More activity with less passivity: Take three ideas, blend, and flip! Sustainability, earth sciences, and critical thinking

A commonly-held premise in the sciences is that in order to “cover the content”, we need to deliver the information to the students in lectures. As a result, we hesitate to allow time during class for students to think and grapple with the ideas, issues, and controversies in the field. When addressing the teaching around sustainability in the context of earth and environmental sciences courses, for example in exploring issues around energy, water, and mining, such discussions and the development of critical thinking are paramount to bringing about a deeper understanding of the issues facing sustainable practices. Students need time to engage in collaborative discussions if they are to begin to really think critically and to truly understand the deeper issues around sustainability, such as dealing with uncertainty and complexity, understanding change through space and time, and recognition of patterns amidst the noise. How might we both cover the content and provide time for active discussion? Flipping the classroom so that the bulk of the class time is spent discussing and analyzing the content that is presented in a variety of ways either prior to, or in a condensed form at the beginning of class, is a powerful way in which our classrooms can come more alive and more relevant to students. This presentation will examine our evolving classroom role, as we move from “the sage on the stage” to orchestrating and moving forward collaborative discussions so that they encourage critical and reflective thinking across the sustainability-science-society nexu