Beyond the Tap: Engaging Students Through a Service Learning, Community-Based Water Quality Testing Exercise

As an instructor of lower division general education (G.E.) geography courses, I consistently look for ways to engage students, especially those who may be new to the discipline. Students in my courses range from majors who wish to expand their knowledge to students who are taking the course to fulfill a G.E. requirement; therefore, I incorporate high-impact practices into my courses that allow for experiential and project-based learning. Often, these experiences can be framed through a service learning component, which provides students an opportunity to partner with the local community to address regional issues. One of my lower division G.E. courses, Water & Power, focuses on socioeconomic and political issues associated with water management, accessibility, and sustainability. Course topics include resource availability and use and various aspects of sustainable development at the local, regional, and global level. Of particular interest is a section devoted to water quality, where students learn about variables affecting water quality for agricultural, environmental, and urban use. Although these topics are covered through lecture material, I wanted to provide students with an experiential learning activity that would solidify the connection between lecture material and real-world water quality challenges. It was important to include a field component to this project, as field work can be a catalyst for students to actively engage in the research process and recognize opportunities for their education they had not previously considered (Mitchell and Collins 2018). Recognizing the importance of experiential and project-based learning in retention of knowledge (Bauerle and Park 2012), fostering a deeper connection to local community (Knapp, Harbor, and Ginwalla 2003; Andersen 2011), and providing a chance for students to engage in the research process (David 2008; Efstratia 2014), I developed a project where students collected water samples from within their own community, which were then analyzed for biological and chemical indicators of water quality. The students subsequently used the results to pose questions within their local community and share knowledge about water management and sustainability.