Teaching Hydrogeology

The field of hydrogeology is one of the largest employers of geologists. The fact that many geology graduates find employment in this field with a bachelor's degree emphasizes the importance of teaching hydrogeology well at the undergraduate level. Below, you will find a variety of resources for educators who teach undergraduate hydrogeology. We have provided links to a growing collection of activities and assignments, internet and computer resources, useful articles and presentations on teaching hydrogeology, working groups and a discussion forum, and lots of creative ideas for teaching hydrogeology.

Jump down to: Course Design & Pedagogy | Resource Collections | Special Topics | Workshops & Events | Get Involved

Designing an Effective Hydrogeology Course

1. Set goals

Explore example learning goals for Hydrogeology from your colleagues. Learn more about setting effective course goals from the Course Design Tutorial. Browse course descriptions and syllabi to understand the range of petrology courses currently offered.

2. Consider assessment options

Aligning your assessment strategies with the goals of your course is an essential part of the design process. You can learn more about assessment in the section about Assessing Student Learning in the Course Design Tutorial and through our module on Observing and Assessing Student Learning.

3. Select pedagogies and specific teaching activities

The pedagogic techniques highlighted below can provide inspiration as you consider various approaches that will help you achieve your course goals. The resource collections are organized to provide a rich set of materials to draw from in constructing the specific set of learning experiences you want for your students. Finally, explore the more in-depth information and ideas available in special topics.

Selected Pedagogical Approaches

Hydrogeology courses help students build a variety of skills and critical thinking abilities. In addition to those listed below, a selection of applicable pedagogies can be found in the Teaching Methods area.

  • Teaching Hydrogeology in the Field: A number of workshop presenters and participants have shared their expertise in teaching with and through field work. Here, you can benefit from their experiences and learn from their presentations and teaching activities. You can also find safety resources and links to published guides and databases.

Resource Collections

Once you've identified the core learning goals for your course, you can use them to focus your search for relevant materials in our resource collections. The materials listed below reflect the contributions of faculty members from across the country.

Special Topics

Workshops and Events

Get Involved

  • Contribute materials such as course descriptions, teaching activities, visualizations, and references to help build our resource collections.
  • Working groups in key areas of hydrogeology were established at the summer 2005 workshop. Working groups were tasked with collecting and developing new materials for teaching hydrogeology. If you would like to join a working group, please contact Barbara Tewksbury at Hamilton College (btewksbu@hamilton.edu).
  • Join our Hydrogeology email list to take part in discussions with colleagues who teach hydrogeology and to read past discussions.


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