HR: 1340h
AN: ED23B-1291    [Abstracts]
TI: Service Learning Course in Which Undergraduates and Middle School Students Investigate Levels of Pathogen Indicating Bacteria in Beach Sand
AU: * Imamura, G
EM: garumami@gmail.com
AF: UCLA, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Los Angeles, CA 90095,
AU: Mika, K
EM: ktmika@gmail.com
AF: UCLA, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Los Angeles, CA 90095,
AU: Lin, T
EM: lin.tiffany@gmail.com
AF: UCLA, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Los Angeles, CA 90095,
AU: Lee, C
EM: chrlee@gmail.com
AF: UCLA, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Los Angeles, CA 90095,
AU: Lin, C
EM: chuching@ucla.edu
AF: UCLA, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Los Angeles, CA 90095,
AU: Jay, J
EM: jennyayla@gmail.com
AF: UCLA, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Los Angeles, CA 90095,
AB: Service-learning is a pedagogy that combines academic rigor with activities that address human and community needs. Over the past three years, we have developed a service-learning course that involves UCLA students working with 6th graders in an economically disadvantaged neighborhood to address issues of environmental science and health. This past year UCLA students conducted a research project in collaboration with a middle school class to investigate levels of pathogen-indicating organisms in beach sand near the Santa Monica pier. All students were taught necessary methods in class by the UCLA professor, and then met at the field site. Fieldwork involved collection of water and sand samples from various locations, extraction of bacteria from sand by shaking with buffer and decanting, and addition of sample to growth media that allow quantification of two organisms, Escherichia coli and enterococci. These organisms are typically used to indicate fecal contamination of water. Methods were straightforward and were accomplished by the 6th graders with only modest supervision by the UCLA students. Results showed extremely high levels of pathogen indicating organisms in the vicinity of a diverted stormdrain, indicating a continuing problem with the diversion. Levels decreased with distance away from the stormdrain, indicating migration of the organisms from the site of the diversion. UCLA students then visited the sixth grade classroom to help the sixth graders create Powerpoint posters including statement of hypotheses, graphs of the results, pictures of the entire process, and conclusions. Middle school students then visited UCLA to tour the campus and present their posters at a poster session hosted by the Center for Embedded Networked Sensing at UCLA. Desired outcomes at the 6th grade level included: 1) increased interest in science; 2) greater knowledge of and interest in attending college; and 3) enhanced knowledge of and feeling of political empowerment concerning environmental health issues. Outcomes for the UCLA students included: 1) gains in learning through the action of teaching; 2) awareness of education justice issues in Los Angeles; and 3) enhanced feeling of personal commitment to community and political advocacy work.
DE: 0805 Elementary and secondary education
DE: 0810 Post-secondary education
DE: 0815 Informal education
DE: 0820 Curriculum and laboratory design
DE: 0830 Teacher training
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting