Impact
The primary project goal is to engage students in practicing environmental science using mobile technology.
The following objectives support this goal:
1) Improve student ability to locate, interpret, and critically evaluate scientific information.
The internet is replete with environmentally relevant scientific data. Mobile PCs will enable students to data mine in class and report their findings to the rest of the class, rather than have the instructor locate data. For example when studying carbon dioxide emissions, small groups of students, each assigned a country, can find the most recent emissions data for their country. Upon reporting their findings they will be challenged to ascertain the reliability of that information. This activity, which can be conducted for other topics like water supply, population growth, and energy consumption, permits students to discover the data on their own and fosters more collaboration within the classroom.
Outcome: students will become more discerning consumers of information, in particular scientific information. This will be assessed by the quality of classroom discussions and how they use internet resources to support their written assignments.
2) Develop student competence in collecting, analyzing, and presenting scientific data including geospatial datasets.
The best way to learn about science is to participate in scientific activity. We will develop a combination of interactive activities in the field, the wet laboratory, and the computer lab which engage students in the process of scientific discovery. For example, students will go to a number of field sites and measure in-situ water quality parameters such as pH, conductivity, and temperature. They will use the mobile tablet PCs to take field notes including sketching diagrams, taking digital pictures, recording measurements, and locating their position on digital maps. A subsequent laboratory exercise will share these data with the entire class so that geospatial trends in water quality can be explored.
Outcome: greater student understanding of and appreciation for the scientific process and improvement in quantitative reasoning skills. This will be measured via authentic assessment activities such as students giving presentations based upon their research and writing formal laboratory reports. Quantitative skills like manipulation and analysis of data can be tracked via pre- and post-course tests in addition to the laboratory assignments. Student perceptions of science and comfort in interpreting and manipulating data can be gauged through administration of Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG) generated questionnaires. The PI has experience in working with this tool.
