Integration of a Remote Water Sustainability Lab to Enhance Undergraduate Engineering Education

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This project is investigating how remote access to real-time environmental data impacts students' motivation and cognition about environmental awareness. This project, which is a partnership between Virginia Tech (VT) and Virginia Western Community College (VWCC), investigates student motivation using the expectancy-value theory of motivation. It primarily investigates the impact of the lab on students' problem solving skills using the phenomenology approach. The research results guide the development and implementation of sustainability learning modules into undergraduate curricula. The project uses a remote lab, called LabVIEW Enabled Watershed Assessment System (LEWAS), that has the capability to sense, store, and transmit real-time weather data, as well as water quality and quantity data from the Stroubles Creek that flows through the Virginia Tech campus. The project is developing and implementing LEWAS-based learning modules for a freshman engineering course at both VT and VWCC and a senior level hydrology course. Project activities include unique curriculum development, implementation, and assessment activities at three academic levels. This collaborative project between a 4-year and a 2-year institution introduces students at various academic levels to critical issues involved in finding solutions to one of the top two Grand Challenges (i.e., provide access to clean water) of the National Academy of Engineering. The hands-on water sustainability experiences have the potential to attract students into the engineering profession from a broad section of society.