Integrating Sustainability into the Introduction of Environmental Engineering
Publication: Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 141, Issue 2
Abstract
Sustainability concepts and technologies were integrated in the context of an existing course titled “Introduction to Environmental Engineering” at the University of Cincinnati. It was taught four times with sustainability integration and three times without from 2003 to 2011. Various versions of the sustainability concept were introduced and solid examples related to environmental sustainability were provided, such as green buildings, alternative energy, water conservation, wastewater treatment, and municipal solid waste management, in order to better illustrate the concept to the students. The effectiveness of sustainability integration was evaluated in the forms of homework assignments, exams, student surveys, and instructor observations. The sustainability content accounted for 15 to 25% of course sessions. Comparing with this course without sustainability integration, the formerly intended technical content of the course can still be preserved with sustainability integration.
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Acknowledgments
The author is grateful for the following workshops for the inspiration and skills that enabled her effort to integrate sustainability into courses: “Integrating Sustainability into the Curriculum” organized by the University of Cincinnati in 2002 and the 2-day workshop on “Sustainability integration in Engineering Courses” organized by the NSF Center for Sustainable Engineering in 2006.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 141 • Issue 2 • April 2015
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 10, 2014
Accepted: Jul 10, 2014
Published online: Aug 13, 2014
Discussion open until: Jan 13, 2015
Published in print: Apr 1, 2015
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