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Teaching and Curriculum

Values-thinking and Teaching Sustainability Jeff Sharp*, Jeff Sharp, Taylor Valentine,

Values-thinking, a critical element of the Key Competencies in Sustainability Framework (Redman and Weik, 2021), refers to the capacity to identify, reconcile, and negotiate the goals and trade-offs inherent in addressing sustainability challenges. Sometimes referred to as normative competence, it requires understanding the values of diverse stakeholders as well as reflecting on one’s own.  This presentation outlines how values-thinking is taught and assessed in a team taught, interdisciplinary undergraduate introduction to sustainability course that includes both lectures and active-learning labs. Lab activities guide students to explore diverse stakeholder perspectives and goals in a variety of contexts, such as water management, community climate action, and food systems. We describe our general approach to teaching values thinking and then identify some of the strategies we use to assess student competence, such as scenario-based analyses, pre-/post surveys, and reflective self-assessments. Drawing on outcomes from recent course offerings in both face-to-face and online formats, we analyze patterns in student performance to identify strengths and limitations of our instructional approach.  We are especially focused on student self-assessments and exploring what students believe they have learned about values thinking.  While systems thinking (another key sustainability competency) has a relatively well-developed pedagogical literature, guidance for teaching and assessing values-thinking within the key competency framework is limited. This presentation contributes to filling that gap by offering evidence-based practices, example assessments, and lessons learned to inform sustainability educators seeking to more intentionally integrate values-thinking into their curricula.