Hands-on Approaches to Place-Based Learning about Water Resources through the NSF-BSI GK-12 Program

Fourth grade students at Ophir School, Big Sky, MT participated in a place-based seasonal study of their watershed as part of the NSF-GK12 Fellowship Program through the Big Sky Institute at Montana State University-Bozeman. The NSF-GK12 Fellowship Program facilitates the dissemination of knowledge from graduate students to K-12 students and teachers at local rural schools; in return, Fellows learn how to communicate their research to a novice audience. An integration of lectures, classroom experiments, demonstrations, and field excursions was used in accordance with national and State of Montana science and mathematics content standards to teach students about basic hydrology (discharge and stream profiles) and water quality (electrical conductivity and pH) at four local stream sites. Students monitored water quality parameters over the course of the school year to explore how these parameters changed seasonally. Lessons in basic geology were also integrated with the hydrologic studies to help explain factors that influence water quality and quantity. Learning goals included teaching students how to use scientific tools to measure discharge, electrical conductivity, pH, and air and water temperature, how to collect, process, and interpret data, and how to synthesize and present their results. The hands-on and place-based nature of this project aided in ancillary learning goals to instill a sense of environmental stewardship and to pique student interest in the Earth sciences by tying together water quality issues with students' daily lives and experiences. Learning outcomes and assessment included indicators of increased interest in Earth Sciences, desire to participate in inquiry-based science, ability to collect and analyze data, and a demonstration of student mastery of basic water quality concepts by student presentations at two local community meetings. This understanding, interest, and sense of stewardship are essential in students' abilities to make informed decisions about environmental issues in their community.