A Problem-Based Learning Exercise for Environmental Geology

Abstract

A site investigation in which students act as remedial project managers for the state, the polluter and the local community has been designed as a problem-based learning exercise in an upper-level environmental geology course. The 3 week long (6 class meetings) exercise serves as a capstone experience for the class and capitalizes on a series of lectures and laboratories that introduce students to environmental regulations, aspects of site investigation and contaminant remediation, the physical and chemical properties of inorganic and organic contaminants, well log interpretation, plume delineation, and risk assessment. The design of the exercise requires students to develop a functional collaboration in order to meet assignment deadlines and complete the investigation. While each group develops a different dynamic, the introduction of problem-based learning into the environmental geology curriculum has given students the opportunity to develop the problem solving skills necessary to manage a complex environmental investigation.