Creative Change Educational Solutions works with colleges and universities to develop, offer, and support innovative courses and programs focused on sustainability, democracy, and community. We do this by:

• developing curricula and programs in partnership with university researchers and content experts
• adapting our programs for k-12 schools into for-credit courses for teachers, and
• connecting university programs to K-12 schools and community organizations.

Examples of Our Work with Universities:

• In partnership with Purdue University, we developed Our Town, a high school curriculum on the science and economics of brownfields redevelopment.

• We are collaborating with the Michigan State University Museum to develop a curriculum on sustainable food systems. The curriculum is part of the Voices Project – an on-line resource of materials to build greater understanding about farmers, farming and food at the local level. The new curriculum is aimed at adult learners and is designed for use in informal settings in communities, introductory university courses, and other educational settings.
  
• Creative Change has collaborated with Eastern Michigan University's Social Foundations of Education Program in the Department of Teacher Education to offer graduate courses on sustainability for practicing teachers. To view current and past course offerings click here.
  
• We've worked with the Center for Sustainable Community Development (CSCD) at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, to support their k-12 partnership programs on renewable energy. Creative Change's experience with teacher education, curriculum, and k-12 funding streams provides a critical link between the CSCD's technical expertise and schools in its region. Our support included advising the CSCD on current K-12 issues, identifying funding sources for school-based renewable energy programs, and assisting with proposal writing and strategic planning to sustain initiatives.
  
• We've worked with the University of Michigan Community Scholars Program, an undergraduate program focused on community service, social justice, and academic study. Creative Change assisted in the design and teaching of a freshman seminar on sustainability taught by Dr. Jim Crowfoot, supervised individual students on their community projects, and served on the program's advisory board.
  
  You can read more about the sustainability seminar in the following articles co-authored by Jim Crowfoot and Susan Santone, Creative Change's Executive Director:
  
• "Collaborative Learning About Unsustainability: An Interdisciplinary Seminar to Help Achieve Sustainability"
• "The Role of Community-based Projects in Teaching Sustainability."
  
  Both articles appear in Engaging the Whole of Service-Learning, Diversity, and Learning Communities, Joseph Galura, Penny Pasque, David Schoem, and Jeffery Howard, eds. (OCSL Press at the University of Michigan Press. 2004)
  For more information: mjcsl@umich.edu