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Informing an Environmental Ethic in Future Leaders Through an Environmental Engineering Sequence

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Conference

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Salt Lake City, Utah

Publication Date

June 23, 2018

Start Date

June 23, 2018

End Date

July 27, 2018

Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Division Technical Session 2

Tagged Division

Environmental Engineering

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

21

DOI

10.18260/1-2--30661

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/30661

Download Count

357

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Paper Authors

biography

Charles M. Ouellette United States Military Academy

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Charles Ouellette is a Captain in the United States Army and an Instructor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering at the United States Military Academy. He is a 2006 graduate of Michigan State University with a B.A. in Economics. He earned an M.S. from Missouri Science and Technology in Geological Engineering in 2011 and most recently graduated from Cornell University with an M.S. in Ecology. He teaches Ecology, Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering Technologies, Natural Hazards and Risk, and Officership.

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Luke Thomas Plante United States Military Academy

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Luke Plante is a Captain in the United States Army and an Instructor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering at the United States Military Academy. He is a 2008 graduate of the United States Military Academy with a B.S. in Environmental Engineering and recently graduated from Columbia University with an M.S. in Environmental Engineering. He teaches Environmental Biological Systems, Environmental Science, and Environmental Engineering Technologies.

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Erick Martinez P.E. United States Military Academy

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Erick Martinez is a Captain in the United States Army and an Instructor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering at the United States Military Academy. He is a 2007 graduate of the United States Military Academy with a B.S. in Environmental Engineering and recently graduated from the University of Florida with an M.E. in Environmental Engineering. He teaches Environmental Engineering for Community Development, Environmental Science, and Environmental Engineering Technologies.

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Benjamin Michael Wallen P.E. United States Military Academy

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Benjamin Wallen is a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering at the United States Military Academy. He is a 1996 graduate of the United States Military Academy with a B.S. in Environmental Engineering and obtained an M.S. from both the University of Missouri at Rolla in Geological Engineering and the University of Texas at Austin in Environmental Engineering. Most recently, he graduated with his Ph.D. from the Colorado School of Mines in Civil and Environmental Engineering. He teaches Water Resources Planning and Management, Environmental Science, and Environmental Engineering Technologies.

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Jeffrey A. Starke United States Military Academy

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COL (Ret) Jeff Starke served as a Military Intelligence officer with command and staff experiences at the battalion, brigade, joint task force and combatant command levels. His most recent operational experience was as a strategic planning at the United States Central Command in support of Operation Inherent Resolve (actions against ISIS). Academically, COL Starke specializes in environmental engineering with research and teaching interests in drinking water, public health, and microbial-mediated processes to include renewable energy resources. COL Starke taught senior-level design courses in Physical and Chemical Processes, Biological Treatment Processes, and Solid and Hazardous Waste Technologies. COL Starke has published several peer reviewed research articles and has presented his research at national and international conferences. He maintains a focus on the scholarship of teaching and learning in engineering education. COL Starke is a registered Professional Engineer (Delaware), member of several professional associations, and is a member of the National Council of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors (NCEES).

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Abstract

As a growing population makes increasing demands on Earth’s limited resources, leaders across all disciplines must possess fundamental environmental knowledge to understand the interconnectedness of people and the global biosphere, as well as the attitudes which foster environmental an environmental ethic. We examined the ability of a semester-long course in environmental engineering education to increase students’ environmental knowledge and shape the attitudes which promote this ethic. We evaluated students’ knowledge and attitudes from the start to the end of the course according to their gender and racial identity, parents’ educational attainment, hometown population, and program of study. Students’ overall scores on “knowledge surveys” increased from 81.14% ± 1.46% at the start of the course to 89.67% ± 2.03% at the end of the course. While we observed differences in baseline knowledge by gender and racial identity, neither of these affected how much students’ knowledge increased throughout the course. Nor was students’ hometown population a significant factor in either baseline knowledge or increased knowledge by the end of the course. Father’s educational attainment was not a significant factor either. However, mother’s educational attainment was a significant factor in how much students learned if their mother had less than a bachelor’s degree or a graduate degree. Whether the student was enrolled in a STEM field of study or not was not a significant factor in students’ baseline knowledge; however non-STEM students’ scored higher on knowledge surveys than their peers enrolled in a STEM field. Students’ attitudes were also surveyed at the start and end of the semester. Generally, their attitudes became more positive toward the environment, more confident in our ability to employ technologies to reduce our impact on the environment, and they felt more strongly about the need for continuing environmental education to promote environmental stewardship.

Ouellette, C. M., & Plante, L. T., & Martinez, E., & Wallen, B. M., & Starke, J. A. (2018, June), Informing an Environmental Ethic in Future Leaders Through an Environmental Engineering Sequence Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--30661

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