HR: 0800h
AN: ED51B-0407    [Abstracts]
TI: Strengthening Student Interest and Learning of Watershed Science using a Case-History Investigation of a Rapidly Changing Semi-Arid Watershed
AU: * Huth, A K
EM: amkhuth@gmail.com
AF: Science Education Solutions, 4200 W. Jemez Road, Suite 301, Los Alamos, NM 87544, United States
AU: Hall, M K
EM: hall@scieds.com
AF: Science Education Solutions, 4200 W. Jemez Road, Suite 301, Los Alamos, NM 87544, United States
AB: In a changing climate, watershed disturbances such as drought, large-scale wildfires, and extreme rainfall patterns are on the rise, particularly in the southwestern U.S. Yet, at high-school grade levels, hydrology and watershed science get minimal coverage in classrooms. To address this situation, we developed a set of GIS- based student investigations on the affect of natural and human-induced disturbances on watershed hydrology. The case history focuses on the 2003 Aspen Fire in southern Arizona, but also incorporates investigations of undisturbed watersheds. We structured these investigations around recent hydrologic, geologic, and fire data collected by USGS, USFS, and University of Arizona scientists. The investigations encourage students to use Google Earth and MyWorld GIS to learn about the watersheds of the Santa Catalina Mountains in southern Arizona. Students use precipitation and streamflow data to discover the "normal" response of a semi-arid watershed to rainfall. Through spatial visualization and analysis of the data, they learn how and why a semi-arid watershed may become vulnerable to change due to "unusual" conditions. The large-scale Aspen wildfire and subsequent massive debris flows caused watershed instability and were used as teaching tools in these investigations. Field testing has focused on increasing usability and pedagogical effectiveness, whereas external peer reviews have addressed scientific accuracy. We found the overall response to these investigations by both students and teachers to be positive. The benefits of using real, scientific data in combination with spatial visualization tools to teach about a watershed's response to fire were measured using a survey assessment of student learning during field testing.
DE: 0820 Curriculum and laboratory design
DE: 0840 Evaluation and assessment
DE: 0845 Instructional tools
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting