InTeGrate Modules and Courses >Lead in the Environment > Student Materials
InTeGrate's Earth-focused Modules and Courses for the Undergraduate Classroom
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These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
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For the Instructor

These student materials complement the Lead in the Environment Instructor Materials. If you would like your students to have access to the student materials, we suggest you either point them at the Student Version which omits the framing pages with information designed for faculty (and this box). Or you can download these pages in several formats that you can include in your course website or local Learning Managment System. Learn more about using, modifying, and sharing InTeGrate teaching materials.

Student Materials

This module will allow you to explore the important contributions of multiple disciplines to the use of lead, the understanding of its toxicity, the assessment of risk, and the development of plans to reduce exposures and minimize health outcomes. You will examine how lead has migrated and impacted populations at a variety of scales and a multitude of different exposure methods, all lending themselves to the understanding of lead as a system. You will evaluate primary and secondary data sources, interpret findings, and synthesize information to make recommendations for specific populations to reduce the risk of lead exposure.

Note - The activities and homework assignments are provided below but you will receive additional materials in class.

Unit 1 - Use of Lead in the Environment and Health Impacts on Human Populations

In Unit 1, you engage in discussion of the historical use and resulting distribution of lead throughout the human environment. Class 1 introduces the systems dynamics linking geology, human use, and human health through an introductory lesson. You will hypothesize explanations for varied lead exposures among different populations over time. Class 2 analyzes the evolution of regulations and policies to reduce lead exposures and examines a current international case study that showcases the lag in regulatory guidelines for many parts of the world. In Class 3, you explore exposure routes, transport, and fate of lead in the human body.

Unit 2 - The Lead Problem Still Exists: Challenges and Gaps in Understanding Exposure

In Unit 2, you examine the distribution of lead poisoning as it varies spatially and temporally. You also have the opportunity to explore the sources of lead exposure and the implications of social determinants on human health outcomes. In Class 4, you analyze historic and geographic trends in lead poisoning at state and county scales, while evaluating factors that influence data quality and availability. In Class 5, you evaluate spatial and temporal patterns within a US city and identify the causes and patterns of disparate lead exposure within a population. In Class 6, you conduct a virtual home assessment to evaluate whether or not dust is a source of lead exposure in this case study.

Unit 3 - Managing the Risks of Lead Exposure

In the past two units, you have considered the strengths and limitations of scientific tools to identify exposure pathways and demographic patterns of lead poisoning. In Unit 3, you will evaluate domestic regulatory approaches and apply policy solutions. In Class 7, you explore the role of scientists, regulators, and communities in the development of lead regulations. In the final two classes, you analyze various perspectives within a community and confront the challenge of reaching consensus. You participate in a debate and engage in a two-part summative assessment: (1) you write a one-page Policy Memo recommending a particular course of action for this community based on evidence gained throughout the module and presented in the exercise, and (2) create a visual representation of the cyclic patterns of lead in the biophysical and human environment.


     

These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
Explore the Collection »