MP10 Undergraduate Education in Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology
D135-136
1:20 PM - 4:40 PM, Monday
() Undergraduate education in environmental chemistry at Umeå University, Sweden.
Öberg, L1, Andersson, B1, Andersson, P1, Haglund, P1, Karlsson, S1, Lundstedt, S1, Lövgren, L2, Marklund, A1, Nording, M1, Wiberg, K1, 1 Environmental Chemistry, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden2 Inorganic Chemistry, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
ABSTRACT- Umeå University offers a 10-weeks undergraduate course in environmental chemistry twice a year since 1991. Usually 14 – 20 students attend. In 2002, a team of teachers and PhD-students revamped the course. The pollutant molecule is now in focus, and the aim is that the student should be able to predict the environmental behavior and effects of a given pollutant. We reviewed 18 textbooks; Connell 1997 and vanLoon 2000 were chosen. Each student is also given an environmental popular science book for free. The course consists of 5 weeks of theory, 1 week of lab, and 3 weeks of independent studies. After three weeks with focus on pollutants and processes in soil, water and air, there is a 2-hour exam with 25 short questions. Thereafter, the biosphere and more complex processes are studied, including a multimedia distribution modeling lab, toxicology, ecotoxicology, and risk assessment. This is followed by a 6-hour exam with four integrating questions. Two teacher teams, a lab team, and a supervisor team are engaged. The theory weeks consist of two lectures a day, followed by student group works that are reported daily. The means of reporting differ, but portable white boards have been diligently used. To encourage social interactions, students are treated to a dinner during the first week. Each week two students present EnviroNews, a current environmental issue followed by a short discussion. During the lab week PAHs in soils from Umeå are analyzed. There are also lectures about searching literature and about poster design. PhD-students present "Current research in environmental chemistry". During the independent studies, groups of two with a PhD-student as supervisor analyze different aspects of a common theme, e.g. "The environmental consequences of the flooding in Central Europe". The results are presented in a conference setting, i.e. a four-page abstract in English compiled into an abstract book, a poster, an oral presentation, and opposition. Other teachers and students are invited to attend. The final course grade is based on the results from the two exams (10% + 50%), the PAH lab (10%) and the independent study (30%). Group works, EnviroNews and the modeling lab are compulsory. Students and teachers extensively evaluate the course. "For the first time in three years I have had the chance to apply my chemical knowledge to real problems." Compared to the old course, the students have a greater success rate and show a larger depth of understanding.
Key words: environmental chemistry, education, undergraduate, sweden