airtravel. Create working groups for each of the energy categories.3. Research methods for monitoring energy use at the university. Do not wait untilyou have the perfect method but start the process and work towards creating a more rigorousmethodology as the project evolves. How will you establish systems to monitor all energy use?Electricity is the easiest area to monitor as it should be straightforward to check the meters.4. Undertake an energy and carbon audit. Appoint an accredited energy auditor to analyseyour energy use, calculate your carbon emissions, visit the site to undertake an energy audit, and tomake recommendations. Actions points should include ideas to reduce energy consumption, andfor on-site energy generation. The Carbon Trust does free audits for institutions like universities.5. Agree with other stakeholders what you can do to reduce consumption andcommunicate your plan. If your Vice Chancellor and/or Dean is not involved in this project, agreewith them when and where you can share your findings and the specific action you want theinstitution to take to reduce energy.6. Apply for funding. Once you know what you would like to do or install to improve yourinstitutions efficiency, apply for funding from organisations such as utilities companies, the LowCarbon Building Programme or local businesses. Your institution will need to support this process.7. Keep setting carbon challenges for your university community. Ask everyone to doa personal carbon calculator. Ask departments to keep track of air travel and make plans to reduceairline travel by at least 10% during 2010. Introduce no cost video conferencing, and also awardsfor departments that take the challenge on board.8. Incentivise the process and make it fun! Ask your community for ideas, and look foropportunities to directly involve local communities in such events and activities. If you are savingenergy, reducing your carbon emissions and making a difference, what can you do to celebrate,promote and maximize your success?9. Research alternatives to what you currently use or do in the institution. Lookinto lower energy appliances or renewable energy technologies that you could introduce into youruniversity and then present your findings to the right people. This may also be an opportunity forknowledge exchange; to share and discuss findings with other groups in other institutions.10. Sustain your practice. You need to keep energy monitoring high profile so that it starts tobecome second nature for people to save energy. Put up posters, keep sharing energy data, andstart engaging your wider community in the challenge.EcoLabs
23. 23. 3b: Ten Phases of TL for Sustainable Design Education The Teach-in was informed by Mezirows Ten Phases of Transformative Learning, which were adapted for the purposes of sustainable design education. Transformative Learning for Sustainable Design Education 1. Confrontation with data regarding the environmental crises. 2. Self-examination of personal attitudes in regards to environmental crisis. 3. A critical assessment of assumptions and basic premises. 4. Recognition of discontent and possibilities for transformation. 5. Exploration of sustainability in a social learning context. 6. Planning a learning process for sustainability literacy. 7. Acquiring new knowledge and skills needed in new sustainable industries. 8. Developing new sustainable methods of working and living. 9. Building confidence to actively promote sustainability. 10. Reintegration into ones life based on ecologically literate perspective
24. 24. www.teach-in.eco-labs.org.ukhttp://teach-in.ning.com
25. 25. 3c: ConclusionsTransformative Learning forSustainable Education Trans-disciplinarityParticipation Values Action
26. 26. 1. Trans-disciplinarity The world is a complex, interconnected, finite, ecological-social-psychological-economic system We treat it as if it were not, as if it were divisible, separable, simple, and infinite. Our persistent, intractable, global problems arise directly from this mismatch. Meadows, 1982, p.101
27. 27. 2. ParticipationEnvironmental values are not fixed, but emerge out of:debate, discussion and challenge, as people encounternew facts, insights and judgments contributed by others.Owens, p.1145Environmental values, like other cultural priorities, are learned attitudes.New values and behaviours cannot be disseminated if imposed fromabove but sustainability and ecological literacy could be realized througha substantial process of engagement using participatory processes.
28. 28. 3. ValuesA study of ecology demonstrates that our actions have implications wellbeyond our immediate sphere of interactions.Widening our sphere of concern to include the natural world is ageophysical imperative for human survival over the long term.We have a responsibility to confront value systems that fail to prioritizethe maintenance of ecological stability and planetary health.
29. 29. 4. ActionTransformative learning is complete when an individual is able to act accordingto beliefs she has validated through critical reflection. While solving a problemmight well be beyond the capacity of any one individual, the goal of transformativelearning is help learners become capable of participating in a process of change.an inauthentic word... results when a word is deprivedof its dimension of action, reflection automaticallysuffers as well; as the world is changed into idlechatter, into verbalism, into an alienated andalienating blah. It becomes an empty word, whichcannot denounce the world, for denunciation isimpossible without a commitment to transform,and there is no transformation without action.Paulo Freire, 1970, p68
30. 30. The study of environmental problems is an exercise in despairunless regarded as only the preface to the study, design andimplementation of solutions. David Orr, 1992, p.94
31. 31. EcoLabswww.eco-labs.orghttp://teach-in.ning.com Jody Joanna BoehnertUniversity of Brightonjjboehnert@gmail.com