Need Feedback on Sustainability Studio

[Chris]

A draft of the sustainability course is up and I'd appreciate your
feedback:

http://p2pu.org/general/sustainability-studio

Best wishes for the New Year!

- Chris

[Alan Webb]

Chris,

I'm so happy that we were linked up and that you have put together this course.  I think it is a great framework with the potential to help participants do great things.  I also appreciate the fresh new language you have thought up for this- the sustainability studio and "celebrating" in the studio show, in particular.

I have but one idea/recommendation.  For you, part of the incentive is that you are fulfilling requirements for your landmark education.  I am trying to think of what it will be that will entice many others to sign up and stick with this course.  I think that just the fact that you will be creating a community of support to take on meaningful projects, and that you are explicitly creating an space at the end for celebrating participants' achievements, both may be motivation enough.  

But I wonder if we can think of any other boon for participants at the end of the course?  For example, we could select a high profile judge (e.g. Bill McDonough) or panel to award superlatives to the best projects in a few categories at the end, or we could arrange an opportunity for the community to ask for the the faculty jury at MSU who reviews sustainability minor portfolios to review their work (not even to receive credit or a certificate from them... rather, just for their feedback and an opportunity to earn their personal (non-MSU) approval of the work they have done), or there could be a competition in mind which the community will enter together with their favorite project at the end of the course, or there could be a high-profile blog that will agree to write a piece about some or all of the cool projects that emerge.  What do you think?  Any creative ideas?

Also, yes, I am actually considering participating myself.  I think this might be a good outlet for working on the local accounts of wellbeing project idea for me.  I am also happy to email a few of my friends who work in this field and see who else we can draw in, either as participants or guest facilitators for one of the 8 topics.  I'll check the list with you as I start to reach out to people.  I am thinking we may also want to reach out to certain sustainability-minded publications and blogs about this if you are interested, such as Grist and GreenBiz.  Net Impact would be a good organization to advertise this to as well.  Any expectations on how much would be too much if we got a flood of interest?

Do you want to think about those suggestions, and any others you have received, and when you feel solid in your plan we can start recruiting together?

Looking forward to this!

Best,

Alan

[Laura White]

Hi Chris,

This looks like a really strong course! I especially appreciate that it's project-based within the eight aspects of sustainability, creating a flexible framework that still gives people enough grounding to learn a lot. From experience with the pilot course last semester, it may be helpful to ask students to start thinking of a few different project ideas that they could potentially use before the course starts. They don't have to be finalized, but making it a sign-up assignment will give people more than a week to develop several different ideas that they can pick from or add to during the first week of the course. I've made lists of potential class projects as an assignment before other classes and internships have started, and it proved to be helpful. It's also something that in hindsight, I would have tried for the pilot course. 

Best wishes,

Laura

[Alison Jean Cole]

Looks great - here's some feedback form your course page

Summary

This is a project-based course where you'll learn, do and share in one aspect of sustainability. You'll pick one of these areas to work in with support from the course organizer and co-facilitators:

• personal development
• critical thinking
• systems thinking
• social justice
• civic engagement
• economic vitality
• ecological integrity
• aesthetics

These eight areas make up the core competency framework we're using for this course. It was developed at Michigan State University for the undergraduate specialization in sustainability. It defines key skills and knowledge along with assessment guidelines that we'll use to co-create our projects. This is not an MSU course, we're just using the framework to organize our work.

The Sustainabiliity Studio is part of the P2PU School of Social Innovation and uses the Citizen Circles model for learning: small, local groups of three to five people co-creating a course/project and interacting with other small groups in P2PU.

P2PU/Citizen Circles School of Social Innovation

The Citizen Circle process for Sustainability Studio is as follows:

1. Recruit a couple of friends (2-4) in the same community as you to build and participate in the Sustainability Studio course with you.
2. Decide which ONE of the eight sustainability domains you want to work on together.
3. Define a project  (including learning goals and assessments to reach those goals), with guidance from the course organizers.
4. Document and share your progress.
5. Interact with other groups in the course.
6. Celebrate with feedback and recognition in the Studio Show during the last week.

As an example, I'll be creating a citizen circle in the Lansing, Michigan area to do a project focused on aesthetics and sustainability. We'll use art as a creative expression of sustainability - maybe we'll create some art at a local organic farm or do a community art project.  Along the way, we'll learn about this domain; we'll share open resources we find; we'll reflect in blog posts and we'll invite someone special to share their perspective in the Studio. I'll post our plans here as we get our group going.

If all participants will be sharing using blogs, provide instructions on how to create/manage a blog if they don't already have one, and aggregate all blogs through an RSS feed on your course page (or just have everyone provide links). Provide these instructions in a separate document under "course material" - there's advice on helping participants use blogs in the handbook: http://wiki.p2pu.org/toolbox (blogs listed at bottom of page)

Sustainability Studio Proposed Schedule

Jan. 26-Feb. 1      Studio Opening: Introductions, inspiration, discussion of potential projects
Feb 2 - Feb. 8       Group project plans approved and work begins
Feb. 9-Feb. 15      Work on projects
Feb. 16- Feb. 22   Studio Guests: we'll invite some special people to share with us
Feb. 23-March 1   Work on projects
March 2-March 9   Studio Show: Telling our stories, measuring our impact, celebrating success

Sign-Up Task

1. Recruit a couple of friends (2-4) in the same community as you to build and participate in the Sustainability Studio Citizen Circle with you.
2. Sign up together, noting you are in the same group.
3. When you sign up, please share a link to an example of a project, or local action, that inspires you related to sustainability. This can be a link to a video, presentation, blog post, etc.

