[WORK IN PROGRESS] Interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to integrating stream studies into campus curricula

Joshua Wyrick; Alison Kennicutt; Bridgette Hagerty; JESSICA NOLAN; Karl Kleiner; Most Tahera Naznin

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: Environmental Engineering Division Technical Session 4
Page Count: 10
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--40753
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/40753
Download Count: 238

Paper Authors

biography

Joshua Wyrick York College of Pennsylvania

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Josh has been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil & Mechanical Engineering at York College of Pennsylvania since 2017. He is a water resources engineer who focuses on river hydraulics, stormwater management, and hydrologic sustainability.

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Abstract

Project based learning (PBL) is a type of experiential learning in which students are presented with a complex problem(s) that could have multiple feasible solutions and are tasked with developing a plan or product that addresses that problem. A lot of emphasis has recently been put into integrating PBL experiences into the undergraduate curriculum. Students are often presented with projects that are tailored to fit within the time constraints of a given course. However, when that project is a subset of a larger whole, then a comprehensive solution is rarely delivered. The objective of this study is to develop a student-centered framework for integrating broad, interdisciplinary PBL experiences across multiple courses over a sequence of semesters. All of the students’ sub-projects focus on the physical and environmental health of a stream that flows through campus. This stream has a history of anthropogenic modifications, unhealthy maintenance procedures, and increased urbanization within its watershed. This has led to issues with ecological integrity, streambank erosion, overbank flooding, campus operations disruptions, and instream pollution. The approach described herein incorporates concepts from both the vertical and horizontal integration methods, and reconfigures them as a “diagonal integration.” Design plans, solutions, and other experimental data are passed along sequentially between different student groups working on different parts of the overall problem during different periods of time. The benefits of this approach are that the students gain from the collaborative work of other student cohorts and are therefore able to focus their own efforts appropriately within their scopes of knowledge and experience. The students also feel a combined sense of community by being a part of a larger, campus-wide solution, and are able to see a comprehensive plan come to fruition for their campus, which increases their college pride as alumni. The project participants are students and faculty from a diversity of courses and majors who are challenged with collecting and analyzing data, developing contextual solutions, and communicating their findings to the students and faculty in subsequent courses in different semesters. The faculty, in coordination with the college’s administration and facilities department, developed an outline for these relay paths which will drive the implementation of a large-scale restoration and maintenance plan for the stream. The type of projects and reports that stem from these courses include, but are not limited to: (a) macroinvertebrate abundance and diversity analyses, (b) stormwater swale restoration plans, (c) riparian restoration and beautification plans, (d) flood hazard mitigation plans, (e) longitudinal water quality analyses, (f) channel morphology analyses, and (g) spatial mapping of urbanization characteristics. The pedagogical assessment of these projects derive from the final reports/assignments for each course, as well as end-of-semester surveys that evaluate the students’ engagement with the project, including how they view their role within this broader project.

Citation
Format

Wyrick, J., & Kennicutt, A., & Hagerty, B., & NOLAN, J., & Kleiner, K., & Naznin, M. T. (2022, August), [WORK IN PROGRESS] Interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to integrating stream studies into campus curricula Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--40753

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Project based learning (PBL) is a type of experiential learning in which students are presented with a complex problem(s) that could have multiple feasible solutions and are tasked with developing a plan or product that addresses that problem. A lot of emphasis has recently been put into integrating PBL experiences into the undergraduate curriculum. Students are often presented with projects that are tailored to fit within the time constraints of a given course. However, when that project is a subset of a larger whole, then a comprehensive solution is rarely delivered. 
The objective of this study is to develop a student-centered framework for integrating broad, interdisciplinary PBL experiences across multiple courses over a sequence of semesters. All of the students’ sub-projects focus on the physical and environmental health of a stream that flows through campus. This stream has a history of anthropogenic modifications, unhealthy maintenance procedures, and increased urbanization within its watershed. This has led to issues with ecological integrity, streambank erosion, overbank flooding, campus operations disruptions, and instream pollution. The approach described herein incorporates concepts from both the vertical and horizontal integration methods, and reconfigures them as a “diagonal integration.” Design plans, solutions, and other experimental data are passed along sequentially between different student groups working on different parts of the overall problem during different periods of time. The benefits of this approach are that the students gain from the collaborative work of other student cohorts and are therefore able to focus their own efforts appropriately within their scopes of knowledge and experience. The students also feel a combined sense of community by being a part of a larger, campus-wide solution, and are able to see a comprehensive plan come to fruition for their campus, which increases their college pride as alumni. 
The project participants are students and faculty from a diversity of courses and majors who are challenged with collecting and analyzing data, developing contextual solutions, and communicating their findings to the students and faculty in subsequent courses in different semesters. The faculty, in coordination with the college’s administration and facilities department, developed an outline for these relay paths which will drive the implementation of a large-scale restoration and maintenance plan for the stream. The type of projects and reports that stem from these courses include, but are not limited to: (a) macroinvertebrate abundance and diversity analyses, (b) stormwater swale restoration plans, (c) riparian restoration and beautification plans, (d) flood hazard mitigation plans, (e) longitudinal water quality analyses, (f) channel morphology analyses, and (g) spatial mapping of urbanization characteristics. 
The pedagogical assessment of these projects derive from the final reports/assignments for each course, as well as end-of-semester surveys that evaluate the students’ engagement with the project, including how they view their role within this broader project.

AU  - Joshua Wyrick
AU  - Alison Kennicutt
AU  - Bridgette Hagerty
AU  - JESSICA NOLAN
AU  - Karl Kleiner
AU  - Most Tahera Naznin
CY  - Minneapolis, MN
DA  - 2022/08/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - [WORK IN PROGRESS] Interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to integrating stream studies into campus curricula
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/40753
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--40753
ER  -