TORI DERR
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  • The Engagement Lab
    • Creating Sustainable Communities
    • Environmental Education
    • Greenspace Planning
  • Research
  • Teaching
  • People
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Teaching
My teaching philosophy is based on more than 20 years of engagement in formal and informal education. I hope to help students enter the world with the tools to be thoughtful and compassionate practitioners who seek information, perspectives, and innovations to make the world a better place. My goals as a teacher are thus to (i) develop students’ empathy toward natural, social and cultural environments; (ii) deepen students’ understanding of how education, policies, and plans affect these environments; and (iii) empower students to create positive change in the world. I have taught courses on a range of topics, from design and communication, to global cities, to forest restoration.  Sample syllabi and publications about teaching and pedagogy. Details of student advising are provided on the people page.
University of California-California State University Knowledge-Action Network
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The "KAN" is a Knowledge Action Network among faculty of the UC and CSU systems in California to support transformative climate action and sustainability education. During 2019, the KAN curated the UC-CSU NXTerra project, an open access digital platform dedicated to providing college educators from all disciplines the best educational resources to support the teaching of climate change, critical sustainability studies, and climate justice.  This team of scholar activists believes that as our students go on to shape the “next Earth,” they will need the full range, diversity, and interconnections that all our disciplines can bring to the table. The website officially launched November 18, 2019. Visit it here!
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​Courses Taught and Sample Syllabi

At the California State University Monterey Bay:
  • Critical Thinking and Communication in Environmental Studies (ENSTU 300)
  • Social and Ecological Justice Service Learning (ENSTU 384S)
  • Research Methods in Environmental Studies (ENSTU 350)
  • Sustainable City Year Project course (ENTSU 471) - with work archived at SCYP Seaside and on The Engagement Lab page of this site.
  • Environmental Studies Independent Capstone Course (ENSTU 403)
  • Projects in Environmental Education capstone (ENSTU 472) and Capstone Integration Seminar (ENSTU 410)
  • Environmental Thought and Practice (ENSTU 412)
  • Critical Pedagogy for Environmental Education (ENSTU 365)
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At the University of Colorado, Boulder:
  • ​​Sustainable Design Practice: Designing for and with Schools (ENVD 4363), 3 semesters
  • ​Restorative Commons (ENVD 3300), 2 semesters
  • Global Cities:  Cities of the Global South (ENVD 4361), 1 semester
  • Urban Planning Capstone (ENVD 4420), 3 semesters
  • Environmental Impact Assessment (ENVD 4023), 5 semesters
  • Landscape History (ENVD 3134), 1 semester
  • ​Sustainable Design and Planning (ENVD 4764), 1 semester
  • ​Design and Communication 1 (ENVD 1052), 2 semesters
  • Design and Communication 2 (ENVD 1102), 1 semester
  • Urban Planning Studio (ENVD 2120), 1 semester
  • Landscape Design Studio (ENVD 2130), 1 semester/2 sections
  • Community Engagement (ENVD 4361), 1 semester
  • Environment & Behavior (ENVD 3001), 1 semester
  • Forest Restoration (ENVS 4100), 1 semester
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The UC-CSU Knowledge-Action Network at the end of our February workshop at UC Santa Barbara
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Projects in Environmental Education capstone students, celebrating their final presentation, Spring 2019
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Letting loose after the CSUMB Environmental Studies Capstone Festival, Spring 2018
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Planning Capstone Students with their final projects, University of Colorado, ENVD 4420, Spring 2016
Publications about Teaching and Pedagogy in Higher Education

​Derr, V. 2017.  Teens, Power Tools, and Green Schools: Education for Sustainability through a University Environmental Design Program and Middle School Partnership. Journal of Applied Environmental Education and Communication. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1533015X.2017.1322010

Derr, V., L. Malinin, M. Banasiak.  2017. Engaging citizens and transforming designers:  Analysis of a campus-community partnership through the lens of children’s participation and democratic education. Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship 9(2): 53-64.

Derr, V. 2015. Integrating community engagement and children’s voices into design and planning education.  Co-Design: The International Journal of Co-Creation in Design and the Arts. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15710882.2015.1054842 
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Slideshow images from university-middle school partnership (top article, left)
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  • Home
  • The Engagement Lab
    • Creating Sustainable Communities
    • Environmental Education
    • Greenspace Planning
  • Research
  • Teaching
  • People