Category: Uncategorized (Page 1 of 9)

Pop quiz! True or False?

Environmental education is not required in most public schools in the United States. 

Many schools do not have the funding for hands-on activities.

There are communities in the United States that don’t have clean water.

Think about it for a second.

Well, if you said they’re all true, you’d be correct! 

Our vision is to educate the youth about good water conservation practices so that they implement these habits in their home. Looking at the bigger picture, we want to influence this new generation to be knowledgeable about water and combat climate change. We have orchestrated our own water fair at JJK Academy with students aged 8-10. We had 4 stations that focused on water conservation vocabulary, soil, water runoff, and water filtration. By participating in water fairs, children are exposed to water conservation exercises and will want to take pride in conserving their Earth. 

This is important to the St. Louis area because it is located on a flood plain. Not only is this area on a flood plain, it also has a heavily industrial background. The pipes that are underground are deteriorating over time and are not sustainable during heavy rains. Areas in Illinois like Cahokia Heights (formerly Cahokia, Centreville, and Alorton) and East St. Louis face sewage flooding into their yards. The Community-Oriented Digital Engagement Scholars (CODES) at SIUE partnered with the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Food, Agriculture, Nutrition, and Innovation Center to look deeper into this issue. We are six students from this program who work with after-school kids at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee (JJK) Academy in East St. Louis. 

We have conducted two years of research on this wicked water equity issue. We have interviewed local educators and organizations, surveyed nearly 200 educators regarding their part in water conservation education, and learned from SIUE’s own STEM Center faculty about what it takes to develop lesson plans. Soaking in all this information and seeking a game plan, we visited the Illinois State Capitol, where we spoke with legislators about our findings. We decided to tackle after-school programming, which has fewer regulations. Read further to learn about the steps we took to, ultimately, orchestrate our very own water fair!

Our first semester in CODES was spent defining our “wicked” problem. They call it a wicked problem because it is so deep and multifaceted. We asked ourselves questions like, “What are stakeholders and who are they in this situation?” and “What does this flooding issue look like along the Southern American Bottom?”. Not too long after our first introduction, we were itching to find out more. 

During just our second semester in CODES, we immersed ourselves in research, gathering data, and overall familiarizing ourselves with our wicked problem. In doing this, we created a survey aimed toward educators. We titled this “Teachers’ Perspectives on Water Conservation Education”. We wanted to see what educators were or weren’t doing about this crisis, but also get a feel for their classroom environment. Our survey questions were mostly multiple choice, but ended with a few free responses. We received 196 total responses. The majority of our responses came from those who interacted with sixth through eighth-grade students. 

Across the board, educators agreed that hands-on labs and experiments work best for engaging students. However, when asked if they implement water conservation topics into their classes, the majority said no. If they responded no, the next question asked why not. The emerging themes were lack of awareness, lack of funding, and outstanding curriculum requirements, all preventing educators from implementing water conservation into their classrooms. This was eye-opening and arguably the most important takeaway. We took this information and presented it at the SIU System Day at the Illinois State Capitol. We spoke with legislators about the curriculum requirements as well as the sparse funding, and we will be following up with another visit in March 2026. 

On top of constructing a survey, we also interviewed a local educator, Zach, who also works with after-school kiddos at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Academy. Here you can find the full transcription of the interview. 

We asked questions regarding how the kids at the academy learn and what changes are feasible to their after-school program. There were many themes that emerged, but a few outshone the others. For example, technological advancement was one recurring theme. Zach said on multiple occasions that he’d like to utilize technology and potentially drones to help kids visualize these water conservation issues, “Drones! That’s what I’m trying to get right now. We have a good drone program; it’s probably one of my favorite ones. And I’ve been trying, begging, and begging for a thermal imaging drone. And just no luck, no funding… I think stuff like that, that’s easy for kids to understand, where they can automatically pull up a chart, I think is great.” 

Another theme is activity characteristics for the after-school program. He wants these activities to be hands-on and science-forward. Zach said, “I think water conservation hits a lot, and science. They’re not the focus kind of test scores. It’s really math and reading, right?” This explains his frustration with the lack of science education requirements in the state.

The last theme is what is important to these kids and what they take away when they go home. He wants to influence these kids to tie what they learn in his space to their homes, hoping they make a difference in their community. 

One of our last steps in our research semester was visiting SIUE’s STEM Center. We met with the head of the center, Andrea Dexheimer, who is a research biologist at SIUE. She talked to us about all the things that go into finding and/or creating lesson plans, such as Bloom’s Taxonomy. This was especially helpful for both those who constructed water fair activities as well as those who planned the water fair toolkit. 

