Students fine-tuning their fall course loads this month might notice something different in a number of UMD class descriptions: a PALS program designation, signaling courses that double as a civic exercise. Launching its second year this fall with a partnership in Howard County, the Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability, or PALS program—, which offers students an opportunity to apply their program knowledge to real-world challenges facing Maryland communities — is offering 29 sustainability–oriented courses campus-wide for both graduate and undergraduate students.
“We are very excited about the number and variety of coursework this semester,” said Uri Avin, the program’s director. “PALS is not your typical classroom experience. Students will be engaging in real issues in sustainable practice, with the course results helping to shape outcomes within the community.”
Developed by the University’s National Center for Smart Growth, PALS pairs faculty expertise with student ingenuity to tackle sustainability issues facing Maryland communities. PALS partners with one or two communities each academic year, matching customized coursework with the specific challenges described by the partner community. Offering on-the-ground civic engagement, PALS coursework not only provides a living case study for students, it offers a rewarding social experience and best mirrors future professional interactions within their disciplines. PALS initiated its first partnership with The City of Frederick, Maryland in September of 2014, adding a second, smaller collaboration with College Park in January. The partnership with Howard County makes PALS the largest action-learning program in the country.
“The exercises we completed in this class were unlike any I’ve ever experienced in or outside academic work,” said UMD Junior Matthew Reilly, whose College Park Scholars course created a composting and organics recovery plan for Frederick restaurants last semester.
Past PALS courses have tackled a variety of sustainability issues, including water quality, small business growth and greenhouse gas emissions. Students actively engage with community stakeholders throughout the semester to develop recommendations, critical information and discovery. Trading the classroom for the community also creates a forum for cross-disciplinary learning, where students and faculty from a variety of disciplines can draw on one another’s’ unique skills, leverage information and data and offer valuable perspectives.
“What sets PALS courses apart from a typical learning experience is that we are working in tandem with all these other courses across campus,” said Assistant Professor of Architecture Jana Vandergoot, who is teaching her second PALS course this fall. “We’ve had so many great interactions between faculty and students from other programs. It’s been a bit of a game-changer for my students.”
To learn more about the PALS program, visit the program website.