Purpose: This study aims to determine preference and concerns regarding tap vs bottled water and recommendations to increase tap water use in a US Midwest university. The authors propose interventions to increase tap water use based on survey results. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted an online survey of the community of a…

This paper describes environmental systems games developed for energy and water resource use designed to be adaptable from high school to undergraduate use. Two of the games are computer simulations with adjustable levels of difficulty that can be done in a computer lab or as a homework assignment. The third is a peer-to-peer roleplayer game…

If a teacher is an environmental organizer, like Selene Gonzales-Carillo, the classroom is a conference room, the community garden, or a church parking lot. Students are everyone--from toddlers to the elderly; they come with a variety of levels of formal education. The goal is to increase environmental justice, community well-being, and…

The purpose of this laboratory experiment is to study fundamental concepts of kinetics and equilibria and the isotope effects associated with both of these concepts. The concepts of isotopes in introductory and general chemistry courses are typically used within the contexts of atomic weights and radioactivity. Kinetic and equilibrium isotope…

For the past decade, academic institutions have made significant strides toward sustainability--creating greener facilities, and educating and engaging their students in the process. With budgets tight, any green initiatives need to be backed, first and foremost, by a compelling economic argument. Harper College in Palatine, Illinois is a 180-acre…

The purpose of the study was two-fold: to (a) investigate the influence of explicit nature of science (NOS) and explicit argumentation instruction in the context of a socioscientific issue on the argumentation skills and NOS understandings of students, and (b) explore the transfer of students' NOS understandings and argumentation skills learned in…

Environmental issues can serve as a marvelous framework for high-level student analysis of critical scientific and social concerns. We describe a series of activities and discussions that motivate students to explore environmentalism, sustainable development, carbon offsets, and related ideas with an engaged learning format that helps students to…

Geology is increasingly involved in the planning and implementation of community development projects throughout the globe. A partnership among the Water For Life organization, Wheaton College in Illinois, and the village of Tushile in Kosovo during the past few years has proven to be successful in potentially sustainable improvements, including…

Closing the gap between theoretical reservoir operation and the real-world implementation remains a challenge in contemporary reservoir operations. Past research has focused on optimization algorithms and establishing optimal policies for reservoir operations. In this research, we attempt to understand operators' release decisions by investigating…

The present study examined the cognitive factors that influence children's physical science learning from a multimedia instruction. Using a causally coherent text and visual models, we taught 4th- and 7th-grade children about the observable and molecular properties of the three states of water. We manipulated whether the text was read by a tutor…

These materials are for use by elementary and middle school teachers in the state of Illinois. This document contains five modules for teaching water conservation. Topics include: (1) "Life Depends on Water,""What is Water?" and "The Hydrologic Cycle"; (2) "The Treatment of Drinking Water"; (3)…

"The Geography Teacher" provides hands-on reference and educative material for K-12 Geography teachers. The journal also pioneers innovative ideas for contemporary teaching methods, including lesson plans. This issue contains the following: (1) Ask Dr. de Blij (Dr. Harm de Blij); (2) Refugees in America (TGT); (3) Guinness and the Irish…

This bulletin was prepared to indicate recent progress in rural life and education as disclosed by the educational exhibits at the Panama-Pacific Exposition of 1915. The discussion includes (1) the general phases of progress in rural education, and (2) advancement in its more specific agricultural phases. Little attempt has been made to present…