Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Grant:

Education for a Sustainable Iowa – A Rebuild Iowa Project

“This class has inspired me to become more involved in my life and community.”

-- Student, Brian Ritter’s Environmental Science class

ATEEC received a grant in August 2005 to develop a course entitled Environmental Decisionmaking: A Critical-Thinking Approach to Environmental and Energy Challenges. An overview of environmental sustainability and energy efficiency issues with hands-on student activities, this course has been designed and implemented. It featured the use of ATEEC’s Technology and Environmental Decisionmaking: A Critical-Thinking Approach to 7 Environmental Challenges learning modules.

Christine Walker, one of ATEEC's instructional designers, worked with site coordinator, Brian Ritter, and mentor teacher, Kevin King, to develop the course. Brian implemented the course in the spring 2006 semester at Muscatine Community College. Kevin and Brian developed labs that are interactive and hands-on to engage the students in real activities that tied to daily living. The goal was to help students discover and apply meaningful relationships between abstract ideas and their newly acquired knowledge.

A trip to the Big Sand Mound in Muscatine, Iowa, provided an opportunity for students to use Global Positioning Systems (GPS) instruments to record data about a stand of native walnut trees. It also made them aware of the Ornate Box Turtle’s arduous trail to safety.