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Welcome to the Learning Community "The Nature and Culture of Water." This two-course offering at Wofford College (Spartanburg, SC) links a 3-hour freshman Humanities seminar (Hum 101R - "The Culture of Water") with a 4-hour science course for non-science majors (Bio 104B - "The Nature of Water"). A student enrolled in one of these courses is also enrolled in the other. The courses are linked with the common theme of "water," and the students and teaching team spend almost every Thursday "in the field" -- that is we are near, on, or in the water each week (see links below under "Thursday Field Experiences.").
Two faculty members, Biologist Ellen Goldey and English Professor John Lane, and two undergraduate "preceptors" work together on the design and implementation of this learning community. In 2001Kris Neely ('02) and Ashley Thomas ('04) were the preceptors. The four person "teaching team" collaborated throughout the summer to further prepare this new offering.
This learning community is made possible by the support of the Spartanburg Sanitary Sewer District and Spartanburg Water System. Special thanks to the SSSD/SWS general manager, Graham Rich, for his enthusiasm for the project and working with our students in the classroom and field.
This learning community is part of a broader freshman learning communities initiative supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) grant(DUE grant 0126788).
Please follow this link to view the syllabus for the learning community. We also encourage you to read about the goals and objectives of this initiative!
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Here's the 2001 crew! First row from left: "Ellie May" (Prof. Lane's hound), Erin, Beth, Ginny, Margaret, and Amelia. Back row from left: Jason, Chris, Alan, Tiffany, Shiel, Ashley (teaching assistant), Josh, Thomas, Barry, Carter, Park, Copeland, and Kris (teaching assistant). |
A message for the internet community: The students in this learning community have designed their own web pages that served as their "learning portfolios" this semester and, hopefully, for the rest of their Wofford College career. Please browse their pages (which are being continuously updated) where you can read their journal entries and get a good idea of what this learning community is all about. We also encourage you to follow the links under "Thursday Field Experiences" on the syllabus (below) where you can see pictures and descriptions of our activities. We hope you'll be inspired by this special learning experience!
Thursday Field Experiences at a glance:
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Week 3: "Fountains and Fonts"
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Week 4: Lake Jocassee Voyage
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Week 5: Discussion of upcoming ourtreach project, "Meet the Creek," with the 5th grade teachers at Chapman Elementary School. |
Week 6: "Meet the Creek" outreach with 5th graders from Chapman Elementary School!
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Week 8: Discussion and Tour of the Fairforest Wastewater Treatment plant. (this link is to a student's journal entry about this day. Enjoy!) |
Week 9: Discussion and Tour of the Lake Blalock Water Filtration Plant |
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Week 10:Our journey to the Belle Baruch Institute for Marine Ecology and Coastal Research
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Week 11:Lake Conestee Conservation and Renewal Project and The River Basins Initiative at Furman University. |
Return to Dr. Ellen Goldey's Home Page.
Additional websites of interest
The Palmetto Conservation Foundation
South Carolina Rivers Organizations
The Waterfalls of South Carolina!
See a write-up on the book: The Waterfalls of South Carolina
Global Rivers Environmental Education Network (GREEN)
