Initial Publication Date: September 16, 2020

James McNamara: Using Modeling Flood Hazards in Hydrology at Boise State University

About this Course

Required course for senior Geoscience majors in a Hydrologic Science track, and introductory graduate course for MS Hydrologic Science students.

students

Two 75 minute lecture sessions

Hydrology Syllabus (Acrobat (PDF) 134kB Jul7 20)

Show the catalog description of my course

Show more about the course goals and content

1. Describe the physical principles governing the storage and transfer of water in and between reservoirs in natural and built hydrologic systems

2. Describe how components of the hydrologic cycle impact and are impacted by humans

3. Apply standard solution techniques to compute hydrologic fluxes and stores for common hydrologic problems.

4. Develop solution strategies for solving interactions between hydrologic variables in natural and built hydrologic systems

5. Identify assumptions and uncertainty in commonly used theories and solutions in hydrologic science

My course is a lecture-based course designed for juniors, seniors, and first-year graduate students in Geoscience Hydrology programs. I typically rush through the theory of each process in the hydrologic cycle, and then assign textbook-based homework assignments for assessments. In recent years I have been transitioning the class to be more project-based. This module has helped me in that transition.

Students appreciated the applied nature of the module. With less emphasis on listening to lectures on theory, students were able to spend time exploring data, interpreting observations, and writing conclusions.

The project-based approach helped me finally break from from the traditional lecture/homework format that I've been stuck in for 20 years. I look forward to using more GETSI products.

My Experience Teaching with GETSI Materials

I had to shorten some aspects of the units and did not do student presentations to fit the module into the time that I had. I combined Units 1 and 2, did the equivalent of Unit 3 earlier in the term (GEOS students are very familiar with Manning's equation), and turned Unit 4 into a demonstration.

Relationship of GETSI Materials to my Course

My course is a full 16 week semester. This module was completed during the final weeks of the semester. The course focuses on physics of hydrologic processes including water balance, precipitation, snowmelt, evapotranspiration, soil and groundwater flow, and streamflow. I used this module to supplement the streamflow section.

A Unit-by-Unit Breakdown of How I Taught this Module

Unit 1

Used very briefly. Skipped basic introduction about types of floods. Focused on defining flood risk. Did not use student assessments.

Unit 2

Emphasized this unit to teach statistics. I focused on the Boise River as a demonstration, and then had the students compute flood frequencies for the Wabash.

Unit 3

I used this unit earlier in the semester, so it was a bit disconnected from the rest of the module. Geoscience students already have a good understanding of Manning's equation. I did, however, emphasize that HEC-RAS relies on accurate assessment of Manning's n.

Unit 4

Due to time constraints, I used this Unit as a demonstration. I had to supplement the lecture with more basic theory of open channel flow to ensure that students understand what HEC-RAS does.

Unit 5

I broke the class up into groups assigned to each of the rivers. We spent class time working through the final assessment project. I found it helpful to reference back to previous units when students asked questions. Unfortunately, we ran out of time so students did not present their projects to the class.

Assessments

I used the student assignments as assessments in Units 2, 3, and 4 essentially unmodified. I did not feel that the assessment in Unit 1 was appropriate for the class. The final summative assessment in Unit 5 was due at the very end of the semester, so I did not have much time to determine how students felt about it. A few comments in the course evaluations said the project was valuable.

Outcomes

I intend to transition my entire class to be more project based. In this module, any shortcomings were more related to my ability to replace lectures with projects. I do feel that the overall module is too long for my course. I need to figure out if I modify my course to accommodate long projects, or if I modify the module. I do think that students enjoy the projects more than sitting in lectures. However, I also feel that students need to be introduced to the theory at some point in their lives. I am working on finding that balance.

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