An interdisciplinary learning module on water sustainability in cities

Abstract

As part of the National Science Foundation InTeGrate project, an interdisciplinary course module on Water Sustainability in Cities has been created by professors with backgrounds in civil engineering, hydrology, and atmospheric sciences at four higher education institutions in the United States. The module has nine units, with each unit composed of one or more 75-minute lessons. The materials introduce concepts related to sustainability and sustainable design of water infrastructure, urban hydrology, urban climate and evapotranspiration, water demand and stormwater runoff, water infrastructure, green infrastructure, extreme events, and planning. These concepts are delivered in interactive lecture and flipped classroom modes. Data-driven examples, case studies, and an integrative planning and design exercise provide guided and independent learning opportunities. The module includes explicit formative and summative assessment elements, culminating in the team project. After the materials were created, the module was reviewed for quality by independent experts, revised by the instructor team, pilot tested, assessed, revised again, and made available online. The pilot testing was conducted in four different courses, at a variety of undergraduate student levels (freshman to senior), and at different institutions. The pilot testing helped to identify areas to improve as well as approaches to adapt the module to different types of courses and different styles of teaching, all of which has been recorded in instructor guidance online. The effectiveness of the module in the pilot tests was assessed in terms of changes to student attitudes and motivations with regards to environmental sustainability. Student learning is also lightly assessed. This paper describes the module content and assessment, the process of development, and lessons learned about the interdisciplinary and multiple instructor design and testing of an instructional module.