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

西密歇根大学将开设一门以问题为基础的典型本科课程，帮助学生获得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构环境系统中设计具有统计意义的现场数据收集协议的能力，以及识别水、沉积物和微生物样本收集、保存和分析的适当方法（及其局限性）的能力。此外，学生将学会有效地与他们的同龄人一起工作，并将他们的研究结果传达给公众。目前，大多数地球科学和环境研究专业的学生几乎没有接受过环境领域和实验室方法的实践训练，也很少有机会向公众进行科学交流。首先，课程将聚焦于一个正在经历文化富营养化的城市湖泊。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。他们的结果将在一个开放的家庭环境中呈现给当地居民、当地K-12教师和其他本科生。利用多案例研究方法的教育研究将对这种基于问题的服务学习课程的有效性提供严格的评估。研究将考察学生在课程中如何将复杂的环境问题概念化，以及他们如何在以问题为基础的课程中获得或改进基本的研究技能。这项研究还将为新手到专家的过渡提供见解，这方面的正式研究很少，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领域技能仍然知之甚少。

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.