Climate HQ aims to strengthen climate justice teaching, research, and outreach at SF State. A key way we are supporting climate justice teaching at SF State is through Climate Justice Faculty Learning Communities (CJ FLCs). Modeled on CEETL’s Teaching Squares, these FLCs will meet regularly throughout the semester to support each other and share best practices for teaching and learning focused on climate justice pedagogies.
Important Dates and Information
Deadline for submission: November 7th, 2025 at 5pm.
A $500 honorarium is provided
About Faculty Learning Communities
Climate HQ's Faculty Learning Communities have 3 main purposes:
1. To support faculty members to incorporate climate change and/or climate justice into their course/ project/pedagogy for the first time.
2. To support faculty members who already teach climate change and /or climate justice into their course/ project/pedagogy to deepen their teaching of social justice aspects of climate change into that course.
3. To facilitate connections among faculty teaching climate change and/or climate justice in different ways across campus.
Outcomes of Faculty Learning Communities
Faculty members will organize readings/resources and use those to create pedagogy outcomes such as:
- syllabus changes to their classes
- readings lists
- assignment/exercises
- lecture(s)
- project-based collaboration between departments
- community collaboration, and/or organization of a climate HQ event on campus.
Each FLC should consist of 3 - 6 SF State faculty, staff, or student members.
Both tenured/tenure-track and lecturer faculty are eligible to participate. Students are eligible so long as they are enrolled in at least one course at SF State during the semester they participate, have an interest in climate change and/or justice or experience working on climate change and/or justice, and are upper division (junior, senior) students or graduate students.
We encourage groups to include staff and student members because of the meaningful insights they can provide to teaching at SF State.
Note, because the purpose of the FLCs is to strengthen teaching, faculty members should comprise at least half the members of the FLC. Moreover, the FLC should provide a rationale if you are including students.
- Each FLC should plan to meet to work on their project for ten hours over the course of the semester. Ideally, facilitation of these meetings should rotate among FLC members.
- At the end of the spring semester, each FLC should submit a final report including:
- Your proposed pedagogy outcome organized around a creative work outcome including but not limited to: syllabus change, readings list, assignment/exercise, lecture(s), project-based collaboration between departments, community collaboration, and/or organization of a climate HQ event for campus.
- Group’s collaboration methodology: describe how you worked together (frequency of meetings, format of meetings, meeting modality) and address how the 10 hours were utilized.
- Your pedagogy shifts: How has your pedagogy changed as a result of participating in this FLC?
- At the end of the spring semester, each member of the FLC will fill out a survey describing what they gained from the FLC and submit it for honorarium processing. Compensation: Each member of the FLC will receive a $500 stipend for their full participation in the FLC.
FLCs will be chosen for funding using the following criteria:
- The extent to which the FLC will support faculty to incorporate climate change and / or climate justice into their course/ project/pedagogy for the first time; OR The extent to which the FLC will support faculty who already teach climate change and / or climate justice deepen their teaching of social justice aspects of climate change.
- The extent to which the FLC will facilitate connections among faculty teaching climate change and / or climate justice in different ways across campus.
- The feasibility of the proposed outcome and collaboration within the 10-hour commitment.
- The composition of FLC in relation to stated purpose of the group.
- The quality of the group’s curated resources for the FLC.
One person from the proposed FLC group should apply at this link and upload your 1–2-page narrative.
The narrative should describe the following:
- The topic your group is working on (2–3 sentences).
- What your group hopes to accomplish during the semester together, including an intended outcome (i.e., syllabus change, readings list, assignment/exercise, lecture(s), etc.) (1 paragraph).
- The rationale for the makeup of the FLC group: why does this group of people want to work on this together? (1 paragraph)
- How your group plans to get started with the work, including 2-3 curated resources that may help this process. (1 paragraph)
Some examples of a resource to use for the FLC are:
Connecting with Faculty
If you are interested in connecting with other faculty members in order to organize an FLC together, please post/respond to other interested faculty on this discussion board.
Looking for Ideas?
Here are some examples of completed Faculty Learning Communities:
Integrating Climate Justice into Metro Ethnic Studies Curriculum
Members of the Metro College Success Program in the College of Ethnic Studies
This FLC focused on climate displacement, linking global systems of colonialism, racism, and capitalism to students’ lived experiences of environmental inequities. The group developed a two-week curriculum exploring Indigenous worldviews, capitalism, and climate solutions, while also surveying students to ensure their voices informed the design. This work strengthens Metro’s social justice framework and equips students to think critically about climate, equity, and community resilience.
Elementary Education: Climate Justice Through Children’s Literature
Members from the Department of Elementary Education
This FLC explored how bilingual children’s books can spark meaningful conversations about climate justice with preschool and early elementary students. Their FLC centered on Jorge Argueta’s elemental picture book series, which connects young learners to Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind through culturally relevant stories. The group redesigned curriculum and created new SFSU course assignments that integrate read-alouds, art, and reflection activities, helping future teachers embed climate justice across early learning.
Latina/o Studies Climate and Environmental Justice Field Trips
Members of the Latina/Latino Studies department
Faculty in Latina/Latino Studies created lesson plans that link climate justice to community-based field trips. Their work highlights how Latina/o/x communities experience disproportionate climate impacts while also leading powerful organizing efforts. Courses now integrate field trips to local sites such as Hummingbird Farm and campus murals, helping students connect environmental justice issues with culture, art, and activism.
An Asian American Studies Approach to Climate Justice
Members of the Department of Asian American Studies
Asian American Studies faculty revitalized environmental justice teaching in their department by integrating new readings, films, and activities into multiple courses. Drawing on community-based frameworks, they emphasize how organizing and the humanities are central to climate justice. Students engaged with texts, films, and interactive activities—like a climate justice jeopardy game—to explore the intersections of race, culture, and environmental struggles.
Engineering & Climate Justice Faculty Learning Community
Members of the SFSU School of Engineering
Engineering faculty collaborated to embed climate justice into courses at every academic level. They designed assignments, projects, and lectures that merge technical and social perspectives—for example, exploring energy burdens, climate impacts of design choices, and equity in technology. Through this work, students gain a stronger understanding of how engineering solutions must address both climate science and justice concerns.