Developing a Graphical User Interface to Improve Learning of Stochastic Theory in Hydrosciences in the Classroom
Faisal Hossain, David H. Huddleston, Jonathan Schwenk · 2007
Abstract –The objective of this paper is two fold: i) to gauge the current state of instruction of stochastic theory for water resources in US universities and thereby identify the potential for curriculum improvement and ii) to demonstrate a proof of concept of a computer-assisted Graphical User Interface (GUI) to improve the current state of learning in the classroom of stochastic theory for hydrosciences. Our study indicates that 84 % of the total 241 relevant courses surveyed are available only at the graduate level, while 4.5 % and 11.5 % were either dual-listed or undergraduate-level courses, respectively. It is worthwhile for the CE educators to consider creating more undergraduate variants of such courses and offer them to students early in their education experience. To further popularize stochastic theory education in context of water resources, more computer-assisted graphics-based schemes should also be used in the undergraduate classroom. The illustration provided herein is a GUI that connects a comprehensive space-time stochastic model for generating rainfall fields that exhibit complex natural variability. Our main finding, based on on-going educational software development, is that effective instructional software building requires evolution from the simplest configuration if its continual upgrade is to continue in liaison with student software developers that are usually available from a computer science department of the university.