Course Overview and Syllabus - Extended University - Montana ...

Stream Side Science (SSS) 2014
Course Overview and Syllabus
Welcome to the world of computer-facilitated, distant delivery, and Stream-Side studies of Water Quality. This
Stream Side Science course will study quantifiable aspects of ‘fresh’ water systems using classroom (internet)
and field studies. The course is a 9 week, 3- credit course offered through the Department of Land Resources
and Environmental Sciences and the College of Graduate Studies at Montana State University.
Title: Stream Side Science (SSS)
No. of Credits: 3 graduate credits, LRES 591, Montana State University
Course Length: 9-weeks (mid-June through mid-August)
Instructors
Amber Kirkpatrick, MS Montana State University
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1. Our first and foremost objective is to provide hands-on experience in monitoring water quality and
evaluating water resource characteristics in a format appropriate for use in the classroom to stimulate
students to investigate water resources in their environments. Your first assignment is to find a local
stream that you can use for the duration of the course.
2. Learn about the most significant (and interesting) water quality and water resource properties (physical,
chemical, hydrological, biological) and how to integrate these measurements into a Water Quality Index
(WQI).
3. Expose teachers to the many different resources for teaching water quality as a lab-based, hands-on
study program and develop a reference library of resources, experiments, demonstrations, and activities
to aid in understanding the importance of water resources in everyday lives.
4. Understand how water quality and water resource properties interact to affect the quality of our
environment and how 'water resources' as identifiable units are components of the landscape
ecosystem and its processes.
5. Have safe FUN experiencing stream side water quality and water quality monitoring.
With specific attention to the National Science Education Standards, the approach is to enhance learning
through inquiry, investigation, and analysis using collaborative learning through team work and sharing of
learning experiences. The following instructional pedagogies are integrated into the class:
1. Inquiry
2. Hands-on active learning
3. Multi-sensory methods of learning
4. Student-to-student interaction
5. Discourse and reflective thinking
6. Readings and research
Each weeks work will include text and on-line reading assignments, streamside activities, participation and
exchange in on-line discussions, written homework assignments and supplemental resources. Students will be

equired to complete weekly assignments, assessments, a two-part online final exam, and respond to the D2L
post-course evaluation.
COURSE EXPECTATIONS
One of the things we have noticed about teaching non-traditional, online courses is that due to the nature of
where we all are in our lives - LIFE HAPPENS! Just when you think you have it all under control - WHAM! -
something happens to either put a complete stop to your progress (like a herd of buffalo in the road) or detour
you a bit. Our job is to help you get through this course successfully while navigating the unexpected roadblocks
of life. So, to help assure class goes smoothly, please try to stick by some basic requests.
This is a hands-on, field based course and it requires you to be on-stream taking measurements and
collecting samples. The majority of your assignments will be completed on a stream you choose in week
one, so please do not plan to be gone for more than a week during the course. With that said..... IF YOU
KNOW THERE ARE MORE THAN 7 DAYS OF CLASS YOU MUST MISS LET AMBER KNOW BEFORE THE
COURSE STARTS! That way we have time to work something out. However, we understand that things
happen and if we need to work around unexpected bumps - we will.
You must have access to a digital camera for the duration of the course.
Complete assignments by the due date. If something unexpected does occur, CONTACT AMBER
IMMEDIATELY and we will work something out. If you don't let us know something will be late you will
lose 5% per day.
Please use proper grammar and spelling – This is a graduate level course and you are expected to submit
a graduate level quality of writing.
Be respectful to your classmates during discussions.
When submitting homework in the D2L Dropbox, please include your name on the file extension such
as: "AmberK loadingup.doc".
Include your name at the top of each document so we see it when we open the file - just like you tell
your students - Put your name on your papers!
COURSE MATERIALS
About a week prior to class starting, you will receive a supply box with all the specialized supplies and necessary
reagents for water quality testing that we will be guiding you through in this course. If you have not received
your supplies by that time, contact Kelly Boyce at kboyce@montana.edu or (406) 994-6812. On the course
homepage, we have posted a list of supplies which are found in the kit you received. This list explains which
items are yours to keep, which items need to be returned to MSU at the end of the course, and which items are
disposable. We have carefully checked each kit, but with multiple to stock, we may have missed something.
Once you inventory your supplies – if you discover something is missing – please let us know immediately.
READ THIS AND TAKE NOTE – PLEASE OPEN YOUR SUPPLY BOX AS SOON AS
YOU RECEIVE IT; FIND THE MATERIALS MARKED AS ‘FREEZE IMMEDIATELY’; REMOVE THE CONTAINER AND
FREEZE. YOU’LL NEED THE MATERIALS LATER ON IN THE COURSE.
You must have access to a digital camera for the duration of the course. You will be expected to provide 1) at
least one image of your stream for us to make certain it is appropriate for all activities and 2) one image of each
activity for your weekly assignments - this can be included within the document your turn in or attached

