Opinto-opas

Tavoitteet

• Johdanto kestävään kehitykseen
• Kestävän kehityksen arvot
• Rakentava keskustelu kestävän kehityksen teemoista
• Rakenteiden ja systeemien tuntemus
• Maapallon ilmasto ja ilmastonmuutos
• Kiertotalous ja kriittiset materiaalit
• Kestävän kehityksen raportointi
• Syventävä tehtävä omasta aihepiiristä

Sisältö

Kurssin suoritettuaan opiskelija hallitsee tai pystyy kuvailemaan:
• kestävään kehitykseen liittyvät perusteet, termit, haasteet ja mahdollisuudet
• kestävään kehitykseen liittyviä monimutkaisia rakenteita ja verkostoja ja niihin liittyviä normeja
• toimenpiteitä ja aktiviteetteja jotka edistävät eri toimijoiden työskentelyä kohti kestävän kehityksen tavoitteita
• rakenteita jotka liittyvät teknisiin, sosiaalisiin, kaupallisiin sekä ympäristö asioihin ja niiden välisiin vuorovaikutussuhteisiin
• tärkeimpiä kestävään kehitykseen liittyviä haasteita kuten esimerkiksi ilmastonmuutos ja kiertotalous

Oppimateriaalit

Course literature. Material presented at the Snowflake Education course online learning environment.

Opetusmenetelmät

The course consists of lectures, seminars, homework assignments.

Tenttien ajankohdat ja uusintamahdollisuudet

Course assessment will be based on course assignments returned during the course. End exam will not be applied.
As the course evaluation is assignment based, there will not be possibility for renewal.

Pedagogiset toimintatavat ja kestävä kehitys

The course is based on the concept of the flipped classroom, which means that the participants prepare for classroom activities in their own time, with the help of online lectures, course literature and preparation assignments.

Toteutuksen valinnaiset suoritustavat

Not available.

Opiskelijan ajankäyttö ja kuormitus

5 ECTS credits/~130-140 Student Learning Hours incl. 25 classroom/on-line hours

Sisällön jaksotus

Welcome to the course! Sustainable development course will be held from 19.1.2022 to 30.3.2022.

Course start: Course will start Wednesday 19.1.2022 with Zoom-online lecture.

Timing:
Classroom activities will be held weekly on Wednesday afternoons starting from 19.1.2022 (excluding 3 by weeks with no teaching). Duration of classroom activities will be 2-4h based on the course topic.

Activities during the course:
The course consists of lectures, seminars, homework assignments and a written exam. It is based on the concept of the flipped classroom, which means that the participants prepare for classroom activities in their own time, with the help of online lectures, course literature and preparation assignments.

Course content
The course consists of eight module blocks, called learning packages, each corresponding to 16 learning hours (including 2-4 classroom hours), and running through a calendar week.

Module 1: Introduction to sustainable development
In this learning package students will get a basic introduction to the concept of sustainable development. Among other things, we discuss the three pillars (economic, social and ecological sustainability), the 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of Agenda 2030, planetary boundaries and challenges related to the use of physical resources. The learning package is also an introduction to the other learning packages.

Module 2: Values Thinking
In this learning package students will learn how to problematize around sustainable solutions. They get to practice identifying values that are associated with different opinions, and debating based on their own or an assigned position. In the board game Dilemma, they will learn to explain sustainability related issues, and debate various sustainability dilemmas with their peers.

Module 3: Constructive Debate
In this learning package, students will practice taking a position and orally debating issues related to sustainable development. They will also practice using the polarity mapping tool to understand a polarized subject in its entirety, handle such polarization and design well-thought-out compromises. Once again, they will play the board game Dilemma, but this time with an interesting twist.

Module 4: Systems Thinking
In this learning package students will experience basic principles from system dynamics, which is an approach to understanding systems. Through the simulation game FishBanks they will practice managing a renewable resource, while at the same time being part of a complex system with multiple actors and information overload.

Module 5: Earth’s Climate and Climate Change
In this learning package students will gain a deeper understanding of the Earth's climate system and climate change. They will learn more about strategies for how climate research can be communicated to the public and they will also be able to practice explaining the natural science background of climate change. In the board game ClimeOut they will have the opportunity to explain and learn about these concepts.

Module 6: Critical Materials and Circular Economy
In this learning package students will be introduced to management of materials, sustainable production and consumption, and life cycle thinking. The focus is on concepts such as critical materials, resource management and circular economy. Questions that will be discussed are for example: What does a smartphone consist of? Which countries contribute to the production of critical materials? How can business strategies contribute to reducing resource waste in the supply chain? In the board game In the Loop they will attempt producing products and exploring the complexities of resource management.

Module 7: Sustainability reporting
In this learning package students will be introduced to the European Union's Directive on Disclosure of Non-Financial and Diversity Information by Certain Large Companies, which is implemented in Finnish law. According to the directive, large companies within the EU are obliged to report on sustainability indicators relevant to their business. In practice, many businesses use the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) scheme for reporting, and in this learning package students will have the opportunity to exercise global reporting according to the GRI system in a role-play scenario where they will represent one stakeholder and negotiate with other stakeholders.

Module 8: Final presentation

Viestintäkanava ja lisätietoja

Extended learning objectives
After completing course, the student should be able to:
• explain basic concepts, challenges and opportunities that relate to the concept of sustainable development.
• define, explain and be able to use sustainability vocabulary and relevant facts in writing and conversation.
• make reasonable estimates on the order of magnitude to questions about global development.
• describe the phenomenon 'the tragedy of the commons', ecosystem services and key concepts in system dynamics.
• propose strategies to manage or reduce the risk of system collapse.
• identify feedback loops in complex systems and be able to describe their course of events using words and expressions from system dynamics.
• formulate well supported arguments for various viewpoints.
• critically review arguments and show respect to people with opposing opinions.
• identify arguments and counter arguments in a polarized issue and be able to discuss those in a reasonable and structured way.
• using the polarity map as a tool to map a dilemma situation.
• state the main components and a number of feedback mechanisms in the Earth's climate system.
• use guidelines for climate communication to adapt language usage to situation and target group.
• motivate why actions made by a particular actor contributes positively to managing climate change.
• explain how global climate scenarios are used and describe predicted trajectories for a particular region.
• explain the terms critical materials and circular economy.
• give examples of some critical materials, the origin of these and common uses.
• reflect upon the complexity of resource management in society.
• identify examples of strategies and marketing communication that are in line with models of circular economy.
• suggest changes in a company’s business strategies or business model, which could contribute to reduced resource waste.

Arviointiasteikko

H-5

Arviointimenetelmät ja arvioinnin perusteet

Grades are given on the scale 0-5 and are calculated by following criteria and weightings:
- Learning packages (each max. 3 points) total 20 points.
- Learning diary and presentation based on the diary max. 10 points
- Student must recieve at least 50%/15p from the max. of 30 points to pass the course
- Course assignments and seminar participation will be assessed on the scale of: approved-failed

Hylätty (0)

Below 15 points and/or too many unattended/not compensated seminar participations.