David Padgett

The Geo-Politics of Dr. Wangari Maathai's Greenbelt Movement part of Integrate:Workshops and Webinars:Pan-African Approaches to Teaching Geoscience:Activities
Students view the documentary "Taking Root: the Vision of Wangari Maathai." They also are required to read Dr. Maathai's "The Greenbelt Movement: Sharing the Approach and Experience." The ...

Supplementing InTeGrate Earth Science Modules with American Meteorological Society (AMS) and Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Educational Content part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2017:Program:Poster Sessions:Friday
The American Meteorological Society (AMS) Weather Studies and Climate Studies programs have been institutionalized at Tennessee State University (TSU) since fall 2005. The interactive AMS learning materials are ...

David Padgett: Using Environmental Justice and Freshwater Resources in World Regional Geography (GEOG 1010) at Tennessee State University part of Integrate:Teaching for Sustainability:How the Community is Using InTeGrate Materials:Instructor Stories
I taught World Regional Geography I (GEOG 1010) during the spring 2018 semester. The course content covers the Caribbean. I created a modified version of the "Women and Water" Unit https://serc.carleton.edu/integrate/teaching_materials/freshwater/unit4.html of the Environmental Justice and Freshwater module, specifically the portion that focuses upon Trinidad and Tobago. The assignment was mandatory. Students were required to follow instructions to create an interactive online map of Trinidad, and then obtain information from the map to be used to answer several essay questions. They were also required to read two journal articles related to challenges faced by Trinidad's population to obtain safe drinking water. The students who successfully completed the module took a strong interest in it. I got very enthusiastic responses to the questions "What did you find most interesting about this assignment?" and "What did you learn from the assignment?" I believe that the "real world" feel of the map in exposing the students to a part of the world unfamiliar to them very effectively captured their attention. Most of the students in this course are either freshmen or sophomores and are normally not used to completing lengthy, complicated projects. In this case, the design of the module appeared to have piqued their interest and enhanced their level of effort.