Water 9-1-1: Inquiry in the Science Classroom(all)

Overview

This course explores the challenges communities are facing in maintaining water and wastewater infrastructure. Participants will develop an insight into these challenges and potential consequences to public health and other social costs if and when these infrastructures fail. In many communities immediate attention and spending needs to be dedicated to these challenges so water will flow from the faucet and waste water will go down the drain. Participants will be involved in defining the problems and determining solutions within their own communities and then encouraged to share these challenges with their students in inquiry based units.

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to

- Gain knowledge of the development of water and wastewater infrastructures from an historical perspective.
- Develop an understanding of the water and wastewater infrastructures in the metropolitan St. Louis area and surrounding region.
- Develop insight into why water and wastewater infrastructure fails.
- Develop insight into the consequences to public health, and other social costs, when water and wastewater infrastructure fails
- Develop awareness of careers available in the water and wastewater sector.
- Develop an appreciation of where water and wastewater services should fit into a community’s or individual’s spending priorities

As a final project participants will develop an end of unit culminating task using a Learning Cycle (5 E’s) lesson plan and an outline of the preceding unit of instruction for the water and wastewater infrastructure in the students’ school community.

Format and Requirements

This course is divided into six one-week sessions that include readings, an activity, and an online discussion among course participants. Each session is designed to take approximately two to four hours to complete. The outline for the course is as follows:

Session One: The Importance of Clean Drinking Water
Session Two: The Water Emergency
Session Three: The Cost of Failure
Session Four: Careers in Water and Wastewarer Management
Session Five: Develop a Plan for Your Community
Session Six: Final Project

Prerequisites

This course is for teachers, technology specialists, curriculum specialists, professional development specialists, or other school personnel. Participants are expected to have regular access to computers. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating to computer files.