Steve Burian: Using Water Sustainability in Cities at the University of Utah
About this course
The Human Dimensions of Water in the West is an interdisciplinary course with freshman and sophomore students. The module replaced the topics usually covered in weeks 6–9 in a course taught by Professor Ed Barbanell.
6
students
Three 50-minute lecture
sessions per week
Public, four-year institution
with undergraduate and graduate programs.
Syllabus (Acrobat (PDF) 505kB Sep27 15)
The goal of the course is to empower students to effect change, by giving them the knowledge and opportunity to connect global and regional issues to local conditions and behaviors. The focus was water and sustainability, with case studies, position papers, field trips, and guest speakers all providing varied perspectives of the key water issues. Topics include governance, community engagement, climate and water, water institutions, and water management.
Course Goals and Content
The course seeks to provide depth into a more specific topic (water) as it relates to sustainability. The course is part of a multi-course sequence focused on sustainability. It serves as one of the requirements for the Undergraduate Sustainability Certificate at the University of Utah.
A Success Story in Building Student Engagement
The Water Sustainability in Cities Module provided the content for one module of an interdisciplinary course on water and sustainability. The fit of the module is perfect for the course and its needs. In particular, the focus on planning and design of buildings and neighborhoods complemented the other topics in the course. The team project provided an effective integrating activity for students to continuously come back to after each instructional unit.
I felt the use of data in active learning elements was an especially effective way to engage the students. Also, the emphasis on the local case study for in-class assignments and the project was well received by the students.
My Experience Teaching with InTeGrate Materials
The module was designed for upper-level undergraduate students. The course the module was incorporated into for my pilot testing was a freshman or sophomore course. To adjust, there was a need to reduce the expectations for in-class and out-of-class activities. Another modification was with active learning exercises. The small class meant a need to consider how to arrange teams and how to re-organize them throughout the module. The report out periods were also shorter because of the smaller number of responses.
Relationship of InTeGrate Materials to My Course
The course topic was water and sustainability. The module was inserted at weeks 6 through 9 of the semester. This timing meant that the introductory concepts of sustainability and water had already been covered. Therefore, the module had a solid foundation. It also meant some of the activities for Unit 1 had to be modified because definitions had already been covered. The students continued to refer to the case studies.
Unit 1
- Unit 1 required modification because the module was not used to begin the course. The definition and background activities were de-emphasized. The mind map activity was given more time.
- Mind mapping activity worked well and is well suited to get students to think of the broader interconnected systems influencing urban water sustainability. The instructor should have a strong grasp of the interconnections to be able to help guide students on the activity. It is recommended the instructor work on a detailed mind map before class to help develop this background knowledge and to have an example mind map ready to show the students.
Unit 2
- I decided to have the mind map activity start the class, but had students spend five minutes adding content related to the hydrologic cycle. I thought this worked well to get the student thoughts on paper before discussing the water cycle and budget.
- The water budget example was modified to use numbers from a local building site.
Unit 3
- I used local examples for the student tasks for this unit. It required a bit of extra time, but helped students make connections.
- I also took a few minutes to reconnect at the end of class to the mind map. I had students specifically insert content related to climate/urban atmosphere and its connection to water.
Unit 4
- I did not make any changes to this unit.
- The spreadsheet exercise required students to be prepared to complete a task using the computer. I made sure to remind them of this and to have a backup plan in place so all students could participate.
Unit 5
- Consider using the minute paper as a form of mid-module formative assessment. I asked for responses about Unit 5, but also asked students to comment on the back of the form about the overall module to this point.
- Need to be careful with terminology. The Net Zero Water term was a bit confusing to students and needed clear explanation. Instructors should be prepared to explain.
Unit 6
- The Albuquerque manual reading is fairly generic, but instructors from parts of the country/world that have different climate may wish to use a different manual. There are many possible examples to use.
- I found the students had a limited ability to add detailed content about rainwater harvesting and other practices to the mind map. Rainwater harvesting is a very detailed practice and it did not fit well compared with the other parts of the mind map. A solution was to have students think generically about practices to reduce water consumption and address storm water management in sustainable ways.
Unit 7
- The completion of the individual report for the EPA National Stormwater Calculator needed to be done for homework. Some students were able to get close to finishing in the time allocated. Giving the students a bit more time out of class to reflect on the activity and record their thoughts was helpful for them to learn the concepts better.
- I did not make a template for the report of the activity results, but next time I will provide a standard form with questions to complete to guide the product better and have it match the learning goals more explicitly.
Unit 8
- I needed to consider the student activities and make sure I had compiled my answers for the local region. I made notes for Utah and the western United States to help be better prepared to guide the students and add value to their observations and comments.
Unit 9
- I had to truncate the class time for this unit to one class session. Therefore, more of the activity was shifted to pre-class or homework.
Assessments
I like using classroom assessment techniques so I used the minute paper in three of the units. I also like having students submit deliverables for pre-class and in-class activities. The module contains both of these assessments; I just built them into other places as well. The summative assessment project is a great way to let students apply their knowledge and learn new skills. I introduced it early in the module (Unit 1) and kept bringing students back to the work. The students were able to make modest progress, but they definitely had considered the project before Unit 9. I will find a way to modify the deliverables of the team project to make them align better with the other units — having something from every or most of the units be a required element.
Outcomes
The learning goals emphasized comprehension of concepts and terms. The module provides materials and activities to help the instructor accomplish this. The module also expects multiple skills with use of spreadsheets and online tools. The activities help students develop capacity with these important tools and their application. The use of the mind map and repeated return to the activity was highly effective at helping students to see the bigger system and think about the interconnections. The team project provided a significant opportunity to show that the knowledge and skills gained could be applied in a professional setting.
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