Susan Mooney

Susan Mooney

Professor of Environmental Science & Studies

smooney@stonehill.edu
508-565-1171
Shields 104
Env. Sciences & Studies

Biography

Raised in a working class family, labor is defined by perspiration and loss of autonomy. Sometimes, it is still hard for me to believe that I'm free to think about whatever I find most compelling - and guide young people to think about the same thing.

For more than ten years now, I've committed myself to a pressing set of issues - our global, and local, environmental crisis. I focus my teaching on bringing students from ignorance to knowledge to action, personal and political. I work with colleagues across the campus, especially on our Environmental Stewardship Council, to help the college decrease its ecological footprint - and its carbon footprint.

I see all of this work as part of the mission of the college, encouraging our students to "think, act and lead with courage to create a more just and compassionate world." I attempt to empower my students - and they in turn push me to greater action. And that even leads me back to perspiration - cycling to campus now!

Mooney's current research is in the scholarship of teaching and learning. Such work grows out of her own teaching experiences as well as her work as Dean of General Education.

For example, observations of various Learning Communities has led her, along with colleague Karen Talentino, to attempt to quantify the impact of these curricular experiences on the development of psychological attributes which contribute to future success.

After a pilot study has indicated significant improvement in certain parameters, they expanded research to include all LCs offered in the fall of 2007.

Data analysis continues during the summer of 2008, with publication of any significant results expected in 2009. Other scholarly interests include improving travel pedagogies, implementing best practices in science education, and effective community-based learning.

Education

  • B.S., Biology, Stonehill College, 1982
  • M.A.,Biological Sciences, SUNY Buffalo, 1984
  • Ph.D., Philosophy of Science, Boston University, 1991

Research Interests

  • Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
  • Integrative learning
  • Transformative learning
  • Pedagogies of Engagement

Courses Taught

  • Environmental Ethics
  • Principles of Environmental Science

Selected Publications, Articles & Presentations

  • "Transformative learning and teaching of environmental science, from college sophomores to urban children." with Karen Anderson. Science Education & Civic Engagement: An International Journal3(2); 38-42,Summer 2011.
  • "Philosophy in the Field: Seeing, Knowing, Doing." Philosophy in the Contemporary World 17(2): 48-57, Fall 2010.
  • "Tips for Cheap Trips: Short-term Travel Courses on a Shoestring." With Karen Talentino. The Teaching Professor, January 2008.
  • "Stonehill College: A Four-Year Program to Create a Campus Community of Learners." pp. 54-55. In Spear, K., with others. (2003) Learning Communities in Liberal Arts Colleges. National Learning Communities Project Monograph Series. Olympia, WA: The Evergreen College, Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education, in cooperation with the American Association for Higher Education.
  • "H.J. Muller and R.A. Fisher on the evolutionary significance of sex." Journal of the History of Biology 28 (1995): 133-149.
  • "Liberating Science: General Chemistry, Interdisciplinary Learning Communities and Informed Citizenship." With Katie Conboy, Louis Liotta, and Karen Talentino. Promoting the Liberal Sciences: Science as Liberal Education, a conference co-sponsored by the American Conference of Academic Deans and the Phi Beta Kappa Society, Washington, DC, October 26, 2007.
  • "Children as Urban Ecologists: A SENCER program for pre-service teachers." With Stephanie McNamara '07. Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER) Capitol Hill Poster Session (Rayburn House office Building) and Presentation (Sumner School), March 12, 2007, Washington, DC.
  • "Bridging the Gaps: Focusing Campus Efforts on Civic Engagement." With Nuala Boyle (Mission Division), Rebecca Williamson (Student Affairs Division) and Brian Jenkins '06. Association of American Colleges and Universities conference on The Civic Engagement Imperative: Student Learning and the Public Good. November 12, 2005, Providence, RI.

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