Cocreating a Field Practical through a Participatory and Inclusive Approach, Involving Lectures, Measurements and Data Analysis, to Understand Key Air Quality Concepts

Most curriculums in the field of environmental science and engineering have limited hands-on training opportunities for students to understand the key concepts of air quality or atmospheric science. In this project, I used key pedagogical literature to design and develop a field practical for undergraduate (UG) Environmental Science students using low-cost air quality sensors. Through a co-creation based approach, students understood key concepts of indoor, outdoor, and personal air quality exposure monitoring using a hand-held direct reading instrument. Lecture sessions covered the theoretical aspect of the air quality measurement, which was then further illustrated in the practical sessions. I then used the student assessment to evaluate the learning outcome and to critically assess the findings. The findings clearly indicate the need for a hands-on-based practical that can influence several positive learning experiences among the students. Some of the key pedagogical concepts, cocreation, research led teaching, project based learning, and hands-on training, were identified as an effective way of teaching air quality concepts to undergraduate environmental science students.