Description of Teaching and Learning Methods
The module consists of three parts, which are offered as integrated courses including lectures, discussions, and student presentations.
In the seminar "Introduction to Urban Ecosystem Sciences: Theory & Practice" the theoretical foundations for understanding interactions between cities and environment will be provided and discussed. Topics will include urbanization in the context of historical environmental changes, modern urbanization trends, the urban heat island, urban biogeochemistry, air pollution, nature-based solutions in cities as well as climate change and its feedbacks with urban areas. The guided tours will supplement the theory and demonstrate various solutions to mitigating the impact of a city on the environment such as reducing energy consumption in buildings, various efforts towards increasing urban vegetation cover and reducing heat island effect, etc.
In the course "Science of environmental resources in urban regions" students actively develop their own scientific questions, conduct research to solve them, and present their results in form of a scientific paper and presentation.
The course "Research strategies and methods in environmental sciences" builds upon the introductory lectures on the scientific methodology in the environmental sciences and on students' contributions such as research proposals on their own topics, consultations with faculty members, and a presentation.
