Sustainability in the Learning Environment | Curriculum Integration | Seneca Polytechnic

Infusing sustainability into our virtual and in-person classrooms allows students to have real-world conversations, investigate ways to make the world a better place, and develop relevant skills for the workforce. Designing modules, activities and assessments around relevant and authentic topics doesn’t have to be complicated.

For instance, you can incorporate questions like these into your lesson design:

• How can you use what we are learning to make the world a better place?
• How could we create these products and processes without polluting?
• How could we make these products and processes more sustainable?
• Explore more in the Sustainability Improves Student Learning: Beginner’s Toolkit.

Here is a graphic of different approaches to sustainability integration. This graphic overviews immediate and long-term implementation strategies to consider. In the graphic, the top row represents teacher-centred activities, and the bottom row represents student-centred activities. Both approaches can be used to guide and inspire your planning and integration ideas.

Review the graphic and consider these questions: 

• What have you already been trying?
• What can you try next? 

Select the numbered hotspots to learn more.

This graphic is adapted from Stephen Phoon's (2024) "Spectrum of Approaches" for sustainability integration.

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