Intellectual Merit: This project has led to important discipline-based education research outcomes.   It is novel in its mobilization of perspectives from the fields of STEM education, hydroscience, and the decision sciences to develop, implement, assess, and revise a theoretically-informed, transdisciplinary undergraduate course focused on water systems (SCIL 109 - Water in Society).  The project has yielded a new introductory interdisciplinary water science course, including its instructional strategies and approaches, grounded in contemporary views of ?best practice? in undergraduate STEM education, all of which revolve around model-based teaching and learning about water and fostering students' science-informed decision-making abilities.  Empirical research in the course has yielded 10+ peer-reviewed publications and more than 15 conference presentations.  As such, it is grounded in and has contributed to theory and research on post-secondary teaching and learning about the socio-hydrological systems, STEM-informed decision-making, and science literacy.  It was embedded within and leveraged resources and capacity of broader institutional initiatives at UNL, including two academic departments and two interdisciplinary initiatives.  It was carried out by an interdisciplinary team with disciplinary expertise and a track record of implementation and dissemination of NSF-funded projects.     

Broader Impact: The project directly impacted more than 350 undergraduate students over five years, including students from low-SES backgrounds and underrepresented groups from Nebraska and around the world.  Project research is integrated into the development, delivery, and evaluation of the SCIL 109 course and, as such, represents a holistic effort to incorporate research into learning and education while, in turn, using learning and education to inform ongoing research and development. The project promotes cross-fertilization between hydrologists, STEM education, DBER, and the decision sciences.  It was grounded in collaboration between faculty in the Institute for Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR) at the UNL, leveraging IANR?s Science Literacy Initiative, Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute, and recently-established Food, Energy, & Water in Society minor.  By targeting undergraduate students (i.e., STEM majors and non-majors), the project has impacted the STEM workforce of tomorrow, as well as cultivated water literacy. Project methods, strategies, and findings have been disseminated in peer-reviewed journals and conference presentations, as well as media outlets, and sustained through the 109 course and minor.  They also serve as a model for integration into other undergraduate STEM courses, starting with coursework associated with the minor.  Ultimately, project outcomes and deliverables have helped foster science literacy in tomorrow?s global citizens through innovative, interdisciplinary, undergraduate STEM education, thus benefitting society.