Curriculum Reform
I am reforming curriculum in all courses along three primary directions: 1) integrating research into the curriculum, 2) emphasizing a holistic, multi-disciplined approach to water resources engineering, and 3) implementing active learning techniques. Examples include:
- Exploring real-life case studies with teams of students to emphasize the importance of course work to engineering design. Students work together in teams when exploring these case studies. Field trips are often involved where students visit sites and obtain data.
- Using computer demonstrations during lectures to illustrate application of theory, and to develop student proficiency in state-of-the-art software packages (e.g., ArcGIS, AutoCAD, MATLAB, 3DFlow, etc.) This fosters understanding for the upcoming tech-savvy generation of students.
- Partitioning lectures into a series of mini-lectures by periodically shifting the mode of instruction/learning throughout a class period. This has been accomplished using computer demonstrations, small group and class discussions, working through examples collaboratively, and pausing the lecture to allow time for reflection.
- Introducing help sessions in graduate courses. These sessions provide a forum where students freely ask questions and answers are obtained collaboratively by both instructor and students working out details on the board. This learning environment fosters teamwork and synthesis of course material, and it provides an effective mechanism for evaluating level of understanding.
