Watson and Boggs

Climate, Competition and Curriculum Collide: Designing an Integrated Action Learning Course with International Competition and Environmental Sustainability Curriculum

Rachel M. Watson & Christine N. Boggs, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA.

Abstract:

The University of Wyoming Ski Team is a unique program that integrates scholarship and environmental and social justice into a quilt of athleticism. In 2015, we were asked to be the sole Nordic ski representatives of the USA at the World University Games in Štrbské Pleso, Slovakia. To accompany competition, we designed a hybrid course employing action learning, problem-based learning and systems theory. Centered on the uncertain future of Nordic skiing due to climate change, student athletes wrote an innovative grant proposing on-site projects to quantify the carbon footprint of our team, calculate the carbon offsets needed to defray the team’s emissions, collect community perspectives regarding the Games and analyze the accumulation of ski wax in the snow. Prior to traveling abroad, curriculum centered on environmental and fitness-affecting impacts of climate change. On site, athletes collected data while, at the same time competing and interacting with international competitors and writing reflectively in a journal and blog. Upon returning to the States, the students presented orally and wrote a research summary. Students mastered a majority of twelve learning outcomes, earned praises from stakeholders and underwent transformational learning. The course syllabus, rubrics and student work can be accessed at http://uwnordic.weebly.com/slovakia.html.

Key words: Action learning, PBL (problem-based Learning), international competition, climate change, systems theory