Educating Professionals to Develop Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) as Infrastructure for Water Pollution Control: A Course Proposal
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Initial Planning and Course Design
2.2. Course Implementation
2.3. Assessment of Learning Outcomes
- (a)
- (b)
- The Shapiro–Wilk normality test was conducted to test the normality of the responses. This test helps to decide whether parametric or nonparametric tests are suitable for further analyses [22].
- (c)
- The average (M) was determined to estimate the degree of satisfaction. In addition, the Standard Deviation (SD) was calculated.
- (d)
- The Interrater Agreement Statistics (IRA; awg) was conducted to analyze and validate the students’ agreements among the respondent groups. The IRA analysis was made with the code deduced by Lebreton and Senter [23] as follows: (a) 0.00 < awg < 0.30 “lack of agreement”; (b) 0.31 < awg < 0.50, “weak agreement”; (c) 0.51 < awg < 0.70 “moderate agreement”; (d) 0.71 < awg < 0.90 “strong agreement”; and (e) 0.91 < awg < 1.00 “very strong agreement”.
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Course Planification
3.1.1. Competencies and Learning Outcomes
3.1.2. Planification Proposal
Competency | Learning Outcome | Unit | Topic | Time (Percentage) |
---|---|---|---|---|
C1 | LO1 | 1. Water quality and the treatment | Introduction | 0.8 |
Characteristics of water | 2.3 | |||
Methods for water/wastewater examination: solids, organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus, and pathogens | 3.0 | |||
Regulations: environmental protection, discharge, and reuse | 2.3 | |||
Basic concepts to water quality improvement | 2.3 | |||
LO2 | Principles for wastewater treatment | 1.5 | ||
Steps in a wastewater treatment process | 3.0 | |||
Principles for Stormwater management | 3.0 | |||
Citizen participation process with emphasis on water technologies implementation | 3.0 | |||
C2 | LO3 | 2. Introduction to NBS and its application to water quality improvement | Brief introduction to the NBS concept | 1.5 |
Biogeochemical cycle and its relationship with NBS for water quality improvement | 1.5 | |||
Environmental problems that push the NBS towards water quality improvement | 1.5 | |||
Advantages of NBS applications (ecosystem services) | 3.0 | |||
LO4 | Introduction to circular economy concepts | 1.5 | ||
Management of natural resources for implementation of NBS | 3.0 | |||
Economic analyses for NBS projects: costs and valuation of resource recovery | 3.0 | |||
C3 | LO5 | 3. Design and construction of NBS project for water quality improvement | Importance of plants and biodiversity during NBS applications | 4.5 |
Necessary information for NBS designs | 3.0 | |||
Theoretical fundamentals for NBS designs | 6.1 | |||
Design process: different approaches for NBS technologies | 18.2 | |||
C4 | LO6; LO7 | 4. Start-up and operation of NBS projects for water quality improvement | Activities for the start-up process in NBS | 3.0 |
Indicators for operation of NBS projects: guidelines for operation | 2.3 | |||
Main problems during operation: solutions | 2.3 | |||
C1, C2, C3 | LO1; LO2; LO3; LO5 | 5. Field Trip | Visit to two rural wastewater treatment plants | 12.1 |
3.2. Course Implementation
3.3. Evaluation of Course Implementation
4. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Competency | Code |
---|---|
Know the scientific, technical, social, and legal aspects of the treatment process, linking them with NBS projects to improve water quality | C1 |
Comprehend the scientific–technical basis of NBS projects focused on improving water quality | C2 |
Design an NBS project based on the technical and legal criteria to improve water quality | C3 |
Analyze the implementation of an NBS project using the criteria for startup and achieve the operability of the process | C4 |
Competency | Learning Outcome | Code |
---|---|---|
C1 | Know the key concepts about water quality for implementing treatment processes to improve its quality according to current regulations in Chile and abroad | LO1 |
Identify aspects of the treatment process to improve water quality | LO2 | |
C2 | Associate aspects to be taken into account for the implementation of NBS projects in order to improve water quality | LO3 |
Comprehend the natural resource management and circular economy principles for the development of NBS projects | LO4 | |
C3 | Apply theoretical bases and design criteria for the development of NBS projects for treatment and improvement of water quality | LO5 |
C4 | Analyze the start-up and operation of an NBS project using criteria adapted to the technology, to achieve optimal operation of the process | LO6 |
Comprehend the potential failures associated with start-up and operation, to establish solution mechanisms for an NBS project in order to improve water quality | LO7 |
Learning Outcome | LO1 | LO2 | LO3 | LO4 | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Question | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q5 | Q6 | Q7 | Q8 | Q9 | Q10 | Q11 | Q12 | Q13 | Q14 | Q15 | Q16 | Q17 | Q18 | Q19 | Q20 |
Type of Participant | ||||||||||||||||||||
Professional (institution) | 50.0 | 77.8 | 66.7 | 72.2 | 27.8 | 77.8 | 83.3 | 77.8 | 27.8 | 66.7 | 88.9 | 11.1 | 83.3 | 38.9 | 100 | 94.4 | 83.3 | 94.4 | 83.3 | 88.9 |
Professional (industry) | 30.8 | 61.5 | 61.5 | 84.6 | 23.1 | 84.6 | 84.6 | 76.9 | 53.8 | 76.9 | 92.3 | 0.0 | 76.9 | 30.8 | 100 | 84.6 | 92.3 | 84.6 | 69.2 | 84.6 |
Student (bachelor) | 68.8 | 93.8 | 75.0 | 75.0 | 31.3 | 100 | 100 | 93.8 | 62.5 | 81.3 | 93.8 | 0.0 | 87.5 | 12.5 | 100 | 100 | 93.8 | 100 | 75.0 | 43.8 |
Student (postgraduate) | 100 | 100 | 0 | 50.0 | 0 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 50.0 | 100 | 100 | 0.0 | 100 | 50.0 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 100 |
Professors | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 0 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 0 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
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Share and Cite
Vera-Puerto, I.; Valdés, H.; Laurens-Arredondo, L.; López-Cortés, X.; Quiroz, M.; Hernández-Crespo, C.; Belmonte, M.; Campos, J.L.; Martín-Monerris, M.; Miglio, R.; et al. Educating Professionals to Develop Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) as Infrastructure for Water Pollution Control: A Course Proposal. Sustainability 2024, 16, 7199. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16167199
Vera-Puerto I, Valdés H, Laurens-Arredondo L, López-Cortés X, Quiroz M, Hernández-Crespo C, Belmonte M, Campos JL, Martín-Monerris M, Miglio R, et al. Educating Professionals to Develop Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) as Infrastructure for Water Pollution Control: A Course Proposal. Sustainability. 2024; 16(16):7199. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16167199
Chicago/Turabian StyleVera-Puerto, Ismael, Hugo Valdés, Luis Laurens-Arredondo, Xaviera López-Cortés, Marco Quiroz, Carmen Hernández-Crespo, Marisol Belmonte, José Luis Campos, Miguel Martín-Monerris, Rosa Miglio, and et al. 2024. "Educating Professionals to Develop Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) as Infrastructure for Water Pollution Control: A Course Proposal" Sustainability 16, no. 16: 7199. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16167199
APA StyleVera-Puerto, I., Valdés, H., Laurens-Arredondo, L., López-Cortés, X., Quiroz, M., Hernández-Crespo, C., Belmonte, M., Campos, J. L., Martín-Monerris, M., Miglio, R., Molle, P., & Arias, C. A. (2024). Educating Professionals to Develop Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) as Infrastructure for Water Pollution Control: A Course Proposal. Sustainability, 16(16), 7199. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16167199