essedesignguide.org

• The evolution of the NASA-supported Earth System Science Education (ESSE) program at four U.S. universities demonstrates a diversity of approaches for developing a rich, interdisciplinary understanding of Earth as a system and provides insights about the common institutional processes involved.
  
  

• Since the introduction of a new course or a new curriculum can challenge the infrastructure of established institutions, creating a unique thematic emphasis is vital, if departments and administrators are to be persuaded to proceed.
  
  
• Courses should be designed for all students and not just science majors. In terms of content, courses must achieve a balance between basic principles and technical depth.
  
  
• Team teaching is highly valuable but requires careful coordination and distribution of the course load.
  
  
• Partnerships within an institution are important. Partnerships between faculty members take time to evolve, especially when multiple departments are involved.
  
  
• ESS faculty must strive to educate academic administrators about the value of interdisciplinary costs and efforts in order to establish support mechanisms for sustaining such initiatives.