TITLE:
Teaching and Knowing beyond the Water Cycle: What Does It Mean to Be Water Literate?
AUTHORS:
Alison J. Sammel, Dena W. McMartin
KEYWORDS:
Science Education, Engineering Education, Water Literacy, Scientific Literacy
JOURNAL NAME:
Creative Education,
Vol.5 No.10,
June
19,
2014
ABSTRACT: Water is an
extraordinary thing: it is the key to the chemistry of life. If it wasn’t for
water’s unique properties, such as its abilities to dissolve other substances,
life could not exist on our planet. Indeed, life was thought to have started in
water and currently more than half of the plant and animal species live in
water. On land, plants and animals need water for their existence, as the
ability of water to disassemble and rearrange other molecules is essential to
all daily actions. As humans, our bodies consist of about 80% water when we are
babies, to around 60% - 65% as adults. The human brain is about 85% water. Even
though this simple polar molecule is one of the most prized possessions in the
universe, what do people know about water? What does it mean to be water literate?
In this paper, we explore what it means to be water literate in the fields of
engineering and in science education. We will compare this theoretical understanding
with what engineering and science education students actually know about water.
We finish with recommendations to increase student’s literacy in water.