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Download a zip file that includes all the web pages and downloadable files from the instructor's materialsInstructor Materials: Overview of the Water Science and Society Course
Students will:
- effectively describe the two-way relationship between water resources and human society: how water availability and quality affect economic opportunities and human well-being, and how human activity affects water resources;
- knowledgeably explain the distribution and dynamics of water at the surface and in the subsurface of Earth and how the distribution and characteristics are expected to change over the next 50 years;
- identify appropriate data collection practices for a variety of hydrologic data, synthesize and analyze data from multiple sources, and interpret the results;
- develop strategies and best practices to decrease water stress and increase water quality;
- thoughtfully evaluate information and policy statements regarding the current and future predicted state of water resources and communicate their evaluations in terms that can be understood by the general public.
Course Description
This course is designed as a general education investigation of the importance of water to the existence of life on Earth, and the qualities of water that lead to its unusual but critical properties. The first part of the course will provide a basic scientific background for understanding water movement, occurrence, and behavior, through a series of interactive activities. The second part of the course will draw upon this scientific framework to understand the relationships between water and human activities. Among other diverse topics, we will examine the role of water in climate regulation, the impact of water on human populations and activities, the benefits and drawbacks of modern water management strategies related to irrigation and dams, and policy issues regarding water quality and availability. A sense of the human history of water use and the impacts of natural cycles will be conveyed through activities, virtual field trips (filmed footage with the instructors and discussion focused on key topics related to surface water, water re-use and recycling, and dams), and assigned readings and associated online discussions. Although we will focus on case studies from the American West, we will extend this to include global issues of water scarcity and potential conflict, for example in India, China, and the Fertile Crescent.
Course Outline
Modules for Water, Science, and Society (InTeGrate online course) 12 weeks (some modules 2-week duration)
1. Fresh Water: Scarcity or Surfeit? (2 Units over 2 weeks)
- Module 1: Freshwater Resources – A Global Perspective (1 week)
- Water usage – what and where?
- Demand for water
- Pricing water
- Module 2: Climatology of Water (1 week)
- Water distribution on Earth
- Relative humidity
2. Physical Hydrology (4 Units over 5 weeks)
- Module 3: Rivers and Watersheds (1 week)
- Water moves through the landscape
- River flow changes over time
- Rivers come in many shapes and sizes
- Module 4: Flood and Drought (1 week)
- Making sense of hydrologic variability
- Normal vs. extreme hydrologic events
- Floods
- Droughts
- Human need for water resource reliability
- Module 5: Dam it All (1 week)
- Introduction to dams
- Impacts of dams
- Bringing down the dams
- The future of dams: developing nations
- Module 6: Groundwater Hydrology (2 weeks)
- Aquifers and properties
- Aquifer processes and dynamics
3. Social Science of Water (4 Units over 5 weeks)
- Module 7: What Is in Your Water(1 week)
- Units of water chemistry
- Drinking water regulation
- The chemistry of natural waters
- Examples: arsenic, nutrient runoff
- Module 8: Cities in Peril: Dealing with Water Scarcity (2 weeks)
- Surface water allocation and management
- Examples: Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Colorado River
- Module 9: Water and Politics (1 week)
- Middle East
- India
- US/Mexico (Colorado River Compact)
- Module 10: Solving the Water Crisis? (1 week)
- Desalination
- Recycling (The "Yuck" Factor)
- Privatization Issues
- Required reading/textbook: The Big Thirst (C. Fishman)
- Capstone Project
Adapting the Course to Different Structures, Formats, and Schedules
The course may be taught in its entirety, or individual modules may be extracted for use within other courses. This course works well as a "blended" course, with the modules being completed at home and the activities being completed or presented in a weekly in-person class meeting. It could also be taught entirely online, or the activities could be used in conjunction with lectures developed by the instructor to introduce the relevant concepts in a traditional lecture-based course.
- During its initial development, a version of these materials hosted by Penn State University was used to support this course at three different institutions. You can learn more about the experience of these courses in our Instructor Stories, and also explore the Penn State course syllabus used at these institutions.
- Adapting InTeGrate Modules and Courses for Your Classroom, which outlines how to effectively use InTeGrate modules and courses.
