IRES/US-Guatemala: International Experiential Learning in a Multi-Disciplinary Capstone Course

该奖项将支持密苏里-罗拉大学的Andrew C.Elmore(PI)博士与危地马拉圣卡洛斯大学-西方大学中心的Fernando Cajas博士合作开发的多学科顶石设计课程，该课程每年有12名学生学习危地马拉农村家庭的实用水消毒方法。Cunc校园40%的学生认为自己是土著体面人，因此，Cunc的合作者与农村学习地点的土著人口有良好的联系。UMR和CUN之间的这一国际伙伴关系可望实现一种互惠互利的关系，这种关系将持续到未来。该课程将分两个学期进行，将包括在UMR的校园实验和在危地马拉为期四周的实地考察。参加顶石设计课程的UMR学生组成的多学科小组将研究水消毒问题，而其他人则继续该项目的其他方面。例如，地质工程和环境工程专业将研究水质表征和监测问题；材料工程专业将设计基于陶瓷的净化技术；心理学专业将表征用水态度；商科专业将通过小额信贷模型和其他手段评估家庭水处理的经济可持续性。主要的科学成果将是增加对地球化学水质参数的了解，了解可持续的水处理选择，以及确定影响用水的经济和文化因素的特征。教学成果将成为国际体验式学习课程的新模式，并创建包含服务学习的顶峰设计序列。

This award will support a multi-disciplinary capstone design course developed by Dr. Andrew C. Elmore (PI) of the University of Missouri-Rolla, in collaboration with Dr. Fernando Cajas, of the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala-Centro Universitario del Occidente, Guatemala where twelve students per year will study practical methods of water disinfection in rural Guatemalan households. Forty percent of the student population of the CUNOC campus identify themselves as being of indigenous decent, therefore, the CUNOC collaborators have a good connection with the indigenous population of the rural study site. This international partnership between UMR and CUNOC is expected to achieve a mutually beneficial relationship that will continue into the future. The course will be conducted over two semesters and will include on campus experimentation at UMR and four weeks of field work in Guatemala. A multi-disciplinary group of UMR students enrolled in the capstone design course will study the water disinfection problem while others pursue other aspects of the project. For example, geological engineering and environmental engineering majors will address water quality characterization and monitoring issues; materials engineering students will design ceramic based technologies for purification; psychology students will characterize water use attitudes; and business students will evaluate the economic sustainability of household water treatment through micro-finance models and other means. The major scientific outcomes will be increased knowledge of geochemical water quality parameters, understanding of sustainable water treatment options, and characterization of economic and cultural factors that influence water use. The pedagogical outcomes will be a new model for international experiential learning courses and creation of a capstone design sequence that incorporates service learning.