Sustainable Mountain Development Advocacy Through Student Engaged Learning by Observing International Mountain Day: The Case of Utah Valley University

• Main Authors: Baktybek Abdrisaev, R.E. Rusty Butler, Yanko Dzhukev
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: International Mountain Society 2020-11-01
• Series: Mountain Research and Development
• Subjects: adult students; student clubs; student engaged learning; utah international mountain forum; women of the mountains conference
• Online Access: https://bioone.org/doi/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-19-00070.1
• ISSN: 0276-4741; 1994-7151

Target 4.7 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development aims to ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including through education for sustainable development. To implement this, students at Utah Valley University (UVU) advocate for sustainable mountain development (SMD) in Utah and elsewhere through a student engaged learning (SEL) model. SEL encourages students to solve real-world problems as a group, with a faculty member serving as a mentor. This paper discusses the implementation of a semester-based SEL initiative to observe International Mountain Day (IMD) and analyzes its outcomes. Utah International Mountain Forum, a coalition of student clubs at UVU, is an extracurricular part of the university's SEL model that involves students, especially nontraditional or adult learners, in SMD activities beyond a single semester. Adult students enhance or change their careers while taking care of families. They have diverse experiences, maturity, and responsibilities. To overcome adult students' reluctance or inability to engage in club activities, the model provides incentives, such as flexible activity schedules, integration of their experience into group efforts, and recognition at the United Nations level. Through the curricular programs, mentors build stronger ties with adult students and encourage them to join Utah International Mountain Forum. Since 2010, students have been encouraged to contribute experience and initiatives, solicit funds, and gain recognition for SMD advocacy as part of IMD at UVU. Our assessment shows that students learn how to tie their own experiences to SMD, implement initiatives collaboratively, build partnerships on different levels, and then use accumulated knowledge for engagement in SMD activities beyond the semester. Thus, UVU's model of observing IMD could serve as another important United Nations experiential learning initiative.