Celebrating and Leveraging Classroom Geographic and Cultural Diversity to Enhance Student Learning
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Course Design
- Describe the relationship between the natural water cycle and human water use.
- Recognize water quality parameters that may negatively affect human health and/or the environment and explain why these are important.
- Analyze the principles of solid-liquid separation for water treatment.
- Describe the physical and chemical processes necessary to meet a required separation performance.
- Analyze the chemical reactions and physical processes involved in water treatment for different purposes.
- Identify the components involved in different water treatment processes, including flocculation, coagulation, flotation, clarification, and sedimentation, among others.
- Evaluate how separation equipment can be combined to create a complete and functional system.
- Describe water quality issues and regulations at a local and national level.
2.2. Course Participants
2.3. Project Design
2.3.1. Local Example
2.3.2. Project Part 1
- Background and Introduction—“Tell us about where you are from. Where is it located (helpful to show on a map)? Population size? Anything else interesting, surprising, pertinent to share!”
- Drinking Water—“Where does the drinking water in your hometown come from? (i.e., What water sources? How much? Cost?) How does your hometown treat the drinking water? (i.e., What water treatment processes? Where?)”
- Wastewater—“Where does the wastewater go in your hometown? (i.e., When you flush the toilet, where does it go?) How does your hometown treat the wastewater? (i.e., What water treatment processes? Where?)”
- Water Sustainability—“State your definition of ‘water sustainability’. Reflect and comment on the sustainability of your hometown’s drinking and wastewater treatment models. (Think in terms of water, energy, cost, etc.) What if any water recycling efforts does your hometown have in place? With respect to water sustainability, in what ways is your hometown excelling? What challenges is your hometown facing? Again, with respect to water sustainability, how does your hometown compare to other cities?”
2.3.3. Project Part 2
- Hometown Water Model Sustainability—“In your previous report draft, you defined ‘water sustainability’, and reflected and commented on the sustainability of your hometown’s drinking and wastewater treatment models. Now, you will expand upon your reflections in the following ways:
- a.
- Make any revisions to your work to reflect any changes in your perceptions you may have had from what you have learned in our class.
- b.
- Defend your position by thoroughly comparing and contrasting the sustainability of your hometown’s water model with the sustainability of four other water models that you have learned about in this class from your classmates’ hometowns. Think carefully about what categories to include in your comparative analysis so that it is broad and thorough (i.e., water sourcing, cost, energy, culture, climate, recycling…)”.
- 2.
- Personal Reflection—“Reflect and comment on whether and how the following has changed for you as a result of what you have learned so far in the class:
- a.
- Your perceptions of your hometown’s water model.
- b.
- Your perceptions of humanity’s future water sustainability trajectory.
- c.
- Your own personal relationship with water”.
2.4. Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Deepened Knowledge of Home and Culture
3.2. Global Conceptualizations
Western society views water and the earth as a resource. As such, our treatment and actions degrade the environment over time, and we are experiencing the consequences of it in climate change. Choosing to view the Earth as life, and water as a part of us might change the way in which we treat it in our models, and use it in our daily lives. Through this project, my respect for water has grown considerably. I think the easiest way to improve sustainability in any water model, no matter the location, is to see it as life, not as a resource. To treat it with as much respect as we do animals or even humans.
3.3. Re-Evaluation of Perceptions and Beliefs
3.3.1. Water Sustainability
With further research, reflection, and peer collaboration, I do not think [my hometown] is as sustainable as it can be. Sustainability needs to be a dedication and priority, even when it may not be “needed”. [My hometown] has an opportunity to recycle water and use less chemicals in their treatment that not only affect the environment through wastewater effluent, but our bodies as well. I think [my hometown has] an opportunity and an obligation to implement a more circular approach to water.
I do not believe that [my hometown] is as sustainable as I originally thought. While they have a solid source of water that is sustainable and will provide water for many generations, they are not doing much else. There are possible plans to recycle water and insert it back into the [drinking water source], but the information on this is vague and confusing which leads me to believe that it is not a reality yet. However, they do seem to have plans to start integrating water recycling into their water management system which is a step in the right direction, I think. Compared to some of the other places we looked at though, I think [my hometown] gets a 2/10 for sustainability.
Prior to this research project, I had assumed that a city like [my hometown], with an abundance of water, would have an excellent water model. This project has pushed me to dig deeper and re-evaluate my perception of water in [my hometown]. After reflecting on [my hometown]’s water model, I find that much more can be done to increase sustainability efforts, in particular, water recycling. Water recycling really should be more of a common practice on a residential level.
From the water-scarce regions in the Middle East, I have learned about the importance of diversifying the sources of water. From the local communities of Los Angeles and San Diego, I have learned the importance of needing water to be recycled to reduce use and save the consumer money. From other communities in the U.S., I have learned the importance of the treatment of water and how it should not impact the surrounding environment. Using principles from other communities’ ideas of sustainability, we can adapt these principles for the vastly different water systems and communities.
3.3.2. Relationship to Water
Based on everything that I have learned this semester I cannot deny that my personal perception of water has completely changed. To me, water was always something that I have taken for granted…[the project] opened my eyes on the importance and complications of having pure safe drinking water.
To put my relationship with water very basically, I take it for granted even despite what I have learned from the class…I understand its importance more so than I did a few months ago but I am still unable to fully comprehend its pivotal role in our basic day to day lives.
I personally feel a commitment to do better than those before me in terms of sustainability and renewable energy. I love [my hometown] so dearly, and I want to do everything in my power to give future generations the ability to see the beauty of nature that I grew up with.
3.4. Future-Facing Viewpoints
Much like the fight against climate change, which sometimes people don’t believe water sustainability is part of, you are responsible for your own actions towards water sustainability. We must recycle, take care of natural resources, clean after ourselves, and take into consideration our actions. While I wish we could one day have water for everyone, it’s not possible, but each small step is better than nothing.
My perception before this class was that some cities were making strides towards water sustainability but the majority of cities were not. I think that this has been confirmed after learning about other people’s hometowns. A few places like Kauai have lots of water recycling programs that are very beneficial and create a sustainable water model. Other cities, like Louisville, have plenty of water and so have no worries about water security and are not looking towards the future at all. Then there are cities like San Diego, where the water supply is barely adequate and so efforts are made to recycle water and be sustainable, but the efforts are simply not enough and will not provide for future generations.
We have grown to just consume water and just ignore the consequences it would affect for others or even the future generations. We just need to come together and form different attitudes towards water. Setting a set of shared values in communities is a starting point for behavioral change.
There’s technology to help with improving water quality, but there’s only so much technology can do without the space or infrastructure to support it and there are a lot of restrictions just based on location and geography.
4. Discussion
5. Limitations
6. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
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Forbes, M.H.; Lord, S.M.; Díaz-Montiel, P. Celebrating and Leveraging Classroom Geographic and Cultural Diversity to Enhance Student Learning. Educ. Sci. 2024, 14, 287. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14030287
Forbes MH, Lord SM, Díaz-Montiel P. Celebrating and Leveraging Classroom Geographic and Cultural Diversity to Enhance Student Learning. Education Sciences. 2024; 14(3):287. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14030287
Chicago/Turabian StyleForbes, Marissa H., Susan M. Lord, and Paulina Díaz-Montiel. 2024. "Celebrating and Leveraging Classroom Geographic and Cultural Diversity to Enhance Student Learning" Education Sciences 14, no. 3: 287. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14030287
APA StyleForbes, M. H., Lord, S. M., & Díaz-Montiel, P. (2024). Celebrating and Leveraging Classroom Geographic and Cultural Diversity to Enhance Student Learning. Education Sciences, 14(3), 287. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14030287