2017 7th World Engineering Education Forum (WEEF) 648 Effective use of Problems in Learning Environments for Attaining Environmental Sustainability Outcomes Azmahani Abdul Aziz 1,2 , Khairiyah Mohd Yusof 1,3 , Aziatul Niza Sadikin 1,3 Amirmudin Udin 4 , Jamaludin Mohamad Yatim 2 , Muhammad Azril Hezmi 2 1 Center for Engineering Education, 2 Faculty of Civil Engineering, 3 Faculty of Chemical & Energy Engineering, 4 Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Malaysia Corresponding author: azmahani@utm.my Abstract — The paper seeks to describe the utilization of problems for imbuing environmental sustainability and its impact on students' knowledge and behavior change towards sustainability among first year engineering students at all universities in Malaysia. The problem is set in a real world setting to integrate the three pillars of sustainable development (environment, economy and social aspects). To make it realistic, the related industries and agencies are solicited and included in the problem. The problem is framed towards ensuring a learning environment that develops the four domains of knowledge influencing environmental behavior: declarative, procedural, effectiveness and social. A qualitative study was employed in order to answer the research questions. Student’s reflection journals written at the end of each stage of the problem were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results showed the convergence of the four domains of knowledge in the problem and supports with CPBL learning environment have changed students’ perception associated with sustainability on knowledge, skills, responsibility and readiness to be a future engineer. Keywords— Environmental Sustainability, Learning Environment, Student-Centred Learning I. INTRODU CTION Educating engineering students on sustainable development (SD) is a major concern in the 21st Century. Without the inculcation of SD, engineering students, as future innovators and problem solvers, may well be part of the problem, instead of providing the solution. Therefore, equipping students with the appropriate knowledge, skills and attitude towards deep understanding about sustainability is essential through effective educational approaches. A possible approach is through the use of realistic problems, since they were proven to be effective in engaging learning and promoting behavior change [1]. Student-centered learning environment such as Problem-Based Learning (PBL) has been proven to engage students in deep learning, as well as change attitudes and inculcate various professional skills [2,3,4]. Therefore, in this paper, CPBL model and its implementation in ‘Introduction to Engineering’ course was observed. To scaffold the development of students learning and problem solving skills, a systematic and supportive learning environment was introduced through Cooperative Problem- Based Learning. Moreover, there is a need in instilling our future engineer about the importance of understanding on sustainability issues that could reflect on their ecological behavior. This study was conducted to investigate the used of problems for imbuing sustainability among first year chemical engineering students in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, and its impact on students’ knowledge and behavior change towards sustainability. At the end of this study, a model of design problem in teaching sustainability will be recommended. II. LITERATURE REVIEW Sustainable Development (SD) is a concept of resource use that aims at meeting human needs while preserving the environment for the needs of present and the future. The term SD has been popularized in “Our Common Future” of the Brundtland Report published by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) in 1987. The importance of ESD in reducing the impact on the social, economic and environmental burdens by efficient use of the natural resources, reducing energy consumption, reducing emissions, minimizing waste, more efficient land use and creating better employment conditions has been realized [5,6]. Unfortunately, at the same time, society, economy and the environment are faced with the challenges of economic crises, climatic change and natural disasters [7]. The root causes of the environmental problems are the unsustainable patterns of consumption and production, many of which are unaffected by environmental laws and regulations only. It has been found that the major contributor to the unsustainable future is rooted in human behaviour [8]. Hence, promoting adoption of sustainability awareness and behavior are the major contributor to protect the environment and enhance human well-being. One of the ways to achieving this goal is through education. The Ministry of Education, Malaysia (MOE) has played an assertive role in its efforts to develop a curriculum on environmental education to educate students to be more 978-1-5386-1523-2/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE