Students can write letters or articles for local newspapers, make presentations to government agencies, and participate in local politics. They can compose songs about water or sing those written by Pete Seeger and others. Human biology or health classes can explore human needs for water, how water quality standards are set, and what risks are posed by contaminated drinking water. Math classes can use monitoring data to introduce statistics and discuss how to design sampling so that statistically meaningful results will be obtained. Obstacles to Interdisciplinary Programs Teachers attempting to conduct interdisciplinary water monitoring programs face a number of possible obstacles.
Scheduling is one oft-cited problem.
When the classes involved meet at different times of day, joint field trips may be impossible. Moreover, some laboratory class periods are too short to allow for any field sampling. Another approach is to conduct field work as an after-school or weekend science club activity, then provide the samples or data to classes for analysis. Curricular requirements may also present constraints. In New York State, for example, the state-mandated syllabi tightly control the content of high school science classes.