Integrating Topics in an Introductory Hydrogeology Course through a Semester-long Hydraulic Containment Design Project

A semester-long hydraulic containment design project provides a practical application of the topics covered in an introductory hydrogeology course, and serves as a better vehicle than traditional approaches for integrating the topics. Traditional homework assignments typically contain stand-alone problems or groups of problems that are isolated from other assignments of the course. In this design project, the knowledge needed to complete the design is developed in an integrated manner from material covered throughout the course. A project was developed based on a simulated hypothetical aquifer for which students were provided various types of data. After analyzing the data using appropriate methods learned throughout the course, students obtained estimates of parameter values that they then used in the design of a hydraulic containment system. A survey of the students showed that the project provided a better learning experience than homework, and provided additional benefits such as seeing the interconnectedness of course topics, learning to discriminate among data measured at multiple scales, and accounting for uncertainty in measurements.