EXTENDING INTEGRATE MATERIALS ACROSS THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO (UTEP) SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING CURRICULUM

Over a 5-year period we have introduced InTeGrate curricular materials into a range of geological science, environmental science and civil engineering undergraduate courses including physical and historical geology laboratories (for majors and non-majors), introductory environmental science, and geology for engineers. These classes have ranged in size from 10 to 220 students, in instructional method from face-to-face to on-line, and in classroom setting from completely moveable classroom set-ups to fixed lecture-hall seating. Our students range from freshmen to seniors, about 80% are Hispanic and over 70% do not speak English as their first language at home. InTeGrate materials have comprised from 5 to 40% of our courses’ contents. We have most frequently used activities from “Climate of Change”, “Environmental Justice and Freshwater Resources” and “Human’s Dependence on Earth’s Mineral Resources” modules; however, parts of 5 other modules have also been used. Student feedback indicates gallery walks and jigsaw based activities are highly popular and keep students engaged, along with activities that have a local or personal focus such as estimating water footprints, observing declining water well levels or determining how minerals are used in common household products. We have found that as more InTeGrate or InTeGrate-like material is added to a course the more comfortable students become to ask and respond to questions in-class and to work in groups to solve multi-faceted problems. The use of authentic data sets also encourages the students to become proficient at reading charts, graphs and maps.