ENVR 420

Official course description

Ecohydrology of Watersheds and Water Systems: Analysis of water resources from a water-in-ecosystem perspective. Application to natural, managed, and urban systems, considering ecological interactions with hydrological processes. Exploration of biogeochemical processes related to water quality, and human impacts on water resources.

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OCESE project objectives

Original expectation for OCESE work was to pivot computing from use of “R” to all Python. This will make the course more consistent with Dep’t expectation that students in our courses can build skills based on prior learning.

Actions taken

This course was adapted for accelerated delivery in the shortened summer term of 2022. This was done by the instructor without OCESE support because only the pacing was changed. The course reverted to normal delivery in Spring 2023.

There are no further plans for OCESE contributions, partly because the course may evolve as UBC’s environmental sciences degree options evolve between 2022 - 2024 and beyond.

Lessons learned

Conversion from R to Python is still recommended if most students taking the course have gained experiences with Python in prior courses. However, this may not necessarily be the case and any decision to make this change should be based on feedback from students.

An alternative notion to consider is that it may not hurt senior students to be exposed to more than one programming language if it can be done without compromising the learning about discipline specific priorities. However, exposure to, and use of the programing language of choice should be included as one or more specific course learning objectives, if this is not already the case.