Project Flowing Waters trains teachers to be water quality monitors

Posted by Jayme Blaschke
University News Service
September 29, 2009

The National Science Foundation (NSF) “Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12)” program Project Flowing Waters at Texas State University-San Marcos conducted a water quality monitoring training session Sept. 26.

The training session was held in collaboration with the Texas Stream Team and the River Systems Institute. Julie Westerlund, principal investigator of Project Flowing Waters, led the training and was assisted by Neal Denton from Texas Stream Team and Mary Waters from the River Systems Institute.

Six Project Flowing Waters San Marcos CISD school science teachers and NSF GK-12 fellow Dessarea Shepston were trained in water quality monitoring at the Landing at Aquarena Center. As a result of the training, the San Marcos teachers will be able to initiate water quality monitoring with their students at Owen Goodnight Junior High, Doris Miller Junior High School and San Marcos High School.

“This first Texas Stream training with Project Flowing science teachers was a success," Westerlund said. "Already, Sandra Baker, a Goodnight Junior High School teacher, has checked out water quality monitoring kits to begin water sampling at the Goodnight Junior High pond. This training helps to supports inquiry science teaching.”

NSF Project Flowing Waters is in its second year of funding. This grant provides generous support for doctoral students to conduct aquatic research at Texas State. Project Flowing Waters also has the doctoral graduate students serve as “resident scientists” in San Marcos CISD classrooms each week. The Texas Pioneer Foundation, a local San Marcos educational foundation, has generously provided additional support in this second year for graduate students and teachers for Project Flowing Waters.