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Sustainable Design Literacy: Developing and Piloting Sulitest Design Module

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Research into Design for a Connected World

Part of the book series: Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies ((SIST,volume 134))

Abstract

The Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD) decade saw positive changes but also mixed results in higher education. Innovative pedagogies are required to implement education for sustainable development (ESD) and it appears current approaches in higher education are sufficient. ESD is about active teaching and learning approaches that encourage students as the present and future citizens to develop sustainable development literacy and skills through critical reflection and experiential learning. Globally several tests have been developed to assess student literacy as an outcome of their learning. Sulitest® is one of these and aims particularly to respond to the literacy and knowledge requirements of the SDGs while also testing specific discipline knowledge through subtests. In comparison to general sustainable development literacy, sustainability literacy for design disciplines is less well defined. Through literature review and expert discussions, this study identified nine dimensions of knowledge. The authors describe the multi-institutional development and testing of a design submodule through expert consultation. This paper then discusses the results from pilot testing. Limited results from the survey pilot indicate poor knowledge of concepts identified and challenges in identifying and agreeing on relevant knowledge. Based on previous data collection and analysis regarding the design submodule we address the question: “Why do we need to measure sustainable Design knowledge?”

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/.

  2. 2.

    See description and materials at https://ess.osu.edu/research/assessment-sustainability-knowledge-ask.

  3. 3.

    See description and materials at http://sustainability.umich.edu/campus/SCIP.

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Acknowledgements

World Design Summit, Cumulus and FFD.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Design, Swinburne University, Hawthorn, VIC3122, Australia

    Gavin Melles

  2. Kedge Design School, Toulon, France

    Susana Paixao-Barradas

Authors
  1. Gavin Melles
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  2. Susana Paixao-Barradas
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gavin Melles .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Product Design and Manufacturing, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, Bangalore, India

    Amaresh Chakrabarti

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Melles, G., Paixao-Barradas, S. (2019). Sustainable Design Literacy: Developing and Piloting Sulitest Design Module. In: Chakrabarti, A. (eds) Research into Design for a Connected World. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol 134. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-5974-3_47

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-5974-3_47

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-13-5973-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-13-5974-3

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