Spring 2020 ELIFF Recipient: Barbara John
Environmental Economics
What are the learning goals and outcomes for your proposed EL activity/program?
Environmental Economics applies the tools of economic analysis to the human predicament--scarcity--with special attention to the consequences of overshoot : exponential growth driven by population growth and industrial production juxtaposed against limits to that growth in the form of nature's ability to act as a source (of resources) and a sink (of waste). In this course, I try to take students out of the classroom to visit water supply and sewage treatment plants, a recycling center, a landfill, a composting facility, and an organic farm. While often cost of entry is free, transportation is not, and UD vans are not cheap (ranging from $50 - $95 per use, plus $1 per mile).
How will your EL activity/program enable active, hands-on, self-guided learning?
It is remarkable, really, how few students understand the size of the 'human footprint': Visiting the facilities that make life bearable for humans living in close proximity to each other is the most poignant (and in some cases pungent!) way of confronting students with daunting task we impose on nature!
How will you ask students to reflect on what they learned through the EL activity/program?
Because every trip is framed by the class content, and scheduled for opportune moments, the content is 'compulsory' learning: students are expected to incorporate the information gleaned on trips in class discussions and actions (written homeworks and in-class activities). Reflection on the field trip content is a pervasive event, not a one time journal entry.
How will you assess what your students learn as a result of participating in experiential learning?
Attendance is required for all field trips; those with official excuses have to take 'virtual tours' of similar facilities and respond to specific prompts. As a result, all students are expected to use the the insights gained during site visits whenever relevant on exams and in presentations. The trips are an integral part of the course, not 'add ons.'
How does your EL program/activity advance at least one or more of UD's institutional learning goals?
(Scholarship, Faith Traditions, Diversity, Community, Practical Wisdom, Critical Evaluation of Our Times, Vocation)
Economics is a toolkit particularly amenable to critically evaluating human behavior, particularly in these times when human behavior that threatens to undermine humanity's habitat. The application of cost-benefit analysis (with an array of rates of discount) to environmental problems is a practical skill that equips students to tackle important issues and make tough policy decisions.