After a year of researching and brainstorming, we decided to host a water fair at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Academy. There were 4 stations: “The Magic of Water Filtration”, “The Dirt Detective”, “Runoff with Water Knowledge”, and “Water Word Wonders”.

Click here to read more about our water fair. This presentation will be used as a resource for teachers who would like to implement our water fair into their school curriculum or after-school program. This presentation will help guide teachers in using each lesson plan to the best of its ability for students. Our ultimate goal is to implement more water infrastructure education for youth in East St. Louis, influencing a new generation to become further aware of issues regarding all-around water infrastructure. The purpose of this presentation is to go over each lesson in the water fair tool kit and explain what went well, and things we can work on to make the lesson plan better.

After our water fair concluded, we were able to dissect what went well and what areas could use improvement. One of our group members, Payton Plummer, constructed a water fair toolkit. This is a guide for other communities to implement similar events. She wanted to analyze the CODES water fair on a bigger scale. 

She began by brainstorming topics that would encompass our goals, but also that would be age-appropriate and easily digestible. She created a Google Doc with different tabs, starting with a “Read Me” file– consisting of an overview and instructions for navigation. Another tab is labeled “Logistics” which covers the planning details it takes to create a water fair. The next tab is “CODES Water Fair,” where there is a detailed description of all things that went into constructing the water fair that inspired it all. The remaining tabs are the topics covered: Water Equity, Water Conservation, Water Filtration, Community Gardens, and Flooding. Within each topic, there are four more tabs: Overview, Photos, Instructions, and Materials. Each topic has hands-on activities that would have a lasting impact on the participants and lead them to think more about water. 

We have been working alongside the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Food, Agriculture, Nutrition, and Innovation Center in East St. Louis, especially with local educators, Zach and Kurly. Zach and Kurly were able to attend our water fair and give us good feedback, which was also incorporated into the toolkit. Payton hopes that this toolkit can be distributed to other communities to raise a new generation of students to make good decisions regarding water. 

Tamiria’s focus in this research was to investigate the methods that organizations use to inform the public about water conservation. This process took approximately a month to interview and decode them. With that being said, she was able to interview 3 staff members in the education department about the methods that they use. They began to explain their relationship between local school districts as it regards teaching science curriculum. 

Furthermore, staff members shared that they supply teachers with materials such as soil to help immerse students in the learning experience. Through this process, she was able to create a thematic analysis based on the words that were repeated the most. This allowed her to understand the importance, just like the National Great River Center, we were able to apply these same engaging techniques to our 2025 Water Fair. We had four stations where students were able to take different things from. Ultimately, the experience allowed students to take away positive water conservation practices that can be applied to daily life.

All in all, we six sophomores are feeling bittersweet about wrapping up our final CODES Project. We have all played an important role in this research and implementation, but we couldn’t do it without our research team professor, Dr. Adriana Martinez. She has been an incredible mentor, guiding us every step of the way. We are beyond grateful to have had her support, guidance, and willingness to collaborate with us, starting when we were six baby freshmen away from their homes for the first time. 

Our next step for this water education is to distribute our work to other communities. We are still working with Kurly, the Strategic Partnership Manager at JJK, who is interested in continuing this education. We want to reach other communities in different areas that are experiencing the same wicked problem we are. 

I really value the feedback I receive because it helps me improve in current assignments. I can also then use previous feedback towards future assignments as notes I keep in mind. Feedback that I receive helps me see my work from a different perspective and opens up different viewpoints. 

When I give feedback to my group mates I try to be specific and detailed, because I always like when I get detailed feedback. Feedback shouldn’t be vague, I take the time to thoroughly read through my group mates work and provide my thoughts and suggestions for improvement. When I also give feedback I don’t just like to say what I think would be better, but I like to provide my reasoning behind my feedback or my thought process on why this could strengthen their work. 

In my group we have a joint word document, and everyone in the group has their own section or tab within the word document. In our own tabs we each have all of our work and our brainstorming ideas written down. Then we also have a tab where all of our work is organized and compiled together by category or chronological order. We all then click on each other’s tabs and scroll through them, and we are able to add comments or notes that pop out on the side of the screen. This is something that we have been using since the beginning of our project and has been extremely useful throughout all of our work.

This is important to the St. Louis area because it is located on a flood plain. Not only is this area on a flood plain, but it also has a heavily industrial background. The pipes that are underground are deteriorating over time and are not sustainable during heavy rains. Areas in Illinois like Centreville, Cahokia Heights, and East St. Louis struggle with sewage flooding into their yards. The Community-Oriented Digital Engagement Scholars (CODES) at SIUE partnered with HeartLands Conservancy and the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Food, Agriculture, Nutrition, and Innovation Center to look deeper into this issue. We are six students from this organization that works with after-school kids at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee (JJK) Academy in East St. Louis. 

