Designed for use in any introductory course that deals with human-environment relationships, the modules actively engage students in problem solving, challenge them to think critically, invite them to participate in the process of scientific inquiry, and involve them in cooperative learning. Brief descriptions of the modules follow. Each module consists of several units, each of which focuses on an aspect of the module's theme. The core of each unit is a variety of student activities that have been designed to be challenging but not baffling. The activities vary in type, in the time they require, in skill level assumed, and in the skills developed.
Many activities link the student's own lives with processes of local, regional, and global change.
Each unit comes with some background reading to introduce the topic. An instructor who uses an entire module will have material for roughly two weeks of classes. Participants in the summer workshops have played a key role in developing these modules. Coming from diverse institutional backgrounds and contributing their varied experiences and areas of expertise, these participants have broadened the range of materials and activities with the goal of making each module accessible to students and instructors in a great variety of educational settings. The modules have also benefitted from the pedagogy experts and global change experts who have participated in each of the summer workshops.