Teaching Tips

• The activities can be used as a whole module or individual activities extracted and used as free standing lessons. When used as a module, the activities scaffold learning in an appropriate and logical sequence. Quantitative components enhance the rigor, but can easily be removed.
• The module is appropriate for inclusion in a geoscience curriculum within a surface water, human impact, land use or other similar unit of study. Assessments ideas are included.
• Check out the Instructor Stories and the "Adapting InTeGrate modules and courses for your classroom" webpage.

About the Content

• The module is split into three units that focus on using an ecosystem services approach to engage in civic discourse concerning land-use change.
• Students will learn about ecosystem services, especially related to the hydrologic cycle, and infer the ways land use changes impact hydrologic inputs and outputs.
• Data used in the module comes from several sources including Google Earth and USGS. As a result, data is current when pulled down from those sources.
• The activities require students to integrate and apply data from a variety of sources as they work through each activity.
• The design of the activities offers opportunities for students to engage with their own misconceptions and test them through the data and case studies in the activities.
• The design of the modules is such that instructors can pick and choose from activities and differentiate to include more or less quantitative treatment of the topics.
• Passed initial science review - expert science review pending.

About the Pedagogy

• This module contains three units, each consisting of two to three lessons, and the learning objectives encompass a broad range of skill.
• Comprehensive teacher materials are offered across the various webpages that make-up the module. Learning objectives are described for the module and each individual unit/subunit. Classroom ready documents such as PowerPoints and worksheets are available for download, and are easy to modify.
• All activities are designed to actively engage students. Students get to use real online tools, and instructors are encouraged to integrate local data to increase engagement and interest.
• Instructors can use the entire module or select individual activities as needed.
• Students should have some familiarity with the hydrologic cycle and land use.
• The module does not provide information about how to work with diverse learners.
• One strength is that the module is accompanied by Instructor Stories and the webpage on adapting InTeGrate modules and courses for your classroom. The lessons also include teaching tips.

• This resource engages students in using scientific data.
  See other data-rich activities

Technical Details/Ease of Use

• Students will benefit from being able to access Google Earth (the web version is sufficient). Viewing landscapes to analyze land use and historical imagery (when available) enhances the learning experience.
• Teachers will need to review the webpages to understand the sequencing of the activities and take advantage of the "Teacher stories" that are included.
• Offers nice features that allows community members to contribute up to date data and comments, for example, tips on using an updated version of the National Stormwater Calculator.
• The module is comprehensive and complete, with many links to high-quality background materials. These links are often repeated in multiple lessons, which makes it much easier to find them.
• There is one broken link at the time of review, the Watershed Literacy Assessment document.
• An instructor would likely have to do quite a bit of preparatory work to make sure they understand the concepts and are proficient with the tools.
• The activity requires a Windows computer because of constraints of one of the tools – this may be a problem for students who have Apple computers.