River of the Dammed
Initial Publication Date: June 6, 2013
Summary
This activity is designed to engage students in an active debate about land use and planning, human populations, ecosystems, and sustainability by assigning every student to a "community" along a theoretical meandering river.
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Context
Audience
This is used in an upper level environmental geology course.
Skills and concepts that students must have mastered
Students should have a general understanding of fluvial geomorphology in regards to meandering rivers, as well as a general understanding of dams and levees.
How the activity is situated in the course
This is a stand-alone exercise typically done in the second half of the semester.
Goals
Content/concepts goals for this activity
Understanding pros and cons of dams and levees, importance of wetlands, and river ecosystems
Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity
Evaluating various land use changes along a river system, synthesis of ideas
Other skills goals for this activity
working in groups, finding and reading peer-reviewed journal articles, oral presentation, debate
Description and Teaching Materials
This activity is designed to engage students in an active debate about land use and planning, human populations, ecosystems, and sustainability by assigning every student to a "community" along a theoretical meandering river.
River of the Dammed (Acrobat (PDF) 229kB Apr29 13)Teaching Notes and Tips
Teaching notes can be found on the last page of the file. Note it is important to assign students into groups at least a week before the planned debate.
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Assessment
Assessment is based on their ability to incorporate material from the peer-reviewed journal articles, as well as assigned resources during the debate. I make notes about participation of every student in order to determine if they are synthesizing information and considering both sides of the various debates, such as whether or not to construct a large dam.