{"id":2627,"date":"2026-04-30T16:56:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T15:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/learning-design\/?p=2627"},"modified":"2026-04-30T16:56:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T15:56:08","slug":"making-sustainability-visible-in-physics-small-curriculum-changes-with-strategic-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/learning-design\/?p=2627","title":{"rendered":"Making Sustainability Visible in Physics: Small Curriculum Changes with Strategic Impact"},"content":{"rendered":"

Martin Braun ~ STEM staff tutor<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Sustainability is one of the defining societal challenges of our time, and higher education has a crucial role to play in helping learners understand both its scientific foundations and its wider social implications. For some disciplines, this connection is obvious. For others, physics among them is less so.<\/p>\n

An eSTEeM funded project brought together colleagues from across The Open University who explored whether sustainability can be embedded into physics modules in ways that are authentic, achievable, and educationally meaningful.<\/p>\n

The answer, based on evidence from three undergraduate physics modules, is a clear and encouraging yes.<\/p>\n

Why sustainability in physics matters<\/h1>\n

Physics is often characterised as a \u201chard, pure\u201d discipline, focused on abstract models, mathematical formalism, and universal laws. This has historically pushed social and environmental considerations to the margins of the curriculum. Yet physics underpins many of the systems at the heart of sustainability debates: energy generation, climate modelling, materials, transport, and infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Recent external drivers, including the QAA Physics Subject Benchmark Statement (2025)<\/a>, now explicitly encourage sustainability to be included in physics degrees. Internally, the OU\u2019s commitment to environmental sustainability and civic responsibility strengthens this imperative. The challenge is doing so in ways that preserve disciplinary integrity and do not add unsustainable workload for staff.<\/p>\n

The eSTEeM project addressed this challenge by reframing sustainability not as additional content, but as visibility and relevance. Rather than asking where new topics could be added, the team asked where sustainability was already present, but implicit.<\/p>\n

A light touch, discipline authentic approach<\/h1>\n

The project focused on three core undergraduate modules, SM123 (Level 1), S217 (Level 2) and SM381 (Level 3) reaching over 1,300 physics students. The approach followed three main steps.<\/p>\n

First, a bespoke VLE audit tool was developed to examine modules week by week. This allowed student and associate lecturer auditors to identify points where existing activities already aligned with sustainability ideas, the UN Sustainable Development Goals<\/a>\u00a0(SDGs), or Key Sustainability Competencies<\/a> (KSCs) such as systems thinking, futures thinking and strategic action.<\/p>\n

Second, sustainability was made explicit but lightweight. Short introductions to the KSCs were added to module materials, and relevant competencies were clearly signposted within existing activities. Importantly, this did not require rewriting core content or changing learning outcomes.<\/p>\n

Third, sustainability was reinforced through assessment using brief reflective prompts embedded in selected assessment points. These prompts encouraged students to consider the wider implications of their disciplinary learning without increasing marking burden for tutors.<\/p>\n

\"Slide<\/a>
A slide from a presentation by Cox, et al, Sustainability snapshots: Insights into developing ESD on an institutional scale at the Open University. (Click to open in new tab.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This \u201clight touch\u201d model was deliberately designed to be scalable, realistic, and transferable.<\/p>\n

What difference did it make?<\/h1>\n

Evaluation used pre\u2011 and post\u2011intervention surveys with a control group. The clearest impact was on student awareness.<\/p>\n

After the interventions:<\/p>\n