| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 74.81 |
| Liaison | Kelli O'Day |
| Submission Date | March 6, 2020 |
University of California, Davis
IN-47: Innovation A
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.50 / 0.50 |
Kelli
O'Day Assessment Program Manager Office of Sustainability |
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indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Name or title of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
UC - CSU NXTerra: Transformative Education for Climate Action
A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome that outlines how credit criteria are met and any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation:
In Fall of 2019, the University of California (UC) System and California State University (CSU) systems collaborated to launch NXTerra, a Knowledge Action Network (KAN) and digital platform for climate educators. Focusing on themes of climate change, critical sustainability, and climate justice, NXTerra produces educational materials to empower teachers, university professors, and students to take action in building a more sustainable and environmentally just world.
The platform hosts many educational resources including course modules, lesson plans, syllabi, and assignments. NXTerra is different from a massive open online course because rather than enroll students into a one-time course under a dedicated instructor, the project provides a collaborative collection of resources and an online library of materials that address a variety of topics related to the climate crisis for instructors to utilize.
NXTerra takes an innovative approach to education around sustainability by utilizing a close cooperative effort between two of California's largest public-education systems and publicly featuring materials contributed by most of the state’s campuses. The network fosters interaction between the two systems, UC and CSU, and makes it possible for resources to be widely shared. NXTerra emphasizes the role that teachers and students can play in effectively confronting the climate crisis by participating in a global climate justice movement and creating systemic alternatives that will supplant the current toxic economic and political institutions and processes.
The NXTerra mission “to enable and scale up climate change education in California and across the world to reflect the rising urgency of the climate crisis” closely aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically Goal 4.7 (By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development) and Goal 13.3 (Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning).
The Global Climate Leadership Council (GCLC) of the UC developed NXTerra as an independent project with start-up funding for the project provided entirely by the UC system. The GCLC’s Faculty Education Engagement Committee (FEE) and the UC-CSU NXTerra Advisory Board provided additional guidance for the project. The digital network is committed to achieving the main objective of the UC Office of the President’s Carbon Neutrality Initiative, UC carbon neutrality by 2025.
Both educational systems and each campus within have contributed a significant amount to the project. Here are some of the specific contributions from University of California, Davis:
Beth Rose Middleton, an Associate Professor of Native American Studies at UC Davis, is an active member of the NXTerra Knowledge Action Network (KAN) and has contributed an educational topic and related resources on “Indigenous Leadership on Climate Change” to the project.
Stephen Wheeler, a Professor of Human Ecology at UC Davis, is part of the NXTerra Advisory Board and has contributed resources to the NXTerra website on topics related to Critical Sustainabilities.
Website with more information about these contributions: https://www.nxterra.orfaleacenter.ucsb.edu/people/
The platform hosts many educational resources including course modules, lesson plans, syllabi, and assignments. NXTerra is different from a massive open online course because rather than enroll students into a one-time course under a dedicated instructor, the project provides a collaborative collection of resources and an online library of materials that address a variety of topics related to the climate crisis for instructors to utilize.
NXTerra takes an innovative approach to education around sustainability by utilizing a close cooperative effort between two of California's largest public-education systems and publicly featuring materials contributed by most of the state’s campuses. The network fosters interaction between the two systems, UC and CSU, and makes it possible for resources to be widely shared. NXTerra emphasizes the role that teachers and students can play in effectively confronting the climate crisis by participating in a global climate justice movement and creating systemic alternatives that will supplant the current toxic economic and political institutions and processes.
The NXTerra mission “to enable and scale up climate change education in California and across the world to reflect the rising urgency of the climate crisis” closely aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically Goal 4.7 (By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development) and Goal 13.3 (Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning).
The Global Climate Leadership Council (GCLC) of the UC developed NXTerra as an independent project with start-up funding for the project provided entirely by the UC system. The GCLC’s Faculty Education Engagement Committee (FEE) and the UC-CSU NXTerra Advisory Board provided additional guidance for the project. The digital network is committed to achieving the main objective of the UC Office of the President’s Carbon Neutrality Initiative, UC carbon neutrality by 2025.
Both educational systems and each campus within have contributed a significant amount to the project. Here are some of the specific contributions from University of California, Davis:
Beth Rose Middleton, an Associate Professor of Native American Studies at UC Davis, is an active member of the NXTerra Knowledge Action Network (KAN) and has contributed an educational topic and related resources on “Indigenous Leadership on Climate Change” to the project.
Stephen Wheeler, a Professor of Human Ecology at UC Davis, is part of the NXTerra Advisory Board and has contributed resources to the NXTerra website on topics related to Critical Sustainabilities.
Website with more information about these contributions: https://www.nxterra.orfaleacenter.ucsb.edu/people/
Optional Fields
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None
The website URL where information about the innovation is available :
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
NXTerra Press Release: https://www.orfaleacenter.ucsb.edu/event/uc-and-csu-educators-announce-new-climate-emergency-teaching-tool-nxterra/
Article about NXTerra: https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/teaching-tool-warming-world
More information about the NXTerra planning process: http://climatechampions.ucop.edu/uc-csu-knowledge-action-network-for-transformative-climate-and-sustainability-education-and-action/
Article about NXTerra: https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/teaching-tool-warming-world
More information about the NXTerra planning process: http://climatechampions.ucop.edu/uc-csu-knowledge-action-network-for-transformative-climate-and-sustainability-education-and-action/
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