COMMUNICATION - Center for Environmental Leadership
Communication - Clearly and effectively exchange information, ideas, facts, and perspectives with persons inside and outside of an organization. (NACE Competencies for a Career-Ready Workforce)
Center for Environmental Leadership Sustainability Data Manager (Spring 2025)
In order to establish sustainability goals and track progress, we must understand the college’s past and current impacts. The Sustainability Data Manager plays a key role in developing easy-to-understand visualizations, making complex utility and waste data more accessible to the public. Duties and responsibilities include:
Enter and analyze data related to the college's energy usage, water usage, waste generation, composting and recycling rates;
Maintain and expand upon the dashboard currently available at https://public.tableau.com/profile/earlham.college.sustainability#!/
Work with members of the Student Sustainability Corps, and perhaps others on campus, to provide information that can be shared with the campus community to instigate behavioral change and conservation.
Learning Outcomes
Interpersonal Communication: Students will effectively communicate, both verbally and non-verbally in a manner that is clear, concise and authentic in a collaboratively diverse environment.
Collaboration: Students will engage respectfully and effectively with others in pursuit of shared goals and common purpose.
Self-Awareness: Students will have a strong sense of self and an understanding of their own needs and capabilities in the context of their work environment.
Critical Thinking/Problem-Solving: Students will have the ability to evaluate problems in multiple contexts, use inductive and deductive reasoning, and create a sound analysis that leads to a logical solution.
Social Responsibility: Students will be open to engagement with diverse people, groups, and ideas. Students will recognize a multiplicity of identities and be encouraged to develop relationships that meaningfully engage difference.
Information Literacy: Students will be self-directed learners who recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and apply the needed information effectively.
Skills / Knowledge
- Listen Actively
- Speak with Clarity and Precision
- Appropriate Tone and Choice
- Question Assumptions
Earning Criteria
Required
To earn the communication micro-credential, students must demonstrate proficiency in the following areas (Education Design Lab Durable Skills Sub-Competencies):
Listen Actively - Form productive working relationships; ensure that others feel heard and valued; and grasp and retain information.
Paraphrases the speakers concerns
Ask clarifying questions
Express empathy
Uses body language to show engagement
Refrains from giving advice
Speak w/ Clarity + Precision - Communicate ideas and information effectively, minimizing confusion and misinformation
You focus on what the speaker is saying
Establishes a clear protagonist
Provides clear call to action
Shows confidence
Uses time constraints effectively
Appropriate Tone + Choice - Adjust communication style and approach for different settings; build rapport; and communicate up and down the organization.
States disagreement clearly
Avoids defensiveness
Remains calm and positive
Demonstrates respect for other person(s)
Articulates clear request
Question Assumptions - Resist easy answers; probe more deeply; and improve the problem-solving process.
Identifies stated assumptions underlying the reasoning
Identifies hidden or unstated assumptions underlying the reasoning
Explains approach for determining if assumptions are true
Determines if assumptions should be accepted or rejected
Communication Visualizations: This experience involved translating existing data into clear, engaging, and easy-to-understand visualizations. Participants either updated an existing visualization or created a new one from scratch, with the goal of effectively conveying information in an interesting way.
Communication Rubric: This rubric assesses students' ability to clearly and effectively exchange information. It emphasizes active listening, clear and precise speaking, appropriate communication choices, and the ability to question assumptions.
For specific Learner/Earner results click on their assessment for this skills below.