Advancing STEM Education by Promoting Water Literacy in K-12 Education

According to a US Department of Education performance review, the K-12 educational systems in rural Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana appear largely under resourced. Increased use of online resources in the classroom provides a unique opportunity to address this problem. However, students need meaningful problems with everyday connections to capture their interest. Our research shows that water issues are ubiquitous problems confronted by these communities. The Train the Trainers program is developing videos and other online resources using water science as a conduit to make STEM fields more accessible and engaging to students typically underrepresented in STEM fields. To engage students with various learning styles, the videos utilize animations, light board presentations, lab demonstrations, and field trips. The videos introduce high level concepts early in introductory courses targeting students from middle school to higher-ed. Each video is accompanied by guided notes, quizzes, and homework sheets, all free for teachers to integrate into their existing STEM curricula. This project has collaborators from The University of Alabama, The University of Mississippi, Louisiana State University, Tuskegee University, and Southern University. Researchers from these universities are creating open-access environmental modules for teacher and student use that will be available via the Train the Trainers website. At The University of Alabama, groundwater mechanics and environmental engineering modules are being created. The videos discuss water transport, groundwater movement and storage, water treatment, ethical considerations, and a wholistic view of environmental design. At The University of Mississippi, a sustainable water management module is being developed to introduce the inputs and outputs of water budgets, highlight key players in the water sector, and explain methods for preserving water resources. At the Louisiana State University, a high-fidelity groundwater model is being developed as an educational tool to showcase the complexity of groundwater systems and depths where groundwater is withdrawn. Upon course completion, students will be equipped with a better understanding of STEM fields that will allow them to make decisions conscious of their environmental presence.