After completing intensive research surrounding this wicked problem and truly immersing ourselves in it, we raise this question: Do elementary-age children who receive water conservation education apply water conservation practices at home? We expect the children who receive water conservation education do apply these practices in their homes, and the children who do not receive it, do not apply these practices in their homes. This is relevant to us because we have been working with JJK Academy to implement water conservation in their curriculum. One of our group members, Payton, is working on a water fair toolkit so that other communities can host their own water fair. Another member, Tamiria, is working on interviewing local organizations to get their feedback on water conservation education in the St. Louis region. We are curious about this topic because of the communities we see struggling around us.

We, as young adults, and our exposure to learning about water infrastructure in CODES opened our eyes to further look into what it is and all the different areas that connect to it, as water conservation. That’s how our curiosity started growing into our education area, of why we didn’t have class or a curriculum that taught us how to build environmental and sustainable habits around water conservation. 

So we started researching and trying to prove that there are many benefits to having a water conservation class, lessons, or curriculum that can change our future by fighting back against climate change and water insecurity in our towns, states, and country. 

My name is Sonia Sheryr, and I created my lesson plan called Runoff with Water Knowledge.  I plan on researching secondary sources regarding rain gardens, pollutants, and other obstructions, and runoff water. I will include more evidence in my lesson plan and tailor it efficiently for my specific target audience to help convey the importance of runoff water in water conservation.  It is also important to put into perspective how this one lesson plan can help picture the water cycle and runoff while understanding its functions and roles.

1. What is your story 

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is located just minutes from the Mississippi River. This area has struggled with flooding issues due to outdated industrial pipes and poor drainage systems. This has even caused sewer issues in places near Cahokia Heights, Illinois. We are students in the Community-Oriented Digital Engagement Scholars Program (CODES) here at SIUE. Our goal of water conservation education is to aid in after-school program development at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Academy. We want to implement more interactive activities for elementary-age children to increase water conservation knowledge and community awareness. 

2. What did you achieve 

The Water Fair was something our group had meticulously created over the course of our 2 years in this program. our current assignment on water conservation, including educating children on its importance and how it plays into everyday life. The Water Fair itself was a way for said children to interact with our projects. As a collective, we were able to provide JJKFAN with a multitude of interactive lessons regarding water conservation. With that being said, this implementation allowed for students to take away practices that they can utilize in everyday life. Ultimately, the Water Fair helped identify the need for more water conservation efforts while exposing students to conservation practices that are applicable to the real world. 

3. What it means to a broader audience 

This blog will serve as an educational resource for teachers to inform students on water conservation. The blog will promote awareness and encourage healthier impacts towards water conservation education. Overall, this leads to a positive environmental change.

I want my work to reach teachers at the middle school and high school level, specifically grades K-5th. My goal is to provide these educators with my water fair tool kit so they can teach their students the importance of water conservation, which is a crucial piece of knowledge that not many people are properly educated on. Many adults do not even fully understand concepts such as water runoff, which has led to less concern for water conservation in our society. These lessons can be taken beyond the classroom and used to help promote more environmentally friendly practices in the future. However, it is important to acknowledge the stakeholders that can have a major impact on the implementation of these lesson plans. First of all, the students in this age range are going to be the primary stakeholders. Other stakeholders could include local schools and the educators within them.

While it may seem like the teachers have the most important role in this process, it is actually the students who will carry out the true intent of my product. The job of the educators will be to use this information to properly teach their students about water conservation, using the tool kit provided to educate them in a way that fosters a long term understanding instead of a short term memory. But the full intention of my water fair tool kit is not just to educate students about water equity, but to give them skills that they can carry into the future. It will be up to them to use what they have learned to make a difference in the world one day. Of course, one lesson alone will not be enough for a child to grow an interest in water conservation overnight, especially at a young age. However, as lessons like mine become more widespread, they can allow the students’ curiosity to drive them in the pursuit of further information on this topic, paving the road for adults who are truly knowledgeable on the effects of issues such as water runoff or pollution.

1. What is the purpose of your work- both the group project and individual products? What is the format of the groups? What individual products does this project consist of, and in what forms( maps, podcasts, video, reports, etc)

• Purpose of our work

The purpose of our work is to educate youth students regarding water conservation and how it relates to the water cycle. Our individual products play a role in each of us contributing to a lesson in the water fair, surveys, and the toolkit. Each of our products and contributions help us achieve our overarching goal.

