ABOUT THIS COURSE
This course is organized around five main themes: chemicals, globalisation, climate change, food and energy. These five themes represent challenges that we typically run into when trying to make more sustainable choices in our everyday lives. For example, is it better to buy food that is produced locally or how can plastics that are contaminated with certain harmful chemicals be safely re-used or recycled?
OVERALL LEARNING GOALS
The course will introduce you to different aspects of sustainable development in your everyday life through the five themes. You will also learn to grasp the complexities of sustainable development which will help you make better-informed, more sustainable choices and decisions in everyday life.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Having completed this course you will be better able to:
- Appreciate the complexity of sustainable development and understand how it relates to everyday life
- Critically evaluate and reflect on the information flow from the public media
- Develop cognitive and decision making skills that can be applied to issues and problems in everyday life
- How to discuss these topics appropriately, and encourage others to make informed decisions regarding sustainable living
PREREQUISITES
In order to fully benefit from this course you should have passed compulsory school of at least 9 years and be comfortable working with a computer or similar device.
TIME COMMITMENT
You should expect to devote about six hours weekly to the course. Each week features a series of lecture sequences and complementary exercises or problems. There will be different types of assignments in each theme such as quizzes and topics to discuss in the discussion forum where we will ask you to share issues that you into in your everyday life, and relate these to the five main themes (chemicals, globalisation, climate change, food and energy). The final exam will cover all five themes and test your ability to make informed choices and decisions in relation to sustainable development.
SCHEDULE
The course consists of 5 themes and a final exam. Each theme consists of an introductory lecture, in which the theme is introduced, and several mini-lectures in which topics relevant to the theme are addressed in more detail. Each week, a new module will be released on Monday 08:00 UTC. To receive a certificate you need to pass 60 % of the total graded assignments before the end of the course.
Release dates:
- Course Welcome and Energy: June 8, 2015 at 08:00 UTC
- Globalisation: June 15, 2015 at 08:00 UTC
- Climate: June 22, 2015 at 08:00 UTC
- Chemicals: June 29, 2015 at 08:00 UTC
- Food: July 6, 2015 at 08:00 UTC
- Final Exam: July 13, 2015 at 08:00 UTC
TOPICS PER MODULE
In the energy module different sources of energy and the impact of energy use on the environment are the main topics that are addressed. In the globalization module, different aspects of sustainability such as life cycle thinking, waste managment and international regulations are addressed. In the climate module the physics of climate change, the climate debate and impact of our consumption on the climate are addressed. In the chemicals module, the use and impact of several kinds of chemicals are addressed and discussed on their impact on human health and to the ecosystems. In the food module, several aspects of food production are addressed and how these impact the environment.
ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES
Each week a quiz and some exercises related to the introductory lecture, and new assignments addressing the topics covered in the mini-lectures are available for the module that is released in that week. These assignments can be submitted until the end of the course. In the different themes we will use the same types of assignments and they aim at checking your knowledge, and increasing your skill to identify and relate relevant issues in your everyday life to sustainable development and share and discuss your viewpoints on these issues. You will have two attempts to answer the short quizzes and three attempts for larger assignments of which the result of your last attempt will be counted (overwriting the previous attempt). We will use peer assessment in some of the assignments. You will learn more about how to do peer assessment during the course. Towards the end of the course there is a final exam where we will test your ability to make well-informed sustainable choices regarding the problem that you are presented with.
You will need to gather 60% of the total score in order to pass the course. The quizzes and exercises related to each introductory hotspot lecture contribute 4% each week making up 20% of the total score, the assignments related to the mini-lectures make up 40% (8% each week), and the final exam also makes up 40% of the total score.
CERTIFICATES
To receive a honour code certificate you will have to receive at least 60% of the total score.
EdX will issue the certificate under the name of Chalmers and you will be able to download it via your student dashboard at the end of the course.