An associate teaching professor in UW Bothell\u2019s School of STEM<\/a>, Dr. Charity Lovitt is passionate about the value of community-based learning. She\u2019d previously incorporated community-engaged projects in her Discovery Core Experience<\/a> courses, geared toward first-year and pre-major students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSeeing the impact those projects had for first-year students, I really wanted to replicate that experience for our Chemistry majors,\u201d she said. \u201cI know firsthand how impactful those experiences can be. 足彩app哪个是正规的y can be really motivating and stimulate deep learning \u2014 and send you on new directions in your career.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n 足彩app哪个是正规的 idea to create a new chemistry course focused on water and aqueous environments is something she credits to her time in Qatar, where she taught as a U.S. Fulbright scholar<\/a> in 2023 and learned about chemistry specific to water treatment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When Lovitt reached out to the Office of Connected Learning<\/a> to identify possible partners for the course, the campus\u2019 own Office of Sustainability<\/a> seemed like a perfect fit, offering both easy access and a means for students to see the impact of their work up close and over time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lovitt worked with Shahrzad Tehrani, sustainability coordinator, and on the first day of class Tehrani presented students with several project options. Together, the class selected two \u2014 a stormwater sampling project and a water conservation workshop that could be used for community outreach and engagement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In support of sustainability goals set by the shared UW Bothell-Cascadia College campus, the Stormwater Management Program monitors several sampling points to collect data, reduce pollution and protect water quality. Over the quarter, students joined David Tinto, Cascadia College stormwater technician, for hands-on experience in stormwater sampling techniques, proper field protocols and lab testing methods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c足彩app哪个是正规的 data and samples collected by the students play an important role in supporting the campus\u2019 environmental goals and regulatory compliance,\u201d Tinto said. \u201cThis information helps identify potential sources of pollution, track trends in water quality over time and evaluate the effectiveness of current stormwater management practices. Additionally, involving students in this process fosters a campus culture of environmental responsibility and hands-on learning.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n 足彩app哪个是正规的 students collected weekly samples from six sites around campus, which they then tested for different water quality criteria, such as E. coli, dissolved oxygen and pollutants. As the sampling took place over an entire quarter, students were also able to see how weather and other events affected their results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI thought it was really interesting how our data collection could pull some knowledge from previous sampling as we went and connect it to different certain results,\u201d said Jaci Chiang, a junior majoring in Chemistry. \u201cWe could also see when there were major changes, like when it was snowing and there was salt on the roads or rain contributing to runoff, so I really enjoyed connecting all the different components together.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n 足彩app哪个是正规的n, during the second part of the quarter, the class got to work creating a workshop that the Office of Sustainability could use as a tool for educational outreach about water issues and conservation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “I\u2019m just really thankful that I took this class, where I got to work with a community partner and have the opportunity to teach other people, while also learning myself.\u201d<\/p> Jaci Chiang, junior, Chemistry <\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Lovitt had experience working with Pacific Science Center on similar community education formats and shared resources with students on how to best approach informal learning for various audiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe do some outreach and tabling in the community where we want to engage people on sustainability themes,\u201d Tehrani said, \u201cso this was a mutually beneficial project. It was fantastic to have a group of students develop this initiative. Science communication is such an important skill to have. Regardless of the specific major or path students are on, there\u2019s a need to explain why your work is important.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n For Kroshkina, who plans to go to medical school, this skill was particularly rewarding to learn. \u201cFinding ways to compile knowledge and to be able to communicate that and to have the skills to do that is very important \u2014 not just in the field I want to go into but in general,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s one thing to be great at something, and then it\u2019s a whole other component to be able to teach that something to someone else and continue to spread that knowledge.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n At the end of the quarter, students gave a pilot presentation of the workshop to Lovitt\u2019s chemistry seminar course. Presenting not only to their peers but also to Tehrani as a project stakeholder was both challenging and rewarding for the students. \u201cI know how intimidating it is to present to your peers,\u201d Lovitt said, \u201cand to see them pull together at the end to give such an outstanding presentation was great. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHaving a real external person that you\u2019re presenting to really helps you understand the stakes of what you\u2019re learning \u2014 and raises the bar of what you\u2019re willing to do when you present.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although unexpected, the on-campus collaboration was undoubtedly the highlight of the class, the students said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c足彩app哪个是正规的 lab work taught me that I want to pursue a career with opportunities for hands-on work, and the workshop taught me how to work with others,\u201d Chiang said. \u201cThis class was not what I expected it to be, which was a typical lecture course with some labs. I\u2019m just really thankful that I took this class, where I got to work with a community partner and have the opportunity to teach other people while also learning myself.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n 足彩app哪个是正规的 experience was equally rewarding for Tehrani, who has a passion for working with students through community-engaged projects such as these. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI enjoy introducing students to campus through this different 足彩app哪个是正规的,\u201d she said. \u201cTo see them discover parts of campus, like the wetlands, that they\u2019ve never been to or to plant a tree that they will forever know is there because of them \u2014 it really strengthens a connection to the land and the community when you\u2019re contributing to the campus in some way.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\nSupporting campus sustainability<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Communicating science concepts<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Strengthening community connections<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n