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| Dal student Haylan Jackson and Professor Claire Campbell. (Nick Pearce Photo) |
Students are sprouting up from all over to help make the world a better place through Dalhousie鈥檚 new Environment, Sustainability and Society (ESS) program. Offered through the College of Sustainability, the program has gone from idea to reality in just a year and is at full capacity for its inaugural semester with just over 300 students registered for SUST 1000.
Faculty members with the College of Sustainability were hoping to attract 150 students this semester and reach the 300 mark by the third year. Obviously, they鈥檝e eclipsed that. Those involved are thrilled with the interest and believe it speaks to what today鈥檚 students want to get from their education.
鈥淭he program was driven by a sense of desire, from students, faculty, staff and administration who all wanted to make a difference,鈥� says Steven Mannell, director of the College of Sustainability. 鈥淪tudents want their education to make a difference, not just for them, but their communities, to work together to make things better.鈥�
Haylan Jackson, a third-year history major enrolled in ESS, was thrilled to see an environmental program that arts faculty and students could be part of. 鈥淪ustainability affects so many aspects of living and will only continue to,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 found it interesting that a history professor could help teaching a sustainability course, and I wanted to be a part of it 鈥� It鈥檚 not just for science students.鈥�
ESS is offered as a double major in conjunction with architecture and planning, arts, computer science, engineering, management or sciences. That鈥檚 just the tip of the iceberg for the creative methods of the program.
ESS features a new, innovative style of teaching where multiple professors from different disciplines teach the same class at the same time. Rather than a typical lecture, for example, a biologist, an historian and an architect (or other combinations) will lead the class in discussion, fostering debate and participation from both faculty and students.聽
鈥淚t is going to make science students consider the opinions of arts students and vice versa,鈥� explains Ms. Jackson. 鈥淚鈥檓 very excited for the opportunities 黑料吃瓜网is creating for students from every faculty.鈥�
Claire Campbell, professor of history and is feeling a combination of butterflies and goose bumps as the semester kicks off.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited about getting in the classroom, but it鈥檚 also somewhat scary in a good way,鈥� says Dr. Campbell. 鈥淚 teach, but this is unlike anything I鈥檝e done before.鈥�
Dr. Campbell emphasizes the program asks students to pair their desired career with ESS teaching. 鈥淚f you always wanted to be an architect, we need you to be an architect, one who鈥檒l go out into the world with this kind of open mind.鈥�
Given the style of teaching, Prof. Mannell says that at times, faculty will become students and students will become teachers. 鈥淲e鈥檒l be learning how different disciplines approach different subjects and research and posing questions we may not yet have answers for,鈥� he says. 鈥淓veryone will have different perspectives for each issue.鈥�
Above all, students can expect a fun atmosphere. 鈥淭here should be lots of laughs,鈥� says Dr, Campbell. 鈥淭his is an experiment in teaching. If researchers learn from experiments, we鈥檙e all going to learn a lot about teaching,鈥� says Dr. Campbell.
鈥淥f course, this will be one big learning experience,鈥� says Ms. Jackson. 鈥淏ut it makes me proud to see Dal taking such big steps towards the future of sustainability.鈥�
The College of Sustainability welcomes the public to join students for Thursday evening sessions of SUST 1000, featuring a range of provocative guest speakers.