Get your feet wet! - Experiential learning activities along lost creek

Since 2008, Lost Creek, a stream that runs through the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (RHIT) campus, has been utilized as an outdoor lab in Civil Engineering classes. Experiential learning activities have primarily been applied to a stream restoration course as part of a baseline monitoring program for the planned restoration of Lost Creek. The course is structured around conducting weekly field labs along Lost Creek. In this environmental river mechanics / stream restoration course, students are introduced through field labs to the concepts of fluvial geomorphology, aquatic ecosystems, and sediment transport for application in restoring impaired streams. During the quarter, the students make frequent visits to Lost Creek for the purpose of collection baseline monitoring data that is used to classify channel morphology and process, analyze stream habitat characteristics, estimate sediment transport, and analyze stream stability. The data collected during this course contributes to student learning, but also contributes to a growing database of pre-restoration monitoring of baseline conditions. By integrating experiential learning activities along Lost Creek into established civil engineering courses, we strive to enhance student knowledge of open channel hydraulics and environmental river mechanics. The effects of experiential learning activities on student learning of natural stream processes and stream restoration were measured through an analysis of the Index of Learning Styles and a qualitative assessment of student comments on course evaluations. Educational outcomes of experiential learning have been quite positive based on student feedback. The students commented that they gained a lot of valuable experience when conducting field surveys of stream geometry and sediment characteristics. During summer 2014, a restoration design will be implemented along Lost Creek, and future courses will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the restoration project with respect to stream stability. An analysis of the Index of Learning Styles and student evaluation comments will continue to be examined to determine the impact experiential learning activities have on the student learning. This has been and will continue to be a unique opportunity for students to be involved in a pre- and post-restoration monitoring program of a real world project.