Dr. Pinar Batur, Martin Burstein ‘23, Robin Bleicher ‘23, Departments of Sociology and Environmental Studies
Our Ford Scholars Project consisted of three facets: designing a curriculum to teach high school students about the climate crisis, teaching our curriculum in a two-week intensive course, and conducting individual research projects to be incorporated into Dr. Batur’s syllabus for fall classes.
We spent the month of June designing a curriculum for high school students that integrated social science into a comprehensive understanding of the climate crisis. Our lecture-based classes laid the groundwork for theoretical concepts such as earth systems, ecosystem resilience, and environmental racism. These complex concepts were further developed by our six distinguished guest speakers, all of whom were Vassar professors or alumnae/i, who generously joined our class to add their valuable insights.
After taking part in our morning classes, the students engaged in corresponding afternoon activities led either by Vassar’s Exploring College program or the Environmental Cooperative. Each day concluded in a homework session during which we met with individual students to answer questions, give supplementary materials, or proof-read assignments. We also mentored three students each and made ourselves constantly available to them throughout the two-week intensive. The course culminated in two final projects for the students: a reflective narrative about their personal experience with the climate crisis, and a letter written to their city council members focused on climate mitigation and adaptation.
Meanwhile, throughout June and July, we have each researched individual projects for Dr. Batur’s materials for her fall class. Robin’s research focuses on First Nations Peoples and their response to the climate crisis, COVID-19, and the Black Lives Matter Movement that is sweeping the globe. Martin’s research focuses on the Navajo Nation and their fight against environmental racism and COVID-19. We are excited to share our research in Dr. Batur’s fall classes.
A photo taken during our curriculum planning sessions in June.
A student’s journal entry after using iNaturalist to identify a plant in their area.
A student’s Padlet entry, used as the slide for her digital narrative. She compiled resources that explain the problems with the retail industry and climate change.