Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 10, 2025
06:10
Using Generative Art to Convey Past and Future Climate Transitions
Published on: March 31, 2023
899
Da Vinci Project: Educating Sustainability Change-Makers with Transdisciplinary Challenge-Based Learning and Design
Fieke Sluijs1, Sabine G Uijl2, Eelco T C Vogt1
1Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis Group, Institute for Sustainable and Circular Chemistry (ISCC), Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 99, 3584 CG Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Journal of Chemical Education
|October 14, 2024
Summary
Higher education chemistry programs can foster sustainability change-maker competencies by integrating transdisciplinary challenge-based learning and design thinking. This approach equips students with essential skills for navigating sustainability transitions, including sustainable chemistry.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science and Chemistry Education
- Higher Education Pedagogy
Background:
- Traditional chemistry education often fails to equip students with the necessary skills and attitudes for sustainability transitions.
- There is a growing need for professionals capable of driving change towards sustainable practices within scientific fields.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the effectiveness of augmenting higher education curricula with transdisciplinary challenge-based learning and design thinking.
- To cultivate undergraduates' sustainability change-maker competencies within a chemistry degree program.
Main Methods:
- Implementation of the Da Vinci Project, an honors program at Utrecht University, combining challenge-based learning with design thinking.
- Five years of experience and reflection on student learning outcomes within the program.
Main Results:
- Transdisciplinary challenge-based education with design thinking uniquely fosters key sustainability change-maker competencies.
- Students developed critical skills including collaboration, communication, creative thinking, integrative problem-solving, and stakeholder engagement.
Conclusions:
- This pedagogical approach provides valuable opportunities for students to develop essential attitudes like openness, empathy, and resilience.
- The integrated learning model prepares students to navigate complex sustainability challenges, including the transition to sustainable chemistry.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:26Design Example: Sustainability in Concrete Building
161
As the construction industry moves towards more eco-friendly practices, concrete's adaptability and its ability to incorporate sustainable features make it a key material in the drive towards greener building solutions.
There are multiple approaches to achieve sustainability in a commercial concrete building. For instance, construct a concrete parking area under the building, utilizing pervious concrete paver blocks in open areas to facilitate rainwater collection through an underground...
There are multiple approaches to achieve sustainability in a commercial concrete building. For instance, construct a concrete parking area under the building, utilizing pervious concrete paver blocks in open areas to facilitate rainwater collection through an underground...
161
01:25Creative Thinking
508
Creative thinking encompasses innovative and unconventional methods for addressing challenges, often leading to groundbreaking solutions. Instead of focusing solely on enhancing existing systems, such as increasing smartphone battery capacity, creative thinking might inspire advancements like energy-efficient batteries or processors that minimize power consumption. This multidimensional approach underscores the importance of exploring novel pathways to innovation.
Divergent thinking is the...
Divergent thinking is the...
508
01:43Sustainable Development
13.2K
As the human population continues to grow and use resources, we must be mindful of our planet’s natural limits. Sustainable development provides a pathway to maintain and improve human life now while also ensuring that future generations will have the resources that they need. The long-term success of sustainability efforts rests on understanding the interplay between human actions and ecological systems.
13.2K
01:24Biodiversity and Human Values
13.0K
Human civilization relies on biodiversity in many ways. Sudden changes in species biodiversity result in environmental changes that can modify weather patterns and therefore human civilizations.
13.0K
01:22Purposive Learning
102
E. C. Tolman emphasized the purposiveness of behavior — the idea that much of our behavior is goal-directed. For instance, employees who aim for a promotion work diligently to meet their targets. Tolman argued that when classical conditioning and operant conditioning occur, the organism acquires certain expectations. In classical conditioning, a child might fear a dog because they expect it to bite. In operant conditioning, a person might consistently work overtime because they expect a...
102
01:26Impact: Problem Solving
221
In an experiment conducted during a Mars mission, a rover propels a projectile with an initial velocity, and the projectile rebounds after colliding with the Martian surface. To ascertain the maximum height attained by the projectile after this collision, the known restitution coefficient and acceleration due to gravity are employed.
By designating the launch point as the origin and utilizing kinematic equations, the vertical component of the projectile's velocity at the point of impact is...
By designating the launch point as the origin and utilizing kinematic equations, the vertical component of the projectile's velocity at the point of impact is...
221