The vast majority of theses in this collection are open access and freely available. There are a small number of theses that have access restricted to the WWU campus. For off-campus access to a thesis labeled "Campus Only Access," please log in here with your WWU universal ID, or talk to your librarian about requesting the restricted thesis through interlibrary loan.

Date Permissions Signed

5-26-2017

Date of Award

Spring 2017

Document Type

Masters Field Project

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Environmental Studies

First Advisor

Wang, Grace A.

Second Advisor

Hollenhorst, Steven J.

Third Advisor

Swisher, Joel N.

Abstract

This report summarizes the design, implementation, and evaluation of a Sustainable Living Practices course that was offered at Western Washington University (WWU) during Fall 2016. The purpose of this course was to teach students about sustainable living practices, their benefits, and the local resources available that support these practices. Engagement in sustainable living practices minimizes the environmental harm and greenhouse gas emissions produced by a typical consumerism lifestyle. Individuals that believe sustainable living practices are important may not necessarily engage in these behaviors in their own life. This gap between individuals’ beliefs and actions is referred to as the Conservation AttitudeBehavior Gap (Leiserowitz et al. 2010). This course was designed to address the Conservation Attitude-Behavior Gap by giving students the opportunity to learn about and engage in sustainable living practices through lectures, assignments, guest speakers, and discussions with their peers. The course was evaluated using the Context, Input, Process, and Product (CIPP) Model, with a focus on how to improve the course both during its implementation and after its completion. The deliverables for this project include the course that was taught in Fall 2016, this final report, and a teaching guide that was created for individuals interested in teaching a course on sustainable living. The findings from the evaluation of the course were incorporated into the teaching guide to improve the course’s content.

Type

Text

DOI

https://doi.org/10.25710/4ykq-1s09

Publisher

Western Washington University

OCLC Number

988611026

Subject – LCSH

Sustainable living--Study and teaching--Washington (State)--Bellingham; Environmental education--Study and teaching--Washington (State)--Bellingham; Environmental responsibility--Study and teaching--Washington (State)--Bellingham; Consumers--Washington (State)--Bellingham--Attitudes; Sustainable living--Social aspects--Washington (State)--Bellingham

Geographic Coverage

Bellingham (Wash.)

Format

application/pdf

Genre/Form

masters theses

Language

English

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this thesis for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.

Sustainable Living Teaching Guide.pdf (14359 kB)
This teaching guide was created for individuals interested in teaching a sustainable living course. Its content was influenced by the design, implementation, and evaluation of a sustainable living pilot class taught at Western Washington University (WWU) during Fall 2016.

Share

COinS