You may even want to encourage folks submit a project idea

 

[Chris]

Alan, these are GREAT ideas. What do you think of these:

a. a "critique" as part of the celebration - like you would have in a
studio course - with a panel of special guests. I would ask at least
one MSU faculty to participate. Unlike a competition, this is
inclusive and focused on participation, connections and feedback.

b. a way to award badges, as I understand they are working on for the
School of Webcraft.

c. connecting with high-profile blogs and sustainability-minded
publications to raise the profile and provide more kudos for projects

d. using some kind of software like Ushahidi to visually display and
link to projects (overkill for small scale, but could grow - perhaps
SoSi projects could be aggregated using it). I'm exploring software
options to get started.

It would be terrific to have you join us! So far we have 2 co-
facilitators - for personal awareness and ecological integrity, and
two TBD. I'd like to think that with 6-8 co-facilitators and a little
more structure we can enable a very large number to participate, but I
could be underestimating something that I don't know I don't know. I'm
up for figuring it out. I also have a couple of people in mind for
special guests and critique panelists.

If you're comfortable inviting people as participants, co-
facilitators, guests, and critique panelists - please do!

Thanks for your feedback and creative thinking,

- Chris

[Chris]

Hi Laura - thanks for the advice - that's one of the things I didn't
know I didn't know. In an earlier draft I had something like that in
there but thought it would be overkill or a barrier to getting
started. Your experience demonstrates this is an important element for
success. Signing up with a project idea already in mind would go along
way to ensuring we keep to the timeline and hit the ground running.

Thanks.

- Chris

[Chris]

Alison, thanks for your feedback. Thanks for the suggestion and the
links to support participants in sharing on their own blogs - this is
an important process step. I really appreciate that there are
instructions already in place for this in P2PU!

I'll definitely be asking for project ideas up front as the sign up
task. Thanks.

- Chris

On Jan 2, 1:40 pm, Alison Jean Cole <alisonjean.c...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Looks great - here's some feedback form your course page
>
>
>
> > Summary
>
> > This is a project-based course where you'll learn, do and share in one
> > aspect of sustainability. You'll pick one of these areas to work in with
> > support from the course organizer and co-facilitators:
>

> >    - personal development
> >    - critical thinking
> >    - systems thinking
> >    - social justice
> >    - civic engagement
> >    - economic vitality
> >    - ecological integrity
> >    - aesthetics
>
> > These eight areas make up the core competency framework<http://sustainabilityspecialization.msu.edu/competencies.pdf>we're using for this course. It was developed at Michigan State University

> > for the undergraduate specialization in sustainability. It defines key
> > skills and knowledge along with assessment guidelines that we'll use to
> > co-create our projects. This is not an MSU course, we're just using the
> > framework to organize our work.
>

> > The *Sustainabiliity Studio *is part of the P2PU School of Social
> > Innovation <http://wiki.p2pu.org/w/page/33982467/SoSI>and uses the Citizen

> > Circles model for learning: small, local groups of three to five people
> > co-creating a course/project and interacting with other small groups in
> > P2PU.
>

> *P2PU/Citizen Circles School of Social Innovation *
>
>
>
> >  The Citizen Circle process for *Sustainability Studio *is as follows:
>
> >    1. Recruit a couple of friends (2-4) in the same community as you to

> >    build and participate in the Sustainability Studio course with you.

> >    2. Decide which ONE of the eight sustainability domains<http://sustainabilityspecialization.msu.edu/competencies.pdf>you want to work on together.
> >    3. Define a project  (including learning goals and assessments to reach

> >    those goals), with guidance from the course organizers.

> >    4. Document and share your progress.
> >    5. Interact with other groups in the course.
> >    6. Celebrate with feedback and recognition in the Studio Show during

> >    the last week.
>
> > As an example, I'll be creating a citizen circle in the Lansing, Michigan
> > area to do a project focused on aesthetics and sustainability. We'll use art
> > as a creative expression of sustainability - maybe we'll create some art at

> > a local organic farm or do a community art project.*  *Along the way,

> > we'll learn about this domain; we'll share open resources we find; we'll
> > reflect in blog posts and we'll invite someone special to share their
> > perspective in the Studio. I'll post our plans here as we get our group
> > going.
>

> *If all participants will be sharing using blogs, provide instructions on

> how to create/manage a blog if they don't already have one, and aggregate
> all blogs through an RSS feed on your course page (or just have everyone
> provide links). Provide these instructions in a separate document under
> "course material" - there's advice on helping participants use blogs in the

> handbook:http://wiki.p2pu.org/toolbox(blogs listed at bottom of page)*
>
> > **
>
> > Sustainability Studio Proposed Schedule
>
> > Jan. 26-Feb. 1      *Studio Opening*: Introductions, inspiration,

> > discussion of potential projects
> > Feb 2 - Feb. 8       Group project plans approved and work begins
> > Feb. 9-Feb. 15      Work on projects

> > Feb. 16- Feb. 22   *Studio Guests*: we'll invite some special people to

> > share with us
> > Feb. 23-March 1   Work on projects

> > March 2-March 9   *Studio Show*: Telling our stories, measuring our

> > impact, celebrating success
>
> Sign-Up Task
>
>
>

> >    1. Recruit a couple of friends (2-4) in the same community as you to

> >    build and participate in the Sustainability Studio Citizen Circle with you.

> >    2. Sign up together, noting you are in the same group.
> >    3. When you sign up, please share a link to an example of a project, or

> >    local action, that inspires you related to sustainability. This can be a
> >    link to a video, presentation, blog post, etc.
>

> > *You may even want to encourage folks submit a project idea*