Graduation Semester and Year
Spring 2024
Language
English
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Earth and Environmental Science
Department
Earth and Environmental Sciences
First Advisor
Cory T. Forbes
Second Advisor
Ann Cavallo
Third Advisor
Nick Fang
Fourth Advisor
Cornelia Winguth
Abstract
This article-based dissertation consists of six manuscripts related to teaching and learning about socio-hydrologic systems to address how to support the understanding of the interactions between human and water systems to support current and future evidence-based decision making related to water management across formal education. The first and second manuscripts introduce standards related to water education across K-12 grade bands. These standards focus on the relationship between water and natural (Chapter 2) and human (Chapter 3) systems. The third manuscript is about a longitudinal study of an undergraduate course – Water in Society – focused on students’ learning about human and natural systems of water across five years of implementation of the course between 2017 to 2021. It focuses on students’ conceptual gains, their use of a computer-based model called the Water Balance Model, and their evaluation of the course (Chapter 4). The fourth and fifth manuscripts introduce a three-week module – Food Energy Water (FEW) Nexus module – taught during the Water in Society course in 2020 and 2021, where students used a web-based data visualization tool called Hydroviz to address an authentic socio-hydrologic issue. The studies focus on the evaluation of students’ enactment of their systems-thinking (Chapter 5) and decision-making (Chapter 6) skills through their engagement with the module on the second year of implementation. The sixth manuscript is about the evaluation of a national faculty development program (FDP) where faculty, post-doctoral researchers, and graduate teaching assistants gained knowledge about the FEW-Nexus module. The study focuses on evaluating participants’ adoption decisions of the module and their evaluation of the FDP (Chapter 7). The dissertation concludes with future areas of study to support teaching and learning about socio-hydrologic issues, supported by evidence-based tools, to support their understanding of complex issues.
Keywords
Water literacy, Socio hydrologic systems, Water based models, Food Energy Water Nexus, Decision making, Systems thinking
Disciplines
Curriculum and Instruction
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Mostacedo‑Marasovic, Silvia‑Jessica, "Water education: Teaching and learning about socio-hydrologic systems in formal K-16 classroom settings and faculty development" (2024). Earth & Environmental Sciences Dissertations. 1.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/ees_dissertations/1
Comments
Each article of the dissertation received contributions from multiple co-authors. Cory T. Forbes, PhD. contributed to all chapters of the dissertation. In all cases, the co-author made substantial contributions to the conception, and design of the research project; the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data; the drafting and substantial revision of the work; and has approved the submitted version of the manuscripts. Diane Lally, PhD., contributed to Chapter 4 of the dissertation. In this case, the co-author made substantial contributions to acquiring data, revising the work, and approving the submitted version of the manuscript. Brooke Colleen Mott, MSc., contributed to Chapters 2 and 3 of the dissertation. In these cases, the co-author made substantial contributions to acquiring data, revising the work, and approving the submitted version of the manuscripts. Destini N. Petitt, PhD., contributed to Chapter 4 of the dissertation. In this case, the co-author made substantial contributions to acquiring data, revising the work, and approving the submitted version of the manuscript. Holly C. White, PhD Candidate, contributed to Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the dissertation. In these cases, the co-author made substantial contributions to the conception and design of the research project; the acquisition and analysis of data; the drafting and substantial revision of the work; and has approved the submitted version of the manuscripts. Multiple author release forms that document consent were provided from the co-authors to use co-authored work in the dissertation.
This research received funding support from various sources. Chapters 2 and 3 were funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) (DUE-IUSE #1609598), the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) Higher Education Challenge (HEC) program (grant number # 2017-70003-26387, project accession # 1011948), and the PD-STEP program (grant number # 2017-68010-25953 / project accession # 1010949). Chapter 4 was based on work supported by the NSF (DUE-IUSE #1609598) and the Daugherty Water for Food Institute. Chapters 5, 6, and 7 received support from the NSF (DUE-IUSE #1609598 and DUE-IUSE #1726965) and the USDA-NIFA (grant number # 2020-70003-35995, project accession #: 1027670). The opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agencies mentioned.