Trans-Disciplinary Pedagogy for Science and Journalism Majors Linking Water Resource Information to Communities

Water Quality Indiana is a learning platform that leverages collaborations, community partnerships, and active mentorship of transdisciplinary student cohorts. Since 2013, this has engaged teams science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) communication media students to investigate water quality in east central (since expanded other domestic international locations) an experiential problem-based environment. For partners, provides scientific data, analysis, multimedia deliverables about quality, it successful record finding solutions real-world problems. From the point view faculty, project enhance several aspects faculty portfolio. participants, goal increase metacognition, civic engagement, confidence processes associated with STEM studies, and, therefore, skills required increasingly competitive workforce. Assessing artifacts (e.g., assignment, quizzes, or evaluative metrics) reveals cognitive dissonance between metacognition accuracy declarative knowledge related topics quality—student scores did not posttest data despite increased selected answers. In contrast, pretest results, synthesis reports, focus group suggest procedural both production significantly by end course. Students cited time constraints imposed academic calendars deadlines as limitation Course reveal differences based on background gender: 1) studies majors became more confident their skills, while less confident; 2) note-taking style detail organized meticulous for female compared male counterparts.