1st Meeting of the NARBO Technical Advisory Committee - IWC

8/6/2019 1st Meeting of the NARBO Technical Advisory Committee - IWC

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Designing a skil lsDesigning a skil ls --basedbased

interdisciplinary curriculum:interdisciplinary curriculum:

A problem A problem --based learning approach tobased learning approach to

teaching water managementteaching water management

Presenter: Prof Mark Pascoe, IWCTeaching Team: Paul Lant, Fran Sheldon, KwameMfodwo, Bruce Missingham, Helen Johnson, Mark Schubert, Danielle Pedi ,Peter Oliver

IWC Master of Integrated Water ManagementIWC Master of Integrated Water Management

Alf SimpsonGeoff Drew

Bruce Missingham, GESKwame Mfodwo, Monash Law

Paul Lant, AWMC

Fran Sheldon, ARI

Mark PascoeBronwyn PowellDanielle Pedi

Peter Davies, CENRM

Poh-Ling TanStuart Bunn

Nigel TapperGrace Mitchell

Andrys Onsman

Helen JohnsonHelen RossBob Pagan

Keith Smettem

University Partner Core Team Expert Input

Practitioners

The views expressed in this paper are the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of

the Asian Development Bank (ADB), or its Board of Directors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not

guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequences of their

use. Terminology used may not necessarily be consistent with ADB official terms.



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A new approach to

teaching IWRM• Problem-based casestudy approach

• Explicit integration of disciplines

• Multicultural

• Real data, realproblems

• Non-technicalmanagement skills

• Negotiatingcurriculum

Why a new approach?The skills gap in IWRM can not be filled until we change the way

we teach and learn about water managementNOT business as usual!

• Higher education courses in IWRM need to take an interdisciplinary ,problem-solving approach

• To ensure higher order skills development, more innovative approachesare needed• A high degree of collaboration is essential (not just modular discipline-

based teaching)• Approach requires flexibility : must adapt to the student cohort• Curriculum design and delivery is likely to be more t ime consuming



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What is IWRM and why do we want it? ‘An approach that coordinates the development andmanagement of water, land, and related resources inorder to maximise the resultant economic and socialwelfare in an equitable manner without compromisingthe sustainability of vital ecosystems’ (GWP 2000)

• The dominant trend in water management over last 25 years

• A goal or a process?• What does IWRM look like on the ground?• Principles into practice: How comparable are ‘developed’ to

‘developing’ countries?

Whole of water cycle approach

Catchments as the hydrological unit of analysis & planning

Links between quality/quantity, rural/urban, upstream/downstream



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Adaptive and reflexive management

Coordinated decision-making at various levels of governance & amongstdifferent stakeholder groups

Attributes of ‘best practice’ in IRBM(from Hooper, forthcoming)

• Mission goal, clarity, stagingand completion

• Clarity in institutionalarrangements

• Workable enablingenvironment

• Functioning legal environment• Adaptive, coordinated

management style• Emphasis on water security &

water use efficiency

• Procedures for informalwater sector, localorganisations & agencies

• Improved capacity in humanresources management

• Use of economic tools• Public involvement in

decision making• Flexible and adaptive

information exchange



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Experience with IWRM

- Evidence of practical implementation patchy at best

- Often does not penetrate beyond seniormanagement/policy level

- Disconnects between science and policy

- Sectoral divides remain

Lack of graduatecourses in IWRM

Lack of IWRM

How well is higher educationaddressing trends and needs?

• More inter-sectoralcoordination

• Work oninterdisciplinaryteams

• Practical tools& experience

Water Sector movetowards IWRM

Higher Education

• Emphasis onincreasedspecialisation

• Strongdisciplinary focus

• Theory/classroom-based

Disconnect



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What professional development coursesare on offer?

An analysis of Universities and training providers inhigh-profile AU & international institutions

Of 22 organisations investigated:- Most offer short course training/one day

workshops in IWRM and related topics- Only FOUR offer postgraduate courses in water

management

The Challenges• Academic:

– Little substantive interaction across disciplines; difficulty ‘speaking acommon language’

– Interdisciplinary courses usually blend scientific and technical areas;social science/policy electives added on later

• Institutional: – Few incentives to develop cross-faculty (or cross-institutional) programs;

– Tenure & promotion based on expertise in narrow discipline

• Practical : – Dealing with diverse student group (disciplinary, cultural, linguistic) – How relevant is IWRM in different country contexts? – How to facilitate practical experience in ‘inauthentic’ coursework-based

curriculum?



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Designing a course to fill the gap

The Approach

• Discussions with senior water managers: what do theywant from mid-level staff?

• Workshops & consultations with academic experts in broadcross section of disciplines across 4 IWC Universities

• Advice in pedagogy and curriculum design from teaching & learning experts

• Small multidisciplinary team of academics jointlydeveloping curriculum

Communication/ community engagement• Facilitation skills for community

• Understandingwhy there needs to beinteraction between sectors•Asking the right questions

What do employers want?Key water management skill sets identified by senior managers

Risk management• Understanding risk:

management, assessment, adaptation, mitigation• Coping with residual risk, dealing with unknowns

• Planning in appropriate time horizons Analytical/strategic thinking• Identify weaknesses and gaps

• Taking a cyclical and reflective approach• Understanding why something went wrong

• Identifying ‘enabling’ factors• Water planning skills and tools

Generic Management•Ability to apply knowledge in site-specific contexts

• Knowing how to work within bureaucracy• Strong decision-making skills

• Time & budget



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Developing a set of graduate attributes• Communication across disciplines and sectors, across science and policy;• Systems thinking about whole of water cycle;• Collaboration and teamwork on cross-sectoral teams, respecting local as

well as expert knowledge;• Problem solving skills applied to complex problems that can require

difficult trade-offs;• Risk assessment and proper planning to ensure sustainable solutions;

and• Adaptive and reflexive learning , an ability to learn by doing and apply

context-specific solutions.• Knowledge of key content areas: aquatic ecology; water engineering;policy planning and economics; community development; projectmanagement

Deciding on a pedogogical approach

• Moving from modularcourses to team-taughtintegrated coursework semester

• Focus on problem solvingand group work

• Creative use of casestudies and real examples

Student development

T e a c h e r

C o o r d i n a t o r

F a c i l i t a t o r Dialectic/ self-discovery

newcontent

newcontent

newcontent

Didactic/dialectic

Training/ teaching

Dialectic/ discovery

Learning approach throughout semester



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Developing the curricula

• Lecture modules inkey content areas

• Skil ls workshops topractice using IWRMtools

• Team projects wherestudents applyknowledge and tools toparticular waterproblems and real casestudies

• Field work, laboratory

work and longer fieldstudy trips• Professional and

leadershipdevelopment

Core Content

Lectures Workshops Team Projects

Module convenors, guest lecturers Course coordinator & tutor

Lecture-workshop-project links

Knowledge Skills and Tools ApplicationsMulticriteriaanalysis, risk assessment,

scenario planning,policy frameworks,environmental flowanalysis, PRA tools,

etc.

Keycontentareas

Communication,complex problemsolving, guided self-learning



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Project 1Project 1

Students conduct aStudents conduct a

situation analysis of situation analysis of

biobio--physical,physical,

economic, social andeconomic, social and

political issues in apolitical issues in a

catchmentcatchment of theirof their

choicechoice

Project 2Project 2Students critiqueStudents critique

an existing oran existing or

completed projectcompleted project

in the Murrayin the Murray

Darling BasinDarling Basin

Project 3Project 3

Students design aStudents design a

project to address a setproject to address a set

of water problems in aof water problems in a

subsub--catchmentcatchment of theof the

Mekong Basin.Mekong Basin.

Minimal level of Minimal level of analysis and criticalanalysis and critical

thinking requiredthinking required

Increasing level of Increasing level of higher order skillshigher order skills

requiredrequired

Task requires high level of Task requires high level of independence andindependence and

demonstration of key skillsdemonstration of key skills

and knowledge acquiredand knowledge acquired

Team Projects/ Case studies: Semester 1

Negotiating

Curriculum

• Identifying studentskills andcompetencies

• Prioritising groupneeds

• Addressing needsthrough ‘StudentInitiated Topics’



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Building Reflective Practitioners• Reflective Journals

• Student feedback sessions

• Some early feedback: ‘It was good for me to work in a group- I had to learn to let goof my own ideas a bit and accept when better ideas camealong’

‘I’m not used to this kind of practical activity. The lecturerusually stands in the front and tells us the information.’

‘I was unsure about this course on the first day. I thought I

wanted to study only wastewater management. After thisweek, I can see why a broader view might be more valuable.’

‘After we learn these skills [e.g. how to think more holistically],we’ll need to learn how to sell ourselves to futureemployers. Will they value this kind of broad understanding?’

Field Visits

• Semester 1: NorthStradbroke Island andBrisbane River

• Meetings with traditionalowners, environmentalactivists, water engineers,government officials,scientists, farmers, miningcompany, etc.

• Tasks which challengestudents to ‘put it alltogether’



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Conceptual models of a catchment

• Modelling bio-physical,social, political andeconomic interactions

• Prioritising keymessages

• Communicating scienceeffectively

• Linking science andpolicy

Challenges

• Interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary?

• Creating ‘authentic’ learning experiences in the classroom

• Enough flexibility to adjust to student needs?

• Creating good ‘generalists’ and ‘managers, not technicalexperts

• Accessing data/ data poor basins

• Getting the balance right: developing vs. developed casestudies?



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• YRCC Professional Development Program• Students will be show evidence of

– Show evidence of improved English language skills andunderstanding.

– Communicate more effectively in English on integrated water management issues.

– Explain their work in the YRCC to other industry water professionals.

– Explain the work of professionals from their industry placement totheir YRCC colleagues.

– Comparatively analyse Australian and YRCC approaches tointegrated water management, particularly integrated river basinmanagement.

– Reflect critically on how outputs from this comparative analysis willinfluence their professional practice and any possible implications for the YRCC and the broader Yellow River ‘Community’.

– Demonstrate a functional level of competence in four key modules of study, namely: Project Management; The Science of Water; Water,Sustainability and Development; and Water Governance and Policy.



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What Next

• Semester 2!

• Implement funding from Australian Government to developflexible delivery content

• Offer Program at Monash, Johannesburg 2009

• Establish International Peer Review



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Thank You!Thank You!

For more information:For more information:

www.watercentre.orgwww.watercentre.org /education/masters /education/masters

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1st Meeting of the NARBO Technical Advisory Committee - IWC