Improving Conceptual Understanding of Southwestern Watersheds: Interdisciplinary Visualizations

提高对西南流域的概念理解：跨学科可视化亚利桑那大学正在通过使用流域可视化来提高地球科学教师对跨学科地球科学的理解和教学。该项目提供科罗拉多盆地下游几个不同流域（即Salt/Verde、Bill Williams、Santa Cruz、San Pedro）真实流域数据的“预包装”可视化。来自许多来源（例如，美国环保署、美国地质勘探局、亚利桑那州水利部）的涵盖不同空间和时间周期的数据正在被格式化。正在以电子文件和硬拷贝两种形式向教师提供水质、植被覆盖、土地利用和地形等特征数据的可视化表示。促进对流域有意义的学习的活动包括使用可视化来理解其组成部分；将这些部分整合成一个统一的系统；然后展示分离和重新整合系统各部分的能力。参与的教师正在发展对流域的复杂系统的理解，并且正在以促进学生概念发展和可视化技能的方式，成为称职和舒适的可视化教学。他们的学生从跨学科的角度研究流域，并通过学习和教学活动展示流域作为一个系统的知识。本项目采用跨学科视角的真实背景，包括地球科学、自然资源管理、地理和公共政策。对于一个水资源有限、人口快速增长、跨界水资源问题紧迫、长期干旱的半干旱国家的年轻公民来说，跨学科学习至关重要。正在向教师提供定期的后续会议、物质支持和流域教育专家的课堂支持。

Improving Conceptual Understanding of Southwestern Watersheds: Interdisciplinary VisualizationsThe University of Arizona is improving Earth science teachers' understanding and teaching of interdisciplinary geosciences through the use of visualizations of watersheds. The project is providing "pre-packaged" visualizations of real watershed data for several different watersheds in the lower Colorado Basin (i.e., Salt/Verde, Bill Williams, Santa Cruz, San Pedro). Data from many sources (e.g., EPA, USGS, Arizona Department of Water Resources) that cover different spatial and temporal periods is being formatted. Visual representations of data for characteristics such as water quality, vegetative cover, land use, and topography are being provided to teachers as both electronic files and hard copies. Activities that facilitate meaningful learning about watersheds include using visualizations to understand the constituent parts; integrating those parts into a unified system; and then demonstrating the ability to separate and reintegrate the parts of that system. Participating teachers are developing a sophisticated systemic understanding of watersheds, and are becoming competent and comfortable teaching with visualizations in ways that facilitate student conceptual development and visualization skills. Their students are studying watersheds from interdisciplinary perspectives, and demonstrating knowledge of watersheds as systems through learning and teaching activities. This project uses real contexts from interdisciplinary perspectives including the Earth sciences, natural resources management, geography, and public policy. Interdisciplinary learning is critical for young citizens of a semi-arid state with limited water resources, rapidly increasing population, pressing trans-boundary water issues, and periods of prolonged drought. Regular follow-up meetings, material support, and classroom support from watershed education specialists is being provided to the teachers.