Introduces the geology and ecology, the natural and human history, and the social systems and governance structures that shape our regional environment. Explores the concept of place using interdisciplinary approaches, including hands-on field work, to prepare students to become responsible environmental stewards of the places where they live. I have taught this course once in the spring semester of 2019. Teaching this particular course in the spring is challenging because the weather impedes much of the field time that students in fall semesters get to experience.

The assessment below is my own personal evaluation of how the course content and assignments relate to the college-wide learning outcomes.

Summary: Having only taught this course once I recognize that some adjustment to written assignments could bring the course into greater alignment with the college-wide learning outcomes.

The Outcomes & Scores:

Critical Thinking: Students were required to read selected journal articles, book chapters, and web pages related to the environmental history of New England and form an opinion based on those readings. Assessments were mostly in-class discussions based on the readings, although essay questions on exams required students to synthesize the concepts they had learned to formulate an opinion on a particular topic.

Score: 4 Ok, but could use more development. Students certainly needed to use critical thinking skills in this course but it would have been better to include at least one written assignment requiring students to compare or contrast differing opinions to provide a formal assessment of this outcome.

Creative Inquiry: Students in this class completed a written assignment in which they had to select a geographic location and consider how that landscape has changed in the two hundred plus years of colonization in New England. They also kept periodic journals reflecting on their personal encounters in natural settings.

Score: 5 On Target.

Intercultural Competence: Students learned about the cultural differences between Native American peoples and early European colonists. They also studied the environmental impacts on the land from increased immigration of peoples from other countries. Assessments were mostly in-class discussions.

Score: 3 Needs more development. Again, it would probably have been better to have at least one written assessment that allowed students to demonstrate their understanding of how cultural ideas impacted the environment.

Civic Engagement: Students examined the impact of global climate change on the New England states using a model that presented four different scenarios. Students wrote about how their respective home towns might be impacted by climate change and what actions should be taken to mitigate those impacts.

Score: 5 On Target. This climate change assignment requires students to think about their own roles in society and how their decisions impact the communities in which they live.

Commitment to Well-Being: Students in this course learn about some of the environmental hazards associated with New England’s long history of manufacturing and the disposal of industrial wastes. I typically ask students to look up their own home town using the EPA’s website to see if there are any toxic waste sites nearby. Water pollution, climate change, and the food supply are other health-related topics discussed in this class.

Score: 4 Ok, but could use more development. Health related topics are discussed in class but there aren’t any written assessments per se devoted to those topics.

Sustainability: Students consider their own impact on the environment in this class through their reflective journal assignments and written assignments.

Score: 5 On Target.