Development and evaluation of a problem-based, field and laboratory environmental geochemistry course

西密歇根大学将启动一个基于问题的示范本科课程，帮助学生获得在环境行业就业所需的重要技能。 这些能力包括在时间和空间异质环境系统中设计具有重要意义的实地数据收集协议，并认识到水、沉积物和微生物样品收集、保存和分析的适当方法（及其局限性）。此外，学生将学会与同龄人有效地工作，并向公众传达他们的研究结果。目前，大多数地球科学和环境研究的学生很少或根本没有接受环境领域和实验室方法的实践培训，很少有机会向公众传播科学。最初，课程将集中在一个城市湖泊正在经历文化富营养化。学生将合作评估湖泊水质，并考虑适当的补救或污染预防策略。他们的研究结果将在开放日的环境中展示给当地居民、当地K-12教师和其他本科生。教育研究利用多案例研究的方法将提供严格的评估，这种基于问题的，服务学习课程的功效。研究将探讨学生在课程中如何概念化复杂的环境问题，以及他们如何获得或完善基于问题的课程背景下的基本研究技能。这项研究还将提供对新手-专家过渡的见解，这一过渡很少有正式的研究，而且对于学生如何获得对地球科学和环境科学专业至关重要的实地技能仍然知之甚少。

Western Michigan University will initiate a model problem-based undergraduate course that will help students to acquire important skills required for employment in the environmental industry. These include the ability to design statistically-significant field data collection protocols in temporally and spatially heterogeneous environmental systems and to recognize appropriate methodologies (and their limitations) for water, sediment and microbial sample collection, preservation and analysis. Additionally, students will learn to work effectively with their peers and communicate the results of their study to the general public. Currently, most geosciences and environmental studies students receive little to no hands-on training in environmental field and laboratory methods and have few opportunities to practice communication of science to the public. Initially, the course will focus on an urban lake undergoing cultural eutrophication. Students will work collaboratively to assess lake water quality and to consider appropriate remediation or pollution prevention strategies. Their results will be presented to area residents, local K-12 teachers, and other undergraduate students in an open house setting. Educational research utilizing a multi-case study approach will provide rigorous assessment of the efficacy of this problem-based, service-learning curriculum. Research will examine how students in the course conceptualize complex environmental problems, as well as how they acquire or refine essential research skills in the context of problem-based courses. This research will also provide insights into the novice-expert transition, which has seen little formal study and is still poorly understood with respect to how students gain field skills viewed as critical to the geoscience and environmental science professions.