Initial Publication Date: November 30, 2016

Faculty Reflections and Stories:

Part of the InTeGrate California State University - Chico Program Model

CSU, Chico Team reflection:

Value of Working Collaboratively

Faculty surveys ask team members to rank the impact of the FLC has had on their communication about teaching with other faculty. All faculty responded positively regarding communications with colleagues beyond those involved in the project, but had strongest responses to communications among the FLC cohort.

Comments from faculty surveys include:

  • Previously I had no contact with other instructors in my pathway. I now have some understanding of the content they are teaching and the ways they try to introduce material to their students (Faculty member A)
  • Our discussion in the IS team meetings and visiting classes has been very useful for getting a better understanding of other courses (Faculty member B)

Group Experience of Working with InTeGrate Materials

Faculty surveys also ask team members to rank the impact of

  • The content of InTeGrate materials on your teaching practice in general (Faculty survey item 4) and
  • The pedagogies of InTeGrate materials on your teaching practice in general (Faculty survey item 5)

Faculty report that both content and pedagogies used in the InTeGrate materials had positive impacts on their teaching practice. The impacts of content and pedagogies were generally stronger for most FLC members in fall 2015 than in spring 2016, which makes sense in that fall 2015 was the first semester of the project, when content and pedagogies may not have been as familiar as later in the second (and subsequent semesters).

Comments from faculty surveys include:

(The project) ... has provided new and interactive ways to deliver the information... it remains interesting to see how the different courses are using the material (Faculty member C).


Individual Faculty Reflections

Faculty at California State University, Chico collaborated to include InTeGrate curriculum materials across the Sustainability Pathway of our General Education (GE) program. Please see the courses and modules used in our classes and our reflections on the use of curriculum on our Faculty Team page

Lee Altier (Agriculture) World Food and Fiber, Food Forever (PSSC 390, PSSC 392)

Modules: Climate of Change unit 6 and A Growing Concern Unit 2

Philip Clements (History) American Environment (HIST 341)

Module: Climate of Change unit 4

Bruce Grelle (Comparative Religion) Religion, Ethics and Ecology (RELS 247)

Module: Climate of Change unit 6

Don Hankins (Geography and Planning) The American West (GEOG 106)

Modules: Climate of Change unit 4 and A Growing Concern unit 3

Colleen Hatfield (Biological Sciences) Environmental Literacy (ENVL 105)

Modules: Climate of Change units 1 and 6; Environmental Justice units 2,4,5 and Human Dependence on Mineral Resources units 2, 6

Janine Stone (Economics) Environmental Economics (ECON 365)

Module: Human Dependence on Mineral Resources units 2, 3, 6

Eric Willard (Geological & Environmental Science) Introduction to Environmental Science and Environmental Sciences (GEOS 130, GEOS 330)

Module: Climate of Change units 2 and 4