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Session 1451

Environmental engineering fact sheets teach more than just facts

Enos C. Inniss The University of Texas at San Antonio

Abstract

Active learning has become the new rule in effective education. As educators, we couple this idea with the need for our students to develop technical communication skills. The result is the use of a classroom management tool such as WebCT as a forum for having students teach each other based on fact sheets they have developed. These fact sheets are formatted in a manner similar to what organizations such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency make available for the general public. The goals of these fact sheet assignments are to force students to critically think about what information is pertinent and then how to present that information. Not only are they required to work on written communication of facts, but also on their oral communication skills. The classroom management tool allows for setting up groups, communication among group members without necessarily meeting face-to-face, and posting of presentation material as well as the fact sheets themselves for the class to refer to on future dates, at their leisure, and in review for examinations over the material. In preparation students are required to pay particular attention to referencing information and evaluating the reliability of their sources. They are also afforded the opportunity to be creative in the presentation of their research while actively learning about their own topic as well as the topics classmates have researched. The format for submission is emailing a final draft of the fact sheet to a reviewer, whether the instructor or the teaching assistant, who then posts the edited version for class review. The presentations, however, are uploaded by the students, are presented via the course management tool, a computer, and projector, and are then reviewed. This process allows the grader to review the written presentation skills at their leisure, while concentrating on oral skills during the performance.

I. Introduction

Description of the course: Environmental Engineering (CE 2633) is a sophomore/junior-level course in the Civil Engineering curriculum. This course introduces students to considerations of air pollution, solid and hazardous waste management, and water quality. The semester begins with a general discussion of environmental engineering that includes the science basis, environmental legislation, and risk and environmental impact assessments. The remainder of the semester is split into the air, solid/hazardous, and water sections where discussions are focused on concerns, specific legislation, analysis, and treatment or control measures.

Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2003, American Society for Engineering Education

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Inniss, E. C. (2003, June), Environmental Engineering Fact Sheets Teach More Than Just Facts Paper presented at 2003 Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee. 10.18260/1-2--12240