Suchergebnisse

Why are societies (partly) adopting the scientific, Western intellectual perspective so little inclined to accept that their vision of the world is much more uncertain than they assume? This paper views the illusion of control as the result of a long-term coevolution in which, in Euro-American society, the basic categories of thinking have shifted from "open" to "closed," from a focus on exploration of the unknown to the exploitation of the known. Such closed categories are to a large extent anchored in technologies, because in the interaction with technologies, human actions are routinized and adapted to the technology, so that it is difficult to deal with changing circumstances. Thus, as part of the technology explosion of the last two centuries, Euro-American societies have undergone a massive shift from exploration and comprehension of the changing world they deal with to competently repeating known responses to known challenges without understanding the underlying dynamic. This shift makes them (wrongly) assume that they control their world. Any attempt to break this illusion of control must consider how categories are formed and assembled into narratives, and in particular the nature of the relationship between information (cognized signals and categories) and noise (signals excluded from cognition). That relationship has been fundamental to the dynamic of niche construction that has shaped both our thinking and the environment to which it relates.

Purpose
– The article aims to describe the problem- and project-based learning (PPBL) program and the institutional context at Arizona State University's School of Sustainability (SOS), with the goal of offering experience-based guidance for similar initiatives in sustainability programs around the world.


Design/methodology/approach
– This case study presents the diverse PPBL activities that SOS offers on the undergraduate and the graduate levels and examines the institutional structures in place that support these activities. Data were collected through literature and document reviews, observations, interviews, student evaluations and faculty surveys.


Findings
– The review of the PPBL program at SOS illustrates a case of successfully inaugurating a PPBL program in sustainability at a major university in the USA. Yet, a key challenge for this program and similar programs around the world is how to maintain the institutional momentum and make advances after the initial takeoff. SOS is attempting to address this issue by developing greater program cohesion and coordination, synthesizing past products and learning, monitoring and evaluating impacts, and developing PPBL training programs for faculty and graduate students.


Practical implications
– The experiences and findings presented can help other programs to articulate the benefits of a PPBL initiative, anticipate implementation challenges and successfully support their own PPBL initiatives through adequate institutional structures. The review points to the fact that the major impact on both student learning and outcomes for partner organizations is achieved through a concerted effort by the organization as a whole. Successful PPBL programs require both top-down commitments from the administration and bottom-up drive from interested faculty and students.


Originality/value
– This case study discusses the PPBL program at SOS. The findings can inform and support the ongoing transformation in sustainability education with the ultimate objective to build students' capacities to address and solve wicked sustainability problems in the real world, competently collaborating with partners from government, business and civil society.