Closing the Opportunity Gap

Exemplar Type: PERFORMANCE CRITERIA
Title: Closing the Opportunity Gap: 10 Instructional and Organizational Criterion with Rubrics
Grades: Pre-K - 12
Discipline: Interdisciplinary
Submitted By: Greg Smith

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Summary: At the most basic level, a School of Opportunity must strive to ensure that all students have access to rich, challenging and supported opportunities to learn. This means that the school’s best opportunities cannot be exclusive or rationed. For this reason, we will not recognize a school as a “School of Opportunity” if it significantly restricts or stratifies student access to those best opportunities. In addition, we will not recognize a school as a “School of Opportunity” if it has “zero tolerance” policies or other discipline policies that unnecessarily exclude students from opportunities to learn.

Big Ideas

• A healthy and sustainable future for human and other life is possible

• Every system is perfectly formed to get the results it gets

• There is no beginning or end in a system. Intervene where there are favorable conditions, i.e., where and when possible

• Fairness applies to all. To us, to them and to the "we" that binds us all together

• Sustain-ability requires individual and social learning and community practice

• We are all responsible for the difference we make. Everything we do and everything we don't do makes a difference

Higher Order Thinking Skills

• Mindful: Metacognition

• Mindful: Questioning

• Mindful: Reflective Thinking

• Mindful: Transference

Dispositions

• Curious

• Efficacious

• Motivated

• Respectful

• Self Aware

Applications and Actions

• Engage in Dialogue

• Teach and Learn

• Design to optimize health and adaptability

• Empower people and groups

• Make the least change for the greatest effect

• Take responsibility for the difference you make

• Be inclusive

• Practice justice and equity for all

• Take responsibility for the effect you have on future generations

• Treat others with respect and dignity

• Listen to one another

• Serve your community

Community Connections

• Evaluate progress (read the feedback), reflect, adjust, and continually improve performance

• School buildings and grounds serve the whole community as learning hubs for continuing education of individuals as well as school and community stakeholders to learn together for the future they want

• Provide Independent and Curriculum Based Learning Sites (case studies, learning journeys, research sites)

• Provide Physical spaces for school and community stakeholders to learn and work together for the future they want

Environmental Justice and Freshwater Resources

Exemplar Type: MODULE
Title: Environmental Justice and Freshwater Resources
Grades: 11, 12, Undergraduate
Discipline: Science
Submitted By: Jill Schneiderman
Courtesy Of: InTeGrate at Carleton College

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Summary Despite the fact that most people would agree that water is a shared resource, few think about who gets what share of fresh water. This module enables students to identify the freshwater components of the hydrologic cycle and connect them to the basic need of all human beings for equal access to clean fresh water. This is accomplished by framing the water science within theories of environmental justice defined by the US Environmental Protection Agency as "the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.”

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BENCHMARKS REPRESENTED IN THIS EXEMPLAR

Big Ideas

• We are all in this together: We are interdependent on each other and on the natural systems - The changes to the Earth’s surface environments made by human activity are causing unintended consequences on the health and well-being of human and other life on Earth (proposed Anthropocene Epoch)

• The significant problems we face can’t be solved with the same thinking we used to create them. Our prior experiences with the world create cognitive frameworks (also known as mental models/maps) that inform what we can perceive. They shape our behavior and our behavior causes results. If we want to produce different results, it all begins with a change in thinking

• Fairness applies to all. To us, to them and to the “we” that binds us all together

• Sustain-ability requires individual and social learning and community practice

Applied Knowledge and Actions

• Cultures, Tradition, and Change

• The Many Ways of Knowing

• Multiple Perspectives

Higher Order Thinking Skills

• Anticipatory: Futures Thinking

• Complex: Critical Thinking

• Mindful: Questioning

Dispositions

• Open Minded

• Caring

• Place/Community Conscious

Applications and Actions

• Create Social Learning Communities

• Honor the specific knowledge and skills that each person and culture brings

• Build from successes, Learn from mistakes, develop strategies to improve, and apply what is learned

Community Connections

• Consider and prepare for a range of potential future scenarios, while charting a course toward the preferred future

• Provide Independent and Curriculum Based Learning Sites (case studies, learning journeys, research sites)

• Provide Physical spaces for school and community stakeholders to learn and work together for the future they want

Integrating Sustainability Science Into the Classroom

Exemplar Type: COURSE
Title: Integrating Sustainability Science Into the Classroom
Grades: K-12
Discipline: Science
Submitted By: Annie Hale

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Integrating Sustainability Science Into the Classroom
This course is designed and curated by the Sustainability Science Education Project at Arizona State University. Led by 2001 Nobel Laureate Dr. Lee Hartwell, this professional development class aims to cultivate the skills and strategies necessary for incorporating sustainability science topics across common PreK-12th-grade curricula, such as English Language Arts, Literacy, History, Social Studies, Science, Art, Drama, and Mathematics. Educators will have the opportunity to connect state standards to big sustainability ideas while creating tangible materials that fit individual classroom needs. The ultimate goal is to prepare PreK-12th-grade educators to advance the next generation of scientifically literate and globally minded citizens.

