Teaching Environmental Geochemistry as a Service-

Learning Course

Tim Ku

Dept. of Earth & Environmental Sciences

Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT

OUTLINE

1. Service-Learning concepts

2. Logistics of Service-Learning courses• Wesleyan University

3. EES 280/281 Environmental Geochemistry and Laboratory course

4. Helpful resources

What is Service-Learning?• Many different definitions• Service-Learning integrates experiences

outside the classroom with an academic curriculum taught within the classroom.  As one form of “experiential education,” Service-Learning seeks to broaden students’ understanding of course content through activities which are, at the same time, of service to the community.  Through structured reflection on their service, students are able to test and deepen their understanding of theoretical approaches in virtually any discipline

National Commission on Service-Learning

“…a teaching and learning approach that integrates community service with academic study to enrich learning, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities.”

National Service-Learning Clearinghouse

www.servicelearning.org

Adapted from the National and Community Service Act of 1990

Corporation for National and Community Service

Promotes learning through active participation Provides structured time for students to reflect Provides an opportunities to use skills and

knowledge in real-life situations Extends learning beyond the classroom Fosters a sense of caring for others

Community service example

If students remove trash from a streambed:

they are providing a service to the community as volunteers

Service-learning example When students remove trash from a streambed, analyze what they found, (data collection and

analyses) share the results and offer suggestions for the

neighborhood to reduce pollution, (data interpretation, writing, and public speaking)

and then reflect on their experience

THAT is service-learning!

Service-learning is not:

An episodic volunteer program

An add-on to an existing school or college curriculum

Completing minimum service hours in order to graduate

Service assigned as a form of punishment

Only for high school or college students

One-sided: benefiting only students or only the community

Common characteristics of authentic service-learning

positive, meaningful and real to the participants

cooperative rather than competitive experiences; promotes teamwork and citizenship

addresses complex problems in complex settings rather than simplified problems in isolation

engages problem-solving in the specific context of service activities and community challenges, rather than generalized or abstract concepts from a textbook

students are able to identify the most important issues within a real-world situation through critical thinking

promotes deeper learning; there are no "right answers" in the back of the book

Service-Learning is rapidly growing

• 712,000 students had participated in some form of service

• 12.2% of faculty were offering service-learning courses

• 6,272 service-learning courses were taught• 9% required service-learning for graduation

(1999-2000 academic year, among the 349 campuses that responded to the survey - Compact, 2001)

http://www.servicelearning.org/

SL at Wesleyan University• 1995: Student initiative to discuss experimental

learning• 1996: Support from University President and 50

faculty members– 1998: SOC316 (first class offered)

• 1999: Service-Learning Center was established, opened in 2003.

• 2002: University administration pledged to create and endowment in the coming years.

• Current support from the Surdna Foundation

Service-Learning Courses• Wesleyan University

– Community Research Seminar (SOC 316), Community Development and Organizing I&II (PSYC 301 & PSYC 302), Dance Teaching Workshop: Theory and Practice (DANC 341), Effects of NCLB on Middle Level Education (AFAM 334), American Sign Language and Literacy Skills (LANG291)

– Aging and the Elderly (BIOL116) (volunteer)– Integration of Life Science Learning and Clinical

Experience (BIOL223) (volunteer)– Introduction to GIS (E&ES322)

• Water quality, land-use, pollution projects with local or state agencies

– Environmental Geochemistry and Laboratory (E&ES 280/281) *Fall 2005*

Service-Learning Initiative Grant• Course description• Service component• Community partners• How often is the course taught? Part of your

normal teaching schedule?• 5 awards / year; $5,000 (up to 3K may be used

for faculty stipend, 2K must be used to cover course-related costs)

• 2 Course assistants, aid of the Service-Learning Center to help to organization of the class

Environmental Geochemistry (Fall 2003) Cultural Eutrophication of Lake Beseck

• Water column and pore water chemistry– pH, T, O2, cations,

anions, alkalinity

• Freeze cores– Total C and N, CaCO3

• Short piston cores– Porosity, bulk density

(MAR)

SolminContouring

SEM

Excellent bioturbation!Environmental History(recently put on city sewer system)

An Initial Evaluation of the Middletown North End Landfill as a Renewable Energy Source

(E&ES 280/281 Fall 2005)• Community Research Seminar received a proposal

from NEAT and the Jonah Center for Earth and Art (grassroots organizations)– “assess the potential of the Middletown landfill as

a source of renewable energy”

Kayak launch, energy technologies, new building, fish farming, etc…

E&ES 281 Environmental Geochemistry Lab• GOALS:

– Initial assessment of the North End landfill as a renewable, green energy source

– Educate Wesleyan students and Middletown community of the natural processes occurring in and around the landfill site

• Summer 2005: Collection of landfill historical data and regulatory information– City Public Works Commission Approval– CT State Bureau of Waste Management and DEP– Federal EPA-LMOP, Amcon (contractor)

• Fall 2005 semester– LandGEM and E-PLUS software packages– Volume, mass, and composition of landfill solids– Soil gases and fluxes– Organic matter decomposition experiments– River waters, marsh waters, and groundwaters– Soil, marsh, and landfill sediments

• Final class report and presentation to the Jonah Center and Middletown City officials

Who will benefit from this course?• Community Impact:

– Long term development of the site (Jonah Center)

– Results could be used to obtain funding for a test well (25-35K+)

• Improved student learning experience– “Hands-on” field and lab techniques– Computer modeling, group projects– Force students to explain scientific theories,

data interpretation, and conclusions to policy-makers

Resources• Acting Locally: Concepts and Models for

Service-Learning in Environmental Studies (1999) editor: Harold Ward, AAHE

• http://www.wesleyan.edu/slc/• Campus Contact

http://www.compact.org/ • National Society of Experimental Education

http://www.nsee.org/• National Service-Learning Clearinghouse

(http://www.servicelearning.org/)