separately in your dropbox submission. We have had to go to a "proof in the pudding" approach because we
would have students turn in assignments with data, but when we got their kits back, almost none of the test kits
had been used. Very disheartening...
ABOUT THE TEXTS
This course is organized around two nationally recognized textbooks which focus on actual water quality
monitoring techniques, data collection, data analyses and interpretation.
Field Manual for Water Quality Monitoring: (12th edition) by Mark Mitchell
and William Stapp, serves as the standard text for school-based water quality
monitoring programs in schools around the world. The manual details nine
water quality tests: dissolved oxygen, fecal coliform, pH, total solids, total
phosphorus, nitrates, turbidity, biochemical oxygen demand, and temperature.
Save Our Streams-Monitor's Guide to Aquatic Macroinvertebrates: This 64-page
fully illustrated guide is designed to enable anyone to identify aquatic insects and
crustaceans. It includes a dichotomous key, detailed description of each organism,
and tips for proper identification. A handy resource for anglers, students,
biologists, or anyone else spending time near rivers and streams. Available through
McDonald and Woodward Publishing Company.
Online only: Stream Side Science (by Nancy Mesner, Utah State University): (you
must copy and paste directly into your web browser:
https://extension.usu.edu/waterquality/htm/educatorresources/lessonplans/sss/sssmanual/
COURSE DISCUSSIONS
It is important to emphasize how the required and optional discussions will work throughout the course. We
will have at least four required discussions you will be asked to participate in throughout the course. The
purpose of these discussions is to facilitate valuable input on the topics we place in front of you and provide an
opportunity to exchange ideas and thoughts with your classmates. In order to make these "conversations"
evolve, you are required to post your first response to the discussion topic by Wednesday night and then
respond to at least two of your classmates input. You must have all of your additional input posted by midnight
Sunday - the end of that week. Thus, Thursday through Sunday the group can respond to any input posted on or
before Wednesday evening. This encourages an active discourse on the discussion topics and promotes each
individual to become involved in the process.

COURSE SCHEDULE
Weeks will begin Saturday by noon MT and end the following Sunday at midnight MT. Click here for a Time Zone
Converter.
SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY
SUNDAY
Week A
module
opens
NOON
Mountain
Time
First
Discussion
posting due
Midnight
Mountain
Time
Week B
module
opens
NOON
Mountain
Time
Week A
assignments
due Midnight
Mountain Time
GRADING
We will be checking in on class daily. We will gather homework, remind folks of missing homework, keep a tally
and record sheet of grades, and post back homework assignment answers. The way to get in touch with us is
through the class email, ONLY
You will be graded and assessed in the course in several ways:
Discussions and Information Sharing Sessions - topics that expand on water quality issues.
Homework assignments - at the desk.
Stream Side (SS) field labs - on the stream.
Final stream Water Quality Index.
Final Evaluation.
The grading scale is based on a percentage score of total points for assignments and activities during the course,
as follows:
A+ = > 95% of total possible points
A = 90-95% of total possible points
B+ = 85-89.99 % of total possible points
B = 80-84.99% of total possible points
C = 70-79.99% of total possible points
D = 60-69.99% of total possible points
F = < 60% of total possible points
All assessments, quizzes, and grades will be reported by student ID number. Final grades will be assigned two
weeks after the last module; all assignments must be completed at the end of Week 8.
Due to the nature and pace of this course assignments must be completed on time. Therefore, late assignments
will receive a 5% deduction per day UNLESS PRIOR ARRANGEMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE.

SYLLABUS
Stream Side Science
Week 1 Introductions and Selection of Your Stream: getting familiar with our classmates, instructors and
secrets to selecting a good stream. You will be required to select your stream by the middle of week 1 and send
an image to the instructor so they can make certain it is appropriate for the course work.
Week 2 Where’s the Water, Who Shares the Water, What’s this Water All About: an assessment of the
earth’s water resources and distribution; watersheds, rivers, and stream order; an overview of water usage and
costs; a first look (first impressions) of the water resource; summary of national conditions and trends in stream
water quality; nomenclature, units, and dimensions.
Week 3 Physical Characterizations and Quality Control: first stream side assessments including watersheds,
riparian areas, and physical parameters of your stream (sinuosity, pebble counts, roughness, etc.), flow, and
quality control/quality assurance (QAQC) measures and calibration.
Week 4 Macroscopic Life in the Water, Pollution Tolerance Indexing, Macro-invertebrate Characterizations:
benthic macroinvertebrates as indicators of water quality, going about completing representative surveys,
macroinvertebrate population diversity in different sampling environments, taxonomy is like reading a number,
biomonitoring, PTI, diversity indexing.
Week 5 Physical and Chemical Characteristics: temperature, turbidity, total dissolved solids, total solids, pH,
acidity, alkalinity; iron, hardness, chloride.
Week 6 Nutrients, Life-sustaining Dissolved Oxygen, Temperature’s Effect on Oxygen, Biochemical Oxygen
Demand: the why, what, where, when, and how of dissolved oxygen; temperature and water quality effects on
dissolved oxygen; the biological overload on oxygen - BOD, BCOD, chemical reaction equations that apply to
dissolved oxygen determinations. Nutrient concentrations and eutrophication; the nitrogen cycle, total
nitrogen, and nitrates; phosphorus - total, orthophosphate; chemical reaction equations that go with water
quality testing.
Week 7 Microscopic Biological Indicators of Water Quality: a close look at sampling, collecting, identifying the
not-so-easy to see microscopic life components of water: Coliform bacteria testing with emphasis on fecal
coliform; chlorophyll in lakes, ponds, slow-moving streams; algae as messengers; signs of toxicity and
assessment of toxicity using a bioassay.
Week 8 Bringing it all together - the Water Quality Index & Contemporary Stream Side Issues: this week you
will bring together and assess all the data collected on your stream and provide us with a final, overall
assessment.
Week 9 Final Exams & All Assignments Due