2. Who is the project made for? Describe the relevant stakeholders and what they might need to best understand/or use the different elements of this project 

The target audience for our project is 5-12th grade students with an emphasis on educating kids on water conservation and better water habits. The youth of today is one of the most important stakeholders in society and has a huge impact on the environment. To best understand our project teachers should read the water fair tool kit, which gives you access to different water conservation lesson plans and other water fair important tips.

Other stakeholders that could utilize our research and products are local schools, educators, our partners, and especially after school programs without specific curriculum criteria. 

3. Why is it important for your work to be shared? What value does it bring to the communities/stakeholders it serves.

It is important for our work to be shared because it can 

4. What ethical considerations are important to think about when planning to disseminate your work? How will you ensure these ethical considerations are integrated into the dissemination plan? 

It can be said that respect, equity, and integrity are imperative ethics to consider as they relate to the work we plan to conduct.

As I go over my water fair lesson plan from last semester, while revising my work, I plan on focussing on the clarity of my lesson plan and having a further detailed procedure. I want to add pictures on my lesson plan from when I did the experiment, and have captions underneath each picture. My main idea is explaining the background information that consists of the importance of the experiment, and the overarching statement. My background information where I will state the environmental impacts of rain gardens and how different pollutants can affect the water cycle.

To bolster my research, I plan on researching secondary sources regarding rain gardens, pollutants and other obstructions, and runoff water. I remember while researching I found several YouTube videos regarding these topics that were very helpful when I was compiling my research. In addition to these videos, I will also look into articles regarding runoff water and its benefits and its contributions to the water cycle as a whole. It is also important to put into perspective how this one lesson plan can help picture the water cycle and runoff while understanding its functions and roles. Therefore I will research these ideas and include them in my plan to strengthen the overarching idea.

My main audience is elementary and middle school teachers who are looking to incorporate water conservation into their classrooms with my lesson plan. Which is why I will add visuals and include a detailed step by step procedure which is easy to follow and understand.

By revising my work I will include more evidence in my lesson plan and tailor it efficiently for my specific target audience to help convey the importance of runoff water in water conservation.

5. Proposed Experiment 

Our research question is “How do passive vs active learning strategies affect student engagement on water conservation education. The independent variable will be the type of lesson strategy used, such as the active learning lesson. While the dependent variable will in this case be student engagement and performance which will be measured through a method called active recall. The control is going to be a group that undergoes passive learning lessons like a notes powerpoint.

Some children learn best by listening to their teacher, while others require hands-on experience, and still others benefit from a visual example provided by an instructor. For the last type, some plans include videos of instructors demonstrating rainwater runoff. This is why we need to be open to finding a lesson that is easy to understand, comprehensive, interactive, and engaging.

A lesson that I conducted at the Jackie Joyner Kersee Food Agriculture and Innovation Center is that students will be provided with 3 cups. Cup A will contain clean water. The water will be poured into Cup B. Cup B will contain soil on top and one other object at the bottom (such as leaves, tin foil, wood chips, etc). Cup B and the object will both contain a hole. The water that is poured into Cup B from Cup A will run into Cup C. The students will observe the amount of water in Cup C and the color of the water in Cup C. 

First, we will demonstrate the experiment with Cup B, which contains only soil at the bottom and requires two scoops of soil. Then we will fill Cup A a third to halfway with water. Then, dump the water from Cup A into Cup B. Then, observe what comes out of the bottom into Cup C. The water that comes out is called run-off. This ultimately flows into Cup C. Discuss the amount and color of the water with the students. Observe the amount and color of the water. Now, you will redo the experiment, but place different objects at the bottom of your Cup B that will act as obstructions, such as tinfoil or a sponge. What do we predict will happen, and then observe the runoff?

Then we all come together and discuss our observations and results regarding which object had the most and least run-off, and which run-off was the darkest. This shows how water moves through a system and changes along the way. How different objects affect the amount of water and the quality of water in a system, and if water can’t be taken into the soil, it can go through various routes of the water cycle.

This lesson plan will serve as our method of teaching for the experimental group. For the control group, we will use a slideshow presentation to teach the students with a “passive learning strategy”. The slideshow presentation will contain the same information on the topic presented in the hands-on activity. There will be bullet points to highlight key points in the lesson and pictures to show exactly how water runoff works. We will act as instructors for this group, going into an in-depth lecture on water runoff while making sure to stick to the layout of the presentation. 

Throughout each section, we will measure the students’ engagement through the frequency of questions brought up in class. Performance will be measured using the results of quizzes taken at the end of the lesson. Both results will be compared in order to determine which learning method impacted the average student the most. However, it is always possible that one method could positively impact engagement, while the other positively impacts performance. In this instance, the argument could be made that a mix of both strategies would be most effective in maximizing both engagement and performance.