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Session 1451

Project Based Teaching: A Case Study from a Hydrology Class

Philip T. McCreanor

Mercer University

Abstract

Hydrology is currently taught as one-half of a 3-credit course in the Environmental Engineering Program at the Mercer University School of Engineering. The topics covered include the hydrologic cycle, predicting rainfall, estimating runoff volumes and rates, routing runoff hydrographs, and designing stormwater management structures. The first semester this course was taught, the material was presented topic by topic. This format did not demonstrate to the students how the course topics fit together as a whole and how they were used to solve real- world stormwater management problems.

The literature on project-based teaching suggested that this approach could be used to create a more cohesive course structure, help the course move more fluidly from topic to topic, and demonstrate to the students the application of the material they were learning. The challenge was to develop a project that was realistic, incorporated all of the course topics, and contained the appropriate level of complexity. The project utilized required the students to

1. predict the runoff volume and rates from an undeveloped piece of property which drained to a wetlands, 2. predict the runoff volume and rates from the property after it was developed into a residential subdivision, 3. design stormwater management structures for the subdivision, and 4. route the runoff from the development through a detention pond such that the runoff volume and rate discharged to the wetlands matched the pre-development condition.

This paper will present the project used to teach the hydrology class, a matrix demonstrating how the required course topics mapped to the project components, and a qualitative analysis of how the use of project-based teaching affected this class.

1.0 Introduction

Hydrology is currently taught as one-half of a 3-credit course in the Environmental Engineering Program at the Mercer University School of Engineering. The topics covered include the hydrologic cycle, predicting rainfall, estimating runoff volumes and rates, routing runoff hydrographs, and designing stormwater management structures. The first semester this course was taught, the material was presented topic by topic. This format did not demonstrate to the

“Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright  2002, American Society for Engineering Education”

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McCreanor, P. (2002, June), Project Based Teaching: A Case Study From A Hydrology Class Paper presented at 2002 Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada. 10.18260/1-2--10292