InTeGrate Modules and Courses >Water Science and Society > Instructor Stories
 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 materials are free 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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Instructor Stories and Adaptations

These resources describe how the module was adapted for use in different settings. We hope these stories inspire your own use of the module and give you insight into how to adapt the materials for your classroom.

Mike Arthur instructor photo
Michael Arthur: Water: Science and Society at Pennsylvania State University. This was a full-semester blended course with one 60 minute in-person lab / discussion session per week (a longer 75 or 90 minute section may prove more useful in future offerings). Lecture, reading, and video materials for weekly modules were fully online. Students completed the Formative Assessments at home and turned them in during the weekly lab/discussion session; these typically formed the basis of our in-class discussion. Summative Assessments were completed during the lab/discussion session. Students came from various majors, not all were Earth Sciences.

Patrick Belmont instructor photo
Patrick Belmont: Water, Science, and Society at Utah State University. This was a full-semester blended course. Reading and video materials were fully online, but I added about one 30–40 minute lecture for each module to emphasize key points and supplement material. Students completed about half of the formative assessments on their own and submitted them in class. The other half of the formative assessments were completed in class, often as a whole group or in small groups. Most summative assessments were completed by the students outside of class, but we would review them in class and I would provide written feedback within a week of submission. A few summative assessments that required specific materials (Darcy Lab and topo map exercise) were completed in class. Students came from a wide range of majors.

Sliko_China
Jennifer Sliko: Water: Science and Society at Pennsylvania State University-Harrisburg. This was a full-semester blended course with one two-hour weekly class meeting in a laboratory classroom. The weekly lecture, reading, and video materials were fully online, and the students completed the formative assessments before coming to the class meeting. At the start of each class, students submitted their formative assessments, and module materials were briefly reviewed during the class meeting. Most of the classroom time was spent completing the summative assessments, which were submitted at the end of the class session. I would provide written feedback within one week of submission. Modules 4 and 9 were completed entirely online with no associated weekly class meeting. Students came from a wide range of majors and took this course to fulfill a natural science general elective requirement.

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Additional Instructor Stories

William Hansen: Environmental Science at Worcester State University
William Hansen, Worcester State University
Environmental Science is a class that draws in concepts from across the science disciplines as well as technological and societal factors. As such it can be complex for students to navigate with respect to terminology, sources of information and synthesis of concepts. Environmental Science classes typically have a small number of very vocal students but a large number of students with a lack of familiarity with these concepts and therefore many tend not to participate in class discussions. Integrate materials work well in bringing all students into the discussion through student-to-student interaction and tie fundamental geoscience concepts back to human actions in a way that facilitates student's exploration and interaction.

Also Related to Water Science and Society

Sustainable Solutions to Societal Issues: Teaching Earth literacy across the undergraduate curriculum
Thursday, September 21, 2017 10:00 am PT | 11:00 am MT | 12:00 pm CT | 1:00 pm ET Presenters: Diane Doser (University of Texas at El Paso) and Gigi Richard (Colorado Mesa University) This webinar is part of a ...

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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.
Explore the Collection »