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BENCHMARKS REPRESENTED IN THIS EXEMPLAR

Big Ideas

• A healthy and sustainable future for human and other life is possible

• We are all in this together: We are interdependent on each other and on the natural systems

• A sustainable solution solves more than one problem at a time and minimizes the creation of new problems

• The significant problems we face can’t be solved with the same thinking we used to create them. Our prior experiences with the world create cognitive frameworks (also known as mental models/maps) that inform what we can perceive. They shape our behavior and our behavior causes results. If we want to produce different results, it all begins with a change in thinking

• Sustain-ability requires individual and social learning and community practice

• We are all responsible for the difference we make. Everything we do and everything we don’t do makes a difference

Higher Order Thinking Skills

• Anticipatory: Futures Thinking

• Emergent: Creative Thinking

• Emergent: Design Thinking

• Complex: Critical Thinking

• Complex: [Living] Systems Thinking

• Mindful: Metacognition

• Mindful: Questioning

• Mindful: Reflective Thinking

Applied Knowledge and Actions

• Inventing The Future

• Cultures, Traditions and Change

• The Many Ways of Knowing

• System Dynamics and Change

• Responsible Local and Global Citizenship

• Multiple Perspectives

Dispositions

• Curious

• Efficacious

• Imaginative

• Mindful

• Motivated

• Open Minded

• Collaborative

• Ethical

• Responsible

• Trustworthy

Applications and Actions

• Create Social Learning Communities

• Engage in Dialogue

• Engage in Role-Playing, Learning Journeys, Simulations & Games

• Honor the specific knowledge and skills that each person and culture brings

• Build from successes, Learn from mistakes, develop strategies to improve, and apply what is learned

• Plan Scenarios

• Teach and Learn

• Design for multiple pathways, resilience and reinforcement

• Design for whole systems integrity with ecological principles and physical laws in mind

• Ask different questions and actively listen for the answer

• Define and Re-Define Progress

• Empower people and groups

• Envision, strategize and plan

• Evolve the rules when necessary

• Facilitate a shared understanding of sustainability and regeneration

• Lead by example

• Relentlessly adjust to the here and now with the future in mind

• Take responsibility for the difference you make

• Trust local wisdom

• Be inclusive

• Embrace mutually beneficial rights of humanity and nature nature

• Practice justice and equity for all

• Take responsibility for the effect you have on future generations

• Treat others with respect and dignity

• Act wisely individually and collectively, with precaution and in context

• Create and maintain highly functional and successful teams

• Listen to one another

• Serve your community

Systems Thinking

Exemplar Type: COURSE
Title: Systems Thinking
Grades: 11-12, Undergrad
Discipline:
Submitted By: Andrew Bernier

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Catalog Description: Introduces systems thinking and complexity science, with an emphasis on analytical relevance for thinking about a myriad of issues involved in sustainability. Hones students' abilities to read and analyze critically, articulate their views clearly, and think about the many systems that shape their lives.

Course Overview: When it comes to sustainability, we find that most, if not all, of the complex challenges and solutions are made up of many parts with unique relationships between them. Many of the analytical and policy challenges related to sustainability involve systems - production, distribution and consumption systems, urban systems, cultural systems, military systems, hydrological systems, ecological systems - and their interrelations with one another. It is through systems that human beings interact with each other and the natural world. To think about sustainability clearly and devise effective solutions to triple bottom line predicaments confronting societies requires one to engage in “systems thinking.” “System” refers to an “integrated whole” constituted of several interacting units, which could be parts, actors or elements. The concept of an “integrated whole” can also be stated in terms of a set of relationships among the system’s constituent units, which are differentiated from their relationships with other internal units or even units outside the system. With that, the existence of a system presupposes the presence of a boundary delineating what units are inside the system and which are not.

