InTeGrate Teaching Materials


InTeGrate materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. They challenge students to address interdisciplinary problems, engage in geoscientific habits of mind, work with authentic geoscience data and develop system thinking. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
Learn more about using these materials in specific contexts:

Dive Deep and Find Individual Sustainability Activities for your Classroom

A great way to get started with InTeGrate materials is to find a single activity that you can work into an existing course. This link will allow you to explore both specific activities within the InTeGrate modules above as well as activities from the community collection. This broader collection draws from multiple projects to provide sustainability related activities contributed by educators across the country.

Find individual InTeGrate teaching activities now »

Strategies and Teaching Themes

Strategy: Infuse Sustainability

Teaching with sustainability topics can increase student engagement by establishing relevance, bridging course content to current topics in the news, and connecting course material to other disciplines. Explore:
  • Incorporation strategies
  • Key topics (Energy, food, water, etc)

Strategy: Incorporate Expert Ways of Thinking about Earth

A sustainable approach requires sophisticated ways of thinking about the Earth system. Geoscience can lend expertise about how to approach these complex issues. Explore:
  • Systems thinking
  • Geoscientific thinking

Strategy: Connect to the World We Live In

Help your students make connections between what they learn in the classroom and the real world, get involved in the community, and prepare students for the workforce with hands-on experience. Explore:
  • Service learning
  • Teaching in the field
  • Using the local environment
  • Using local data
  • Real world examples

Strategy: Build Interdisciplinary Connections

Complex socio-scientific issues require interdisciplinary approaches that give students practice integrating their scientific knowledge with societal constraints. Build connections with faculty that offer additional perspectives and expertise to strengthen your teaching. Explore:
  • Connections between faculty
  • Geoscience & engineering
  • Understanding perspectives

Strategy: Connect Justice to Sustainability

Issues of sustainability do not affect everyone on the planet in the same way. Give your students an ethical perspective on Earth and society. Explore:
  • Environmental Justice
  • Risk & Resilience
  • GeoEthics

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