The sustainability learning suites is a set of learning objects created for people with a post-secondary science background, organized in six themes: Systems thinking; Sustainable development; Population; Energy; Water and Materials. The materials are designed on Fink's Taxonomy of Significant Learning and include: learning objectives, editable slides with notes and embedded classroom activities, activities of 1-3 hours, assessments, and a set of 24 videos.

The sustainability learning suites is a set of learning objects created for people with a post-secondary science background, organized in six themes: Systems thinking; Sustainable development; Population; Energy; Water and Materials. The materials are designed on Fink's Taxonomy of Significant Learning and include: learning objectives, editable slides with notes and embedded classroom activities, activities of 1-3 hours, assessments, and a set of 24 videos.

This workshop investigates the current state of sustainability in regards to architecture, from the level of the tectonic detail to the urban environment. Current research and case studies will be investigated, and students will propose their own solutions as part of the final project.

This video looks at the meaning of sustainable development and why the current best practices prescribe participatory methods. It also presents a visual model for sustainable development that is closer to the physical reality than the "triple bottom line" model of environmental, equity, and economic goals. This video is part of the Sustainability Learning Suites, made possible in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation. See 'Learn more about this resource' for Learning Objectives and Activities.

This video explores the meaning of sustainable development from a biomimicry view. It is largely based on the work of CS Holling and associates. This video is part of the Sustainability Learning Suites, made possible in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation. See 'Learn more about this resource' for Learning Objectives and Activities.

This video explores the meaning of sustainable development from a biomimicry view. It is largely based on the work of CS Holling and associates. This video is part of the Sustainability Learning Suites, made possible in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation. See 'Learn more about this resource' for Learning Objectives and Activities.

This video considers a model of human impact proposed by Ehrlich and Holdren called the "IPAT" equation. It reveals its underlying assumptions and the additional opportunities for reducing impact. This video is part of the Sustainability Learning Suites, made possible in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation. See 'Learn more about this resource' for Learning Objectives and Activities.

Introduction to the concept of a dynamic system. Includes discussion of system and surroundings and system boundaries. This video is part of the Sustainability Learning Suites, made possible in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation. See 'Learn more about this resource' for Learning Objectives, Assessment, and Activities.

This video explains thermodynamic systems, open and closed systems, and the four key properties of a system. This video is part of the Sustainability Learning Suites, made possible in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation. See 'Learn more about this resource' for Learning Objectives, Assessment, and Activities.

This video looks at the cause of system behavior as being like an iceberg. This idea was proposed by Peter Senge in his book, "The Fifth Discipline" (1990), Doubleday Publishers. This video is part of the Sustainability Learning Suites, made possible in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation. See 'Learn more about this resource' for Learning Objectives, Assessment, and Activities.

This video explains Aristotle's model of causality and how it can be used to gain insight into systemic behavior. Many of the ideas presented in this video have been contributed by Roger Burton. This video is part of the Sustainability Learning Suites, made possible in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation. See 'Learn more about this resource' for Learning Objectives, Assessment, and Activities.

This video, based on ideas of Donella Meadows (Thinking in Systems: A Primer | 2008, Chelsea Green Publishing), describes different types of interventions that are possible in a system and their potential leverage. This video is part of the Sustainability Learning Suites, made possible in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation. See 'Learn more about this resource' for Learning Objectives, Assessment, and Activities.

In this video adapted from Earth Island Institute's New Leaders Initiative, meet a high school student who worked to enact a state law to make cosmetics safer, after she learned they contained toxic chemicals linked to cancer.

Watch the ZOOM cast discover which insulator -- newspaper or aluminum foil -- is better at keeping an ice cube frozen longer.

Student teams conduct an experiment that uses gold nanoparticles as sensors of chemical agents to determine which of four sports drinks has the most electrolytes. In this way, students are introduced to gold nanoparticles and their influence on particle or cluster size and fluorescence. They also learn about surface plasmon resonance phenomena and how it applies to gold nanoparticle technologies, which touches on the basics of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum, electrolyte chemistry and nanoscience. Using some basic chemistry and physics principles, students develop a conceptual understanding of how gold nanoparticles function. They also learn of important practical applications in biosensing.

In this activity, students learn about creating a design directly from a CAD (computer-aided design) program. They will design a tower in CAD and manufacture the parts with a laser cutter. A competition determines the tower design with the best strength:weight ratio. Students also investigate basic structural truss concepts and stress concentrations. Partnership with a local college or manufacturing center is necessary for the completion of this project.

Watch the ZOOM cast build a chair out of newspaper by making good use of the strength of triangles.

Students learn about tsunamis, discovering what causes them and what makes them so dangerous. They learn that engineers design detection and warning equipment, as well as structures that that can survive the strong wave forces. In a hands-on activity, students use a table-top-sized tsunami generator to observe the formation and devastation of a tsunami. They see how a tsunami moves across the ocean and what happens when it reaches a coastline. They make villages of model houses to test how different material types are impacted by the huge waves.

The basic objective of Unified Engineering is to give a solid understanding of the fundamental disciplines of aerospace engineering, as well as their interrelationships and applications. These disciplines are Materials and Structures (M); Computers and Programming (C); Fluid Mechanics (F); Thermodynamics (T); Propulsion (P); and Signals and Systems (S). In choosing to teach these subjects in a unified manner, the instructors seek to explain the common intellectual threads in these disciplines, as well as their combined application to solve engineering Systems Problems (SP). Throughout the year, the instructors emphasize the connections among the disciplines.

Students explore the response of springs to forces as a way to begin to understand elastic solid behavior. They gain experience in data collection, spring constant calculation, and comparison and interpretation of graphs and material properties to elucidate material behavior. Conduct this activity before proceeding to the associated lesson.