Course Syllabus
In this course we will examine ways to enhance sustainability in the built environment. We'll use a systems science lens to study the built environment at various scales (e.g., materials, buildings, cities, and regions) and types of systems (e.g., physical, social, information). For Engineering and A-School majors (and everyone in between), this course will emphasize collaboration across disciplines and diversity of thought.
Prerequisite: a burning desire to push yourself, your classmates, and your professor (or instructor approval).
Learning outcomes
The core learning outcomes are that we will:
- Recognize human-environment systems and how we shape them (for better or worse).
- Evaluate whole-life impacts considering environmental, social, and economic factors.
- Design in harmony with environmental and societal opportunities and limits.
- Exploit diversity (of thought, background, and experience) through participatory approaches.
In pursuit of these learning outcomes, we will:
- Practice a systems approach to deal with complexity and tolerate ambiguity.
- Identify and develop skills for learning about sustainability in the built environment as the field evolves.
- Make connections between the basic concepts in this course and industry practices/rating systems.
- Communicate persuasively with others, including non-architect/engineers, about the course topics.
- Envision the future we want to live in and our role in making it so.
- Identify and push leverage points for responding to and making change towards this vision.
The kind of student feedback I try to earn:
"I really feel like I have an understanding of the material, rather than just memorizing how to do problems and then forgetting it all later."
"This class was an awesome surprise. I did not know what sustainability was before, and after figuring out what it was, I was afraid the class might be a bunch of useless, unrealistic information. I was wrong. This class was great because it introduced sustainability in a practical reasonable way that makes logical sense. It changes the way the students view construction and engineering. The processes and analysis methods taught in this class really improved my abilities as an engineer."
Other logistics
I try to flip the classroom as much as possible, with work and lecture-type videos/reading done outside of class so that we can use class time for activities that take advantage of us all being in the same place at the same time. I also try to provide variety of methods for different types of learners to achieve learning outcomes.
Grading
The learning and creating are the biggest rewards for the time you invest in this experience, but I also am required to assign grades...
Course citizenship (50%) - These learning opportunities, representing a breadth of topics and learning methods, are designed to help you engage with your classmates and the course material.
- This includes engaging in (25%) class, and also doing the weekly assignments to prepare (20%) and lifelong learning practice (5%).
Global citizenship (50%) - These assignments allow you to explore topics of interest in more depth, with a particular focus on applying your effort to engage with those in the course and beyond.
- System sustainability tours (25%, ~20-30 hours): Students will choose a real-world project at a scale of their choice to analyze and then share findings with others. 6000-level students will also share their findings in a professional/scientific poster format.
- Sustainable system (re)design (25%, ~20-30 hours): Students will use the fundamental concepts and tools for sustainable systems to (re)design a built environment of their choice. 6000-level students will also synthesize their results in a 250-500 word executive summary or abstract.
For the grading scale, we'll use the default thresholds in collab. My goal is that anyone who attends all of the classes and puts in around 7-8 hours per week of thoughtful effort outside of class will earn at least a B+. I hope this gives you the freedom to take risks in your projects and to engage with the content that you find most interesting and relevant.
Late assignments will be accepted, and you will lose 10 points per day late up to a maximum deduction of 50 points. If assignments have not been handed in by the time they are graded, you will be given a grade of zero, but you can go back and complete assignments late for up to 50% credit. These adjustments will be made at the end of the semester.
Meetings
Course meetings are Wednesdays 6-8:30 PM in Thornton Hall A120
If we need to do virtual, you will be e-mailed a zoom link.
Professor
Leidy Klotz, lk6me@virginia.edu, @leidyklotz
https://engineering.virginia.edu/faculty/leidy-klotz
Office hours: Fri 1PM-3:30PM or by appointment (e-mail me). I truly enjoy meeting to discuss this course and related topics.
Readings
There is no required text. Targeted readings and videos will be available on the course website. Plus, here are some of my favorite books related to the course topics:
top 10 sustainability in the built environment
top 10 way more fun than academic journal articles
top 10 communicating to change the world
And, my books are also relevant: Sustainability through Soccer and Subtract: the untapped science of less
Learn to use Canvas
If this is your first course in Canvas you can go to Canvas Student Orientation to learn how to configure Canvas to meet your needs.
Syllabus Subject to Change
When necessary to take advantage of student learning opportunities, modifications to this syllabus may be made by the instructor.
Course Summary:
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