Incorporating Climate & Sustainability into Classes Across Duke

Now in its second year, the Duke Climate and Sustainability Teaching Fellows (CAST) held a weeklong workshop for 11 Duke and DKU faculty this spring to explore the connections between climate change and sustainable solutions, using a ‘systems thinking’ framework of examining multifaceted challenges.   

The CAST Fellows Program is dedicated to increasing the prevalence and quality of climate and sustainability concepts in academic courses across all departments at Duke.

It supports instructors who are interested in redesigning an existing course to substantively engage with issues of climate and sustainability. The program was launched in 2023 with gifts from Mike and Karen Stone and Jeff and Laurie Ubben.

Sandra Valnes Quammen, a senior lecturer in linguistics, was part of the first cohort of CAST fellows and this year is co-leading the program.

“The most rewarding aspect of the inaugural CAST fellowship for me was the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues from across the University who are committed to integrating climate and sustainability into a diverse cross section of classes and disciplines,” she said. “I learned a great deal about interdisciplinary climate and sustainability pedagogy from my discussions with faculty in departments ranging from Biology and BME to Cultural Anthropology and the Divinity School.”

Fellows are encouraged to consider how they might incorporate hands-on learning experiences and applications of climate and sustainability knowledge in their courses. Throughout the workshops, discussions on climate and sustainability are interspersed with trainings from Learning Innovation and Lifetime Education staff about techniques to teach students about climate and sustainability through non-lecture-based approaches.

The program supports the redesign of courses so that they:

• Develop student knowledge and skills around climate and sustainability concepts;
• Include active pedagogies such as collaborative projects, team-based learning, service-learning, games or role plays, or others as appropriate for the course learning objectives;
• Align with the curricular priorities and needs of the school, department, or other unit; and
• Have a strong chance of attracting significant student interest from year to year.

For the first time this year, two faculty from Duke Kunshan University in China also joined for the weeklong program.

2024-25 Climate and Sustainability Teaching Fellows and their courses:

Catherine Admay, senior lecturer in public policy, revising PUBPOL 646S.01 “Strategic Storytelling for Climate Action”

Jamie Browne, Thompson Writing Program instructor, revising WRITING 101 “H2O 101: The Science of a Dynamic Resource”

Germain Choffart, Trinity, Romance Studies lecturing fellow, revising FRENCH 101, “Elementary French 1”

Charlie Cox, Trinity, associate professor of the practice in Chemistry, revising CHEM101DL “Core Concepts in Chemistry” and CHEM401, “Analytical Chemistry”

Zbigniew Kabala, associate professor civil and environmental engineering, revising CEE 301L “Fluid Mechanics”

Yan Liu, Trinity, associate professor of the practice in Asian and Middle Eastern studies, revising CHINESE 450S “Understanding China and the U.S.: Stereotypes, Conflicts, and Common Challenges”

Perri Morgan, professor in family medicine and community health, revising PHYSASST 252 & 253 “Practice and the Health System 1 and 3; PHYSASST 220, 221, 222 “Clinical Medicine 1, 2 and 3”

Aunchalee Palmquist, associate professor of the practice in global health, revising GLTHL 571 “Global Maternal and Child Health”

Clara Park, Trinity, visiting assistant professor political science, revising POLSCI 128, “Political Economy of Climate Change”

Renee Richer, DKU associate professor of biology,and Charles Chang, DKU assistant professor of environment, revising INFOSCI 302 “Urban Informatics and Sustainability Design”