EDUCATOR SURVEY

 

Welcome to the Sustainable Environmental Design Education (SEDE) Educator's Survey.

This questionnaire will be used to gather current information on sustainable environmental design education from post-secondary educators in the allied fields of architecture and landscape architecture. It will inform the development of a model curriculum for teaching sustainable design to current and future environmental design professionals. The information you supply will be used within the context of curriculum development only. Your further participation in the project is invited at the end of the survey.

Estimated time to completion of this survey is approximately 30 minutes.

"Sustainable environmental design" consists of the principles and practices of architecture and landscape architecture that protect environmental quality and human health, reduce environmental impacts resulting from physical changes to buildings and landscapes, and improve the life-cycle economics of natural, human, and financial investments in the built and natural environment. [Definition for this survey.]

INSTRUCTIONS: Complete the survey and click the "Submit Survey" button at the end when finished.

 

 
Part ONE. PROGRAM INFORMATION

 

1. Is sustainable environmental design taught at your institution?
Yes No Don't know

If Yes, in which discipline(s)?
Architecture Energy or resource management Landscape
Construction Engineering Interiors
Planning
Other (specify):

 

2. Are students interested in learning about sustainable environmental design at your institution?

Yes No Don't know

Additional comments:

 

3. Are faculty interested in teaching sustainable environmental design at your institution?

Yes No Don't know  
Additional comments:

 

4. What environmental design related degree programs are offered at your institution?
(Check all that apply followed by program names (e.g., A.A., Building Construction).)
Degrees Program(s) Estimated # of Students in Program(s)
  A.A./ A.S.
B.A./ B.S.
  B.ARCH./ B.L.A.
M.A./ M.S.
M.ARCH./ M.L.A.
Ph.D.
Other (specify):

 

 

Part TWO. COURSE INFORMATION + RESOURCES

 

5. What specific courses include sustainable environmental design topics at your institution?
(If None, leave table blank.)
# Course Title Instructor Name Course Format Course Type
1
2
3
4
5

Additional comments:

 

6. Who teaches the sustainable environmental design courses above? (Check all that apply.)
Full-time faculty Part-time/Adjunct faculty
Graduate students Invited Guest Lecturers
Other (specify):

 

7. What are the most common formats for teaching the sustainable environmental design courses above? (Check all that apply.)

Single Instructor

 Team Taught - Interdisciplinary
Team Taught - Within Discipline Don't Know
Other (specify):

 

8. Do any of your sustainable environmental design faculty offer continuing education courses for landscape or architecture professionals?

Yes No Don't Know

Additional comments:

 

9. What topics are covered in these sustainable environmental design courses? (Check all that apply.)

A. DESIGN + PLANNING

 B. ENERGY CONSERVATION + CONVERSION
Interiors Glazing
Site Heat island
Neighborhood Insulation
Campus Lighting
City Low energy cooling
Region Passive solar heating
Global Photovoltaics
  Shading
  Solar hot water
   

C. INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

D. MATERIAL SELECTION: BUILDINGS + LANDSCAPES

Indoor air quality Compostable
Thermal comfort Low embodied energy
Visual comfort Low toxicity
  Recyclable

 

 Recycled content
   
E. PROCESS + DOCUMENTATION:
DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, + DEMOLITION 		F. WASTE REDUCTION + RESOURCE RECOVERY
Building codes Brownfield redevelopment
Green specifications Building reuse
LEED™ certification/evaluation Construction + demolition waste management
Requests For Qualifications (RFQ's) Light pollution
Team building (e.g., with clients, consultants,...) Material reuse
   

G. WATER CONSERVATION + REUSE

H. ECONOMICS
Greywater systems Alternative financing (e.g., energy efficient mortgages)
Low flow fixtures Cost-benefit analysis
Rainwater catchment Incentive and grant programs
Stormwater management Life-cycle assessment
Waste (black) water systems  
Xeriscaping  

 

  
I. OTHER (SPECIFY)

 

10. What book and/or video resources have you found most informative for learning about sustainable environmental design?
(List here.)

 

And, what electronic resources (web sites, CD's, or software) have you found most informative for learning about sustainable environmental design? (List here.)

 

11. What prior education or experience do you feel has qualified you to teach sustainable environmental design?
(Check all that apply.)
Academic degree or certificate Courses and workshops
Self-directed reading (books, magazines, Internet) Professional practice or consulting

Field experience and observation

 Not applicable

Other (specify):

 

Part THREE. NEEDS ASSESSMENT

 

12. What obstacles have you encountered in developing sustainable environmental design courses at your institution?

No significant obstacles encountered
No funding for elective courses like sustainable design
Limited to introductory or survey course(s) only
Lack of computer software and hardware to support curriculum
Insufficient faculty knowledge to teach sustainable design practices or topics
Sustainable design not integrated with other parts of the curriculum (such as design or practice courses)

Other (specify):

 

13. Identify and rank the topics that are not adequately covered in your sustainable environmental design courses. Highest priority is topic #1. (NOTE: These Topics correspond to those used in Question #9.)
Topic Ranking
A. Design + Planning
B. Energy Conservation + Conversion
C. Indoor Environmental Quality
D. Materials Selection
E. Process + Documentation
F. Waste Reducation + Resource Recovery
G. Water Conservation + Reuse
H. Economics

I. Other topics (specify):

Additional Comments:

 

14. What instructional resources could help you improve the teaching of sustainable environmental design?
Videos Computer tools (e.g., spreadsheets, databases, energy software)
Books Faculty professional development opportunities
Web sites A model curriculum

Other resources (specify) or Additional Comments:

 

15. If you selected "model curriculum" above, what are the key elements you would like to see included in such a resource package?

 

16. Do you think that sustainable environmental design education should be required for future landscape and architecture professionals (for example, as part of the licensing exam or professional school accreditation requirements)?
Yes No Don't know

Why or why not?

 

 

Part FOUR. RELATED CAMPUS GREENING EFFORTS

 

17. Has your campus implemented any sustainable environmental design practices in its facilities or operations?
Yes No Don't know

If Yes, what are they?

 

18. Could (or do) these sustainable environmental design practices relate to the teaching mission?
Yes No Don't know

If Yes, how?


 

Part FIVE. NEXT STEPS

 

19. Would you like to be an active contributor to the development of this post-secondary model curriculum for sustainable environmental design education?
Yes No

If Yes, how would you like to contribute?
Attend regional workshop Join informal electronic educator's listserv
Contribute syllabi Offer curriculum review and contribute ideas
Evaluate curriculum materials as test-site Organize local educators network

Other (specify):

 

20. Can you recommend other educators that we should contact for participation in the project?
# Name E-mail Phone Number
1
2
3
4
5

 

21. Please provide us with your contact information.

Name:

Title:
Department:
School:
E-mail address:

 

Thank you for completing this survey on Sustainable Environmental
Design Education.

PLEASE CLICK ON THE "SUBMIT SURVEY" BUTTON NOW TO SEND YOUR FORM.