THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE WATER! USING A PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING SCENARIO AND ARGUMENTATION TO INVESTIGATE GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION OF AN AQUIFER AND REMEDIATION DESIGN (Invited Presentation)

The impact of natural and human-induced environmental crises on water resources can be used as a pedagogical tool to motivate student interest in science content and as a problem-based learning scenario on the threat of groundwater contamination and hazard prevention. In our activity, students are engaged in the design of a highway bypass for transport of hazardous cargo and the potential effect it could have during a spill. They investigate the porosity of a variety of earth materials, infiltration of water through these materials to determine specific yield and retention, and simulate groundwater flow and aquifer contamination and remediation. To prevent the hazardous material from entering the groundwater and watershed, students must choose the earth materials to design the structure of their choice and purpose. Students present and defend their bypass design explaining the reasoning for their chosen materials citing data from their analysis as evidence. Hazardous materials spills are a common occurrence, and because communities depend on groundwater, the relevance and significance of this design can promote increased understanding of groundwater concepts and issues.