Teaching and Knowing beyond the Water Cycle: What Does It Mean to Be Water Literate?
- 1 Education and Professional Studies, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia
- 2 Associate Vice-President (Academic and Research), University of Regina, Regina, Canada
Abstract
Water is an extraordinary thing: it is the key to the chemistry of life. If it wasn’t for water’s unique properties, such as its abilities to dissolve other substances, life could not exist on our planet. Indeed, life was thought to have started in water and currently more than half of the plant and animal species live in water. On land, plants and animals need water for their existence, as the ability of water to disassemble and rearrange other molecules is essential to all daily actions. As humans, our bodies consist of about 80% water when we are babies, to around 60% - 65% as adults. The human brain is about 85% water. Even though this simple polar molecule is one of the most prized possessions in the universe, what do people know about water? What does it mean to be water literate? In this paper, we explore what it means to be water literate in the fields of engineering and in science education. We will compare this theoretical understanding with what engineering and science education students actually know about water. We finish with recommendations to increase student’s literacy in water.
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (1989). Science for All Americans: Project 2061. Washington DC: AAAS.
- Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) (2010). The Australian Curriculum: Science. http://www.acara.edu.au/default.asp
- AWA/Deloitte. (2011). State of the Water Sector 2011: The View from the Top. http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-Australia/Local%20Assets/ Documents/Industries/Energy%20and%20resources/Water/ Deloitte_AWA_Water_Report_A_View_From_the_Top.pdf
- Beisner, B. (2012). A Plankton Research Gem: The Probable Closure of the Experimental Lakes Area, Canada. Journal of Plankton Research, 34, 849-852.
- Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB): Engineers Canada (2011). Accreditation Criteria and Procedures. http://www.engineerscanada.ca/files/w_Accreditation_Criteria_Procedures_2011.pdf
- Covitt, B., Gunckel, K., & Anderson, C. (2009). Students’ Developing Understanding of Water in Environmental Systems. Journal of Environmental Education, 40, 37-51.
- DeBoer, G. E. (2000). Scientific Literacy: Another Look at Its Historical and Contemporary Meanings and Its Relationship to Science Education Reform. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 37, 582-601.
- Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (2011). Annual Report 2010-2011. http://www.environment.gov.au/node/13304
- de Lo?, R. C. (2008). Toward a Canadian National Water Strategy Final Report. Guelph, ON: Canadian Water Resources Association. https://www.cwra.org/images/DocumentsLibraryAndConferenceProceedings/ cnws_report_final_2008_06_18.pdf
- Dimick, A. S. (2012). Student Empowerment in an Environmental Science Classroom: Toward a Framework for Social Justice Science Education. Science Education, 96, 990-1012.
- Eisenhart, M., Finkel, E., & Marion, S. F. (1996). Creating the Conditions for Scientific Literacy: Are-Examination. American Educational Research Journal, 33, 261-295.
- Environment Canada (2004). Threats to Water Availability in Canada. NWRI Scientific Assessment Report Series No. 3 and ACSD Science Assessment Series No. 1. 128 p. Burlington, ON: National Water Research Institute.
- Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) (n.d.). Experimental Lakes Area: Research and Education to Protect Freshwater Ecosystems since 1968. http://www.experimentallakesarea.ca/ELA_Website.html