Dr. Susan Nesbit

Professor of Teaching Emerita

Engineering education for sustainable development

Office:

Email: nesbit@civil.ubc.ca

Phone:

Website: blogs.ubc.ca

Biography

Dr. Nesbit is a leader in sustainability education with experience in course design, program design, and institutional change. Her teaching achievements, which include in introduction of service learning into undergraduate programs, and the successful development of on-line and blended courses in sustainability and engineering, have been cited by engineering educators across North America for their excellence. She is a co-director of the Masters of Engineering Leadership in Urban Systems.

Research Interests

Transdisciplinary education; Curricula design and assessment; Beliefs and attitude development in engineering education

Courses

CIVL 250 Engineering and Sustainable Development

CIVL 445 Civil Engineering Design Project I

CIVL 446 Civil Engineering Design Project II

CIVL 475 Environmental Stewardship in Civil Engineering

APSC 101 Introduction to Engineering I

Awards & Recognitions

  • 2011, Sustainability Teaching Fellowship, University of British Columbia
  • 2011, Curriculum Scholars Development Program, University of British Columbia

Publications

  • N. Roghanian, Nesbit, S., and Sibley, J., “Engaging alumni in EESD curriculum assessment”, in International Conference on Engineering Education for Sustainable Development, Vancouver, B.C., 2015.
  • N. C. Coops, Marcus, J., Construt, I., Frank, E., Kellett, R., Mazzi, E., Munro, A., Nesbit, S., Riseman, A., Robinson, J., Schultz, A., and Sipos, Y., “How an entry-level, interdisciplinary sustainability course revealed the benefits and challenges of a university-wide initiative for sustainability education”, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 16, no. 5, pp. 729 – 747, 2015.
  • S. Nesbit, Froese, T., Ivanov, A., and Sianchuk, R., “Curriculum Management and CEAB Outcome Reporting: Recent Activities at the University of British Columbia”, Canadian Engineering Education Association Annual Conference. Montreal, 2013.
  • C. Oliver, Nesbit, S., and Kelly, N., “Dissolving Dualisms: How Two Positivists Engaged with Non-Positivist Qualitative Research”, International Journal of Qualitative Methods, vol. 12, pp. 180-194, 2013.
  • S. Nesbit, Cruickshank, H., and Nesbit, J., “Educational Principles in Engineering Education for Sustainable Development”, 6th International Conference of Engineering Education for Sustainable Development. University of Cambridge, 2013.
  • J. Montgomery, Nesbit, S., Ellis, N., Froese, T., Staub-French, S., and Cruickshank, H., “Filling the Gap in Engineering Education for Sustainability: Developing a Cohort-based Masters Degree in Engineering Leadership for Sustainability”, 6th International Conference of Engineering Education for Sustainable Development. University of Cambridge, 2013.
  • M. Wright, Campbell, C., Nesbit, S., Froese, T., and Wilton, S., “Student Perspectives on Graduate Attributes”, Canadian Engineering Education Association Annual Conference. Montreal, 2013.
  • S. Nesbit, Stano, J., Atwater, J. W., and Casavent, T., “Cascading Water: Combining GIS and System Analysis to Maximize Water Reuse”, Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, vol. 39, no. 12, pp. 1321-1327, 2012.
  • N. Kelly, Nesbit, S., and Oliver, C., “A Difficult Journey: Transitioning from STEM to SoTL”, International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, vol. 6, no. 1, 2012.
  • S. Nesbit, Sianchuk, R., Aleksejuniene, J., and Kindiak, R., “Influencing Student Beliefs About the Role of Civil Engineering in Society”, International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, vol. 6, no. 2, 2012.
  • N. Kelly, Nesbit, S., Millar-Young, J., Higgs, B., and Oliver, C., “STEM Scholars Transitioning to SoTL: Bumps, Barriers, and Bridges”, International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Conference . 2012.
  • N. Kelly, Nesbit, S., and Oliver, C., “From STEM to SoTL: A Journey into the Trading Zone”, International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Conference. 2011.
  • S. Nesbit and Mayer, A., “Shifting Attitudes: The Effects of Field Trip Experiences on Student Beliefs”, Transformative Dialogues , vol. 4, no. 2, 2010.
  • S. Nesbit and Fryer, M., “Service Learning in Civil Engineering: Does Reflecting on Community Service Learning Experience Facilitate an Understanding of Sustainability?”, Ninth International Research Conference on Service-Learning and Community Engagement. 2009.
  • M. Holden, Elverum, D., Nesbit, S., Robinson, J., Yen, D., and Moore, J., “Learning Teaching in the Sustainability Classroom”, Ecological Economics, vol. 64, pp. 521-533, 2008.
  • A. B. Dunwoody, Crammond, P. J., Nesbit, S., Paterson, C. S., and Teslenko, T. N., Fundamental Competencies: Preparing the 21st Century Engineer. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2006.