THE FLOW OF CARE: INTEGRATING AN ETHIC OF CARE AND ETHICAL REFLECTION INTO A COMMUNITY-ENGAGED HYDROLOGY COURSE

This study focuses on the ethical development of two student cohorts of a community-engaged hydrology course. These students worked with a community partner that was undertaking efforts to improve Indianapolis’ urban waterways. The course learning objectives required students to: 1) calculate quantities related to various hydrological processes; 2) understand the principles of major hydrological instruments; 3) gain practical experience designing, executing, and documenting a hydrologic investigation; and 4) increase their capacity to care about and analyze the causes and implications of limited water resources.

Students met with the community partner three times. The first was an information gathering session. The second was a field experience quantifying soil quality, vegetation characteristics and water quality. At the third meeting, students presented their findings to the community partner. A subset of students also presented the class findings to residents living near the waterway. Coupled with these field experiences was a reflection strategy comprising a reading and four written reflections. The reading was a selection on Joan Tronto’s four elements of care: attentiveness, responsibility, competence, and responsiveness. These four elements provided the theme for each reflective prompt.

Before meeting the partner, students were prompted to review the partner’s website and craft three questions to ask them. In doing this, students practiced attentiveness. Secondly, students were prompted to describe the purpose and needs of the partner and to identify how they, as novice geoscientists, might address those needs. This required students to practice attentiveness and to take responsibility. After the field activity, students were prompted to reflect on how they competently collected data and how, in doing so, they provided care. After their presentations, students were prompted to reflect on the partner’s feedback on their analyses and how they might use the partner’s responsiveness to improve their work. Students practiced the four elements of care and reflectively considered their scientific work as a means for providing care. Based on an end-of-semester survey, all students agreed that the partner experience was valuable and that their ability to care about water resources increased.