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BENCHMARKS REPRESENTED IN THIS EXEMPLAR

Big Ideas

• Diversity makes complex life possible. It assures resilience in living systems

• All systems have limits. Healthy systems live within their limits. Tap the power of limits

• Every system is perfectly formed to get the results it gets

• The changes to the Earth’s surface environments made by human activity are causing unintended consequences on the health and well-being of human and other life on Earth (proposed Anthropocene Epoch)

• The significant problems we face can’t be solved with the same thinking we used to create them. Our prior experiences with the world create cognitive frameworks (also known as mental models/maps) that inform what we can perceive. They shape our behavior and our behavior causes results. If we want to produce different results, it all begins with a change in thinking

• There is no beginning or end in a system. Intervene where there are favorable conditions, i.e., where and when possible

• We must pay attention to the results of our thinking and behavior on the systems upon which we depend if we want to thrive over time. Read the Feedback

Higher Order Thinking Skills

• Emergent: Creative Thinking

• Emergent: Design Thinking

• Complex: Critical Thinking

• Complex: [Living] Systems Thinking

Applied Knowledge and Actions

• Laws and Principles that govern the physical and biological world

• System Dynamics and Change

• Multiple Perspectives

Dispositions

• Curious

• Imaginative

• Mindful

Applications and Actions

• Engage in Dialogue

• Engage in Role-Playing, Learning Journeys, Simulations & Games

• Plan Scenarios

• Design for multiple pathways, resilience and reinforcement

• Design for whole systems integrity with ecological principles and physical laws in mind

• Envision, strategize and plan

• Use creative tension to resolve conflicts

Greater Egleston Community High School

Exemplar Type: CASE STUDY
Title: Greater Egleston Community High School
Grades: High School (9-12)
Discipline: Interdisciplinary | Social Studies
Submitted By: Greg Smith

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Summary: For a number of years, students at the Greater Egleston Community High School in Boston were provided with similar opportunities to affect public policy on environmental and social issues in their own community. Although the school’s focus has shifted during the past six or seven years, for more than a decade, teachers there sought to prepare its primarily Black and Latino students to become community leaders committed to enhancing the health and livability of Roxbury, one of Boston’s less affluent neighborhoods.

Big Ideas

• All systems have limits. Healthy systems live within their limits. Tap the power of limits

• The changes to the Earth's surface environments made by human activity are causing unintended consequences on the health and well-being of human and other life on Earth (proposed Anthropocene Epoch)

Higher Order Thinking Skills

• Emergent: Creative Thinking

• Complex: Critical Thinking

Dispositions

• Courageous

• Curious

• Efficacious

• Motivated

• Persevering

• Resilience

• Caring

• Collaborative

• Compassionate

• Ethical

• Place/Community Conscious

• Respectful

• Responsible

Applied Knowledge

• Inventing The Future

• Strong Sense of Place

• Healthy Commons

• System Dynamics and Change

• Responsible Local and Global Citizenship

Applications and Actions

• Engage in Dialogue

• Plan Scenarios

• Teach and Learn

• Contribute to the regenerative capacity of the systems upon which we depend

• Envision, strategize and plan

• Govern from the bottom up

• Lead by example

• Leave every place better than you found it

• Take responsibility for the effect you have on future generations

• Serve your community

Community Connections

• Students and teachers make authentic contributions to sustainable community development through service learning opportunities, project-based and place based learning opportunities for students that are laterally and vertically embedded in the core curriculum

• Provide Internships for students

Geoengineering Game Experiment

Exemplar Type: LESSON/ GAME
Title: Geoengineering Game Experiment
Grades: 11-12, Undergrad
Discipline: Engineering
Submitted By: Sean Ferguson

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Geoengineering Game Experiment

This is a role‐playing game that introduces the idea of climate engineering as a global conversation, not just a conversation among expert communities. The basic procedures are incredibly simple and can be conducted quickly (sub‐30 minutes) or over a span of days to allow for deeper conversation and negotiation. The intent is to have a robust conversation on the reasons why decisions were made and the end result of the“global” engagement with climate change mitigation.

The game mechanics of this game are fairly simple. The goal is to generate discussion of the ethics, responsibilities, and contextual challenges of attempts to “fix” climate change problems. Each group represents a country and you should position your thoughts and actions with a goal to understand how different members of that society might consider geoengineering at a local and global level. Each group will investigate the options I have presented, the socioeconomic options and hurdles, and determine what interventions you might take. There is no pre‐determined means of winning and the options presented are not all inclusive. The few restrictions one has on choices is the GDP for each member state. One can’t simply “solve” the problem by spending $trillions when one does not have $trillions available.

