Educational Approaches for Reactive Transport

2021 Goldschmidt Conference, June 28-30

An NSF-Funded Workshop on Pedagogical Approaches for Training in Reactive Transport Modeling

NSF Award number 1935321

Summary

Use of models is increasingly important for the geosciences as the types of data streams and speed of computational capabilities evolve. New modeling approaches enable us to leverage these techniques to evaluate pore scale transport and reaction at the surfaces of individual grains or the consequences of fluid circulation at the watershed scale. Thus, enhancing model literacy is critical for advancing fields of low-temperature geochemistry, hydrology and surface processes that encompass Critical Zone science. This workshop is offered as part of a project to develop a community-based educational model for making Reactive Transport Models (RTMs) accessible to the broader community.

 

This workshop will focus on teaching reactive transport modeling from conceptualization to numerical model construction. Participants should have fundamental knowledge in geochemistry or hydrology, some numerical modeling experience, and a desire to teach these topics at the university level.

Day one, 3 hours:

  • Project introduction
  • Overview of a rubric based approach to teach design skills needed for modeling through an abilities framework
  • Two exercises that introduce fundamental skills in reactive transport

 

Day two, 3 hours:

  • An example exercise that uses the abilities framework
  • Overview of using the framework to build the example exercise

 

Day three, 3 hours:

  • Participants choose an additional exercise that uses the abilities framework
  • Reflection and summary – participants create a plan for curriculum development at their home institutions.

 

Additional follow up session post workshop, date/time TBD

Workshop Facilitators:

Jennifer Druhan, University of Illinois

Kate Maher, Stanford University

Alexis Navarre-Sitchler, Colorado School of Mines