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Blending Sociology and Environmental Science at a Community College
Dr. Darryl Brice Highline (Community) College
Woody Moses Highline (Community) College
Highline (Community) College
Our Students at a Glance
36% Transfer Courses25% Basic Skills25% Professional/Technical12% Pre-College2% Community Courses
Total (Credit and Noncredit) : 17,13458% Female, 42% Male
Credit Students: 11,187 (65% of all students)Median Age: 23
32% White/Caucasian21% Asian20% Hispanic/Latino19% African American6% Other/Foreign Nat/Multi-Racial1% Native American or AK Native1% Native HI/ Pacific Islander
ENVS 101: SCIENCE OF GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY
•Introduction to Ecology: Populations and Communities •Global Climate •Global Overpopulation •Global Air Pollution•Biomes and Biodiversity •Water Resources•Global Environmental Conservation •Water Pollution•Global Food and Agriculture •Global Energy•Global Environmental Health and Toxicology •Sustainability and Human Development
ENVS&101 Student Learning Outcomes
• Describe structure and function of environmental systems
• Identify local and global environmental problems and evaluate solutions by using scientific reasoning
• Critically evaluate local and global problems independently and in groups
• Collect, analyze and present environmental data • Explain ecological, economic and social impacts of
actions by nations, corporations and individuals• Describe the impact the choices they make have on
the local and global environment
Assignments
• Weekly Quizzes– 30 pts/quiz on previous week’s material
• Midterm and Final Exams• Journal
– Used in class and lab– For notes, drawings and reflection
• Group Project– Term long with oral presentation– Had to include some aspect of Social Justice
Field Trips• West Hylebos Wetlands
Des Moines Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant
Coordinated Studies• 10 credit course (Environmental Science and Sociology)• Overlap teaching and class materials• Integrated assignmentsExample: • Soc 130: American Diversity/Educ 260 Critical Thinking for
Equity– What's Going On? A Critical Exploration of Identity Politics in America: – Where did your belief systems come from? How do they impact the
decisions you make and the things you do? In this class we will examine the social structures that impact all of us on a daily level as we critically examine the many dimensions of diversity and power in American society.
SOC 101 Student Learning Outcomes
• Demonstrate knowledge of terms, concepts, assumptions, methods and patterns of analysis used in sociology.
• Illustrate an awareness and minimal competence in recognizing adequacy of the scientific method as used in the social and behavioral sciences.
• Display the ability to employ system frameworks of analysis to social groups, both primary and secondary.
INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, Vol. 36 No. 4, December, 2011, 341–58
When Natural met Social: A Review of Collaboration between the Natural and Social SciencesArnout R H Fischer, Hilde Tobi and Amber Ronteltap
Wageningen University and Research Centre, The Netherlands
This paper investigates the opportunities for further collaboration between the natural and social sciences. From 81 systematically identified and reviewed papers published in scientific journals, it became clear that complex situations that depend on human behaviour as well as natural processes require natural–social science collaboration. The creation of a community of collaborative natural–social science research, that learns from and can contribute to best practice across the sciences, is advocated to support natural– social science collaboration. Across disciplines, it became clear that such a community should deal with (1) difference between paradigms in the current sciences; (2) creation of skills and competences of the involved scientists;(3) scarcity of institutions sympathetic to collaborative research; and (4) the internal organization of collaborative projects.
keywords Interdisciplinary research, literature review, natural science–social science collaboration
4 Barriers to Collaboration
• Paradigms in the current sciences-differences between the sciences
• Skills and competences of the scientists involved-misunderstanding the jargon-lack of respect
• Institutional context of the research-different tenure track criteria
• Organization of collaborations-lack of fixed organization structure
Student Responses to Final Exam Question
• What was the most meaningful experience you had in this class?
Coded as:-Environmental Science response-Sociology response-Collaboration-Classroom climate
Environmental Science
The most meaningful experience I had in this class…“was going to the West Hylabos Wet Land. I live in the area and I had never noticed or given much attention to that place…It was meaningful because it showed us how it is that nature helps us out by filtering our water, soaking up water so we don’t have a flood.” –Student, Winter 2014
“was learning that I had such a passion for environmental science…every week I learned so much more then I had ever hoped and was even more passionate about learning itself.-Student, Winter 2014
“was learning about my [carbon] footprint. Being able to see how much you actually contribute to polluting the earth is a real eye-opener. It gives me more than enough motivation to better my ways and hopefully decrease my footprint significantly.”-Student, Winter 2014
SociologyThe most meaningful experience I had in this class…“was when we watched the video on the way our system of education works today. This video opened my eyes to several things regarding education and socialization. It made me grow to hate standardized testing and classes grouped by age rather than interest, and revealed to me my passion for making changes in schools and how things are taught.”–Student, Winter 2014
“was when Darryl gave a lecture on the economic hitman and how more of a global issue it really is. It showed me that in some way no matter where we live on this earth, everything we do affects everybody else to a certain extent.–Student, Winter 2014
“was when Dr. Brice gave us the lecture on the ‘real world’, not the one we’ve been taught about our whole lives, but the one that will now help shape my future and [this] has changed my life completely”–Student, Winter 2014
Both
The most meaningful experience I had in this class…“The best part of it all was to see how the environment related to the social aspects of life and that all things intertwine in some way or another.”–Student, Winter 2014
“Learning small ways I can help. When Brice talks about how he focuses on returning his knowledge to small communities and Woody talks about the small changes you can make really sets in. I have decided to start a garden when I get home to supply myself with food and help others in my community who struggle with food or malnutrition.”–Student, Winter 2014
“The whole thing, because it is such an eye-opener on what this planet is really going through & how much we really don’t care as people. So the environmental science & sociology really went hand in hand which I would of never thought about if I did not take this course.”–Student, Winter 2014
Classroom Climate
“I never dreaded coming to class. On top of that I haven’t had teachers that cared about student success as much as you guys did in this class. Overall, the most meaningful experience was actually wanting to come and learn.”–Student, Winter 2014
“Thank you both so much for such a fantastic class. Never a dull moment! Teachers like you two are my inspiration for teaching someday. Keep it up!”–Student, Winter 2014
“Thank you guys so much! What an engaging, fun, and very, very important class. I don’t agree with all of your conclusions, but some of my conclusion were changed, and the fact based evidence I learned are really significant. Please do this combo again; I know it benefitted me so much!”–Student, Winter 2014