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BENCHMARKS REPRESENTED IN THIS EXEMPLAR

Big Ideas

• Everything must go somewhere because there is no such place as “away”. Matter and energy do not appear or disappear. They cannot be created or destroyed. In a healthy community, one species’ waste is another species’ food

• All systems have limits. Healthy systems live within their limits. Tap the power of limits

• We are all in this together: We are interdependent on each other and on the natural systems

• A small shift in one thing can produce big changes in everything

• Treating symptoms makes them worse over time, creates new problems and doesn’t address the fundamental problem. Create change at the source not the symptom

• Quick fixes to complex problems tend to back fire

• Sustain-ability requires individual and social learning and community practice

• We all depend on and are responsible for “the commons”, i.e., what we share and hold in trust for future generations. Recognize and Protect the Commons

Higher Order Thinking Skills

• Anticipatory: Futures Thinking

• Emergent: Lateral Thinking

• Complex: Critical Thinking

Applied Knowledge and Actions

• Inventing The Future

• Responsible Local and Global Citizenship

• Sustainable Economics

Dispositions

• Humble

• Mindful

• Open Minded

• Risk accepting

• Collaborative

• Respectful

• Responsible

Applications and Actions

• Create Social Learning Communities

• Engage in Dialogue

• Engage in Role-Playing

• Learning Journeys, Simulations & Games

• Apply technology appropriately so that today’s solutions don’t become tomorrow’s problems

• Design for whole systems integrity with ecological principles and physical laws in mind

• Facilitate a shared understanding of sustainability and regeneration

• Take responsibility for the difference you make

• Practice justice and equity for all

• Take responsibility for the effect you have on future generations

The Fish Game Facilitator's Guide

Exemplar Type: LESSON/ GAME
Title: The Fish Game
Grades: K-12, Undergrad, Grad, Doc, Post Doc
Discipline: Math Science, History/ Soc Studies
Submitted By: Jaimie Cloud

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The Fish Game is often used in schools and communities around the world to start the conversation about education for sustainability with students and stakeholders. The simulation invites us to 'go fishing' and the object of each game is to “have as many fish as possible by the end of 10 rounds”. The game teaches system dynamics, ecological principles, responsible citizenship and more!

The game is a role play simulation. It provides people an experience that demonstrates how easy it is to operate from our frames and not be able to see the feedback. This makes it difficult to take responsibility for the difference we make and in the context of interdependence--everything we do and don't do makes a difference. This explains why we are in an unsustainable situation at present. It also provides an opportunity to re-frame for a sustainable future and to think about our thinking and adjust thinking when necessary as a strategy for thriving over time.

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BENCHMARKS REPRESENTED IN THIS EXEMPLAR

Big Ideas

• Creativity (the generation of new forms) is a key property of all living systems and contributes to nature’s ability to sustain life

• Humans are dependent on Earth’s life-support systems

• All systems have limits. Healthy systems live within their limits. Tap the power of limits

• We are all in this together: We are interdependent on each other and on the natural systems

• A sustainable solution solves more than one problem at a time and minimizes the creation of new problems

• Quick fixes to complex problems tend to back fire

• The significant problems we face can’t be solved with the same thinking we used to create them. Our prior experiences with the world create cognitive frameworks (also known as mental models/maps) that inform what we can perceive. They shape our behavior and our behavior causes results. If we want to produce different results, it all begins with a change in thinking

• Fairness applies to all. To us, to them and to the “we” that binds us all together

• Sustain-ability requires individual and social learning and community practice

• We all depend on and are responsible for “the commons”, i.e., what we share and hold in trust for future generations. Recognize and Protect the Commons

• Individual Rights are upheld by Collective Responsibilities. We must reconcile them when they come into conflict with one another

• We must pay attention to the results of our thinking and behavior on the systems upon which we depend if we want to thrive over time. Read the Feedback

• We are all responsible for the difference we make. Everything we do and everything we don’t do makes a difference

Higher Order Thinking Skills

• Anticipatory: Futures Thinking

• Emergent: Lateral Thinking

• Complex: Critical Thinking

• Complex: [Living] Systems Thinking

• Mindful: Metacognition

• Mindful: Questioning, Mindful: Transference

Applied Knowledge

• Healthy Commons

• System Dynamics and Change

• Responsible Local and Global Citizenship

• Sustainable Economics

Dispositions

• Mindful

• Open Minded

• Persevering

• Collaborative

• Responsible

Applications and Actions

• Create Social Learning Communities

• Engage in Role-Playing, Learning Journeys, Simulations & Games

• Honor the specific knowledge and skills that each person and culture brings

• Build from successes, Learn from mistakes, develop strategies to improve, and apply what is learned

• Teach and Learn

• Ask different questions and actively listen for the answer

• Tap the power of limits and use constraints to drive creativity

• Take responsibility for the difference you make

• Embrace mutually beneficial rights of humanity and nature

• Take responsibility for the effect you have on future generations