Undergraduate Education

Effective undergraduate education that provides non-science students with an opportunity to build inquiry, a sense of wonder, critical thinking skills, and life-long learning skills is essential if we are going to prepare tomorrow’s teachers, business people and voters to make decisions in a technological yet sustainable society (1). Students at the UA must complete a series of general education courses in the natural sciences. The Center will have the critical mass needed to introduce a significant fraction of the undergraduate student body to water resources and hydrology – first at the UA and later at educational institutions in the semi-arid world.

General Education Course Development
Luft, HWR Faculty

We will nurture development and evaluation of: HWR 101, a level one overview of hydrologic science; HWR 203, a level two class on Arizona water issues from a community-focused and problem-based perspective; and HWR 205, a level two class that focuses on pressing issues of water sustainability in semi-arid regions. As general education courses, all three must cover certain basic scientific principles, and are expected to engage students in active learning. Pre-service science teachers will be recruited as teaching assistants, and will gain valuable science teaching experience through their participation in these courses.

Virtual Classroom Course Development
Bales, Gupta, Luft, Sorooshian, Washburne

The above three courses and portions of HWR 250, the cornerstone in the UA undergraduate program in hydrology, will be made available over the web and by CDs for university credit to any citizen or high school student. For example, the HWR 101 and HWR 250 laboratories will be converted into web/CD accessible, interactive exercises, simulations and animations. We already have experience in this area through an NSF grant for our Introduction to Global Change Lab (see: http://www.hwr.arizona.edu/Alpine/IGCL/home.html). We expect to collaborate with the developers of a new type of CD-based, asynchronous learning environment (ag.arizona.edu/NSC/courses/104nsc/104cont.htm ?). To encourage effective dissemination of these courses, the Center will host an annual workshop for teachers or supervisors of students to introduce and promote these resources.

Minority Outreach
Tellez

Two scholarships will be made available through AISES every year for full tuition support while the student is enrolled in an undergraduate hydrology program at a collaborating institution within this Center. We will take an active role in the Minority Engineering Program (MEP) at the UA, which is an academically based support community reporting to the Dean of Academic Affairs, College of Engineering and Mines. MEP starts working with pre-college under-represented student groups and women in Arizona throughout grades 6-12, provides financial support and mentoring to retain students upon entering college, and promotes career opportunities through industry exchanges and information.