Course Description
"Environmental citizenship goes beyond national borders to emphasize global environmental rights and responsibilities. Environmental citizenship recognizes that people are an inherent part of the environment, and our actions impact the future health of our planet and the health of our communities. This course is a journey where students will explore the value of a healthy environment, recognize sustainable and unsustainable practices, and practice new sustainable behaviours. Major environmental challenges will be discussed along with initiatives to address them, including the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals."
Narrative
This general education course was launched as part of a larger college initiative that included mandated "Online GenEds" which became a trend in the 2010-2020 era prior to COVID-19.
The intention of this initiative was to increase the digital fluency of college learners through online courses but it was a challenging endeavor for all instructors due to the double-edge sword of "mandated GenEd" and "mandated Online Learning". As with all new ventures, it was met with mixed reception as many learners did not want to take general education courses and wanted a strictly in-person learning experience.
Sample Feedback from Online Course Evaluation
The below is a (ironic) screenshot of one course evaluation that had 1 response from two sections including a total of 71 students.
Sample Feedback (informal)
These came from emails, chats, and even hand-written messages dropped off at my office
"I never knew what Environmental Citizenship was but I appreciate everything that you did to engage us in a topic that was so new to us. I taught my parents about it this weekend!"
"The content in the course is ok but I really like the summary videos that Andre provides every week in his announcements. Can we do that in all courses?"
"I really hated taking an online course but this one wasn't that bad. Andre made it interesting but I prefer taking my courses in-person as I am in the trades."
"Andre is great but I just don't understand why a carpentry student needs to take an online course?"
What did I learn from this experience?
Lesson One - Institutional Strategy does Impact Teaching Experience
The introduction of online mandated GenEds came with a flurry emotions. Although my experience was a positive one, it was a daily challenge convincing students that taking a GenEd in an online format was a "good thing".
Admittedly, the pivotal moment where I felt my lowest was when only one student filled out the course evaluation (see above). To be fair, the process was new and required some finesse as not all students received it on the first go but it was still disheartening that students did not take the time to complete the survey. Many expressed their gratitude in informal ways using email and chats but felt exhausted by the end of the term to complete a 6 page evaluation for every courses (which I understand completely).
To maintain momentum, I began filling my time with impromptu office hours and creating online summarizes of key concepts using digital authoring tools outside the college LMS. This improved the engagement significantly during the term and enabled me to collect feedback across the terms.
Lesson Two - Trades & Citizenship: A Success Story...
I once had a group of carpentry students take the course. Understandably, there was mized emotions during the term as they felt frustrated that this course was "taking away" from their shop time.
The success of their learning did not come when they were students but rather during the summer months when one of them contacted me with a genuine thank you. I learned that these students used some key concepts in the course to create a summer eco-business related to their future trade. They attributed their success in acquiring clients due to their understanding of environmental citizenship and its impact to community.
Albeit a bit late (after the course evaluation process), this was the most influential piece of feedback as it enabled me to continue investing in real world applications of GenEds with future cohorts.