Course Syllabus

Course TitleAir Quality Computations

Length of CourseDays: 5

Instructional Hours:34

Course PrerequisitesThis is a Level 1 course; there are no prerequisites.

American Indian Air Quality Training Program Goals

  • Assist in the building of tribal capacity for air quality management.
  • Provide high-quality, up-to-date training that is immediately relevant to tribes.
  • Enhance communication skills to promote collaboration and networking.

Course Description

This course provides an understanding of the skills needed to work with air quality measurements.

Topics include:

Revised 1/08/07:sr

  • Arithmetic computations in air quality
  • Metric system
  • Percent and percentile
  • Units conversion
  • Significant figures and rounding
  • Bias and precision
  • Exponents
  • Problem solving
  • Basic statistics
  • Volume, temperature, and pressure
  • Working with computer spreadsheets
  • Creating and interpreting graphs of air quality data

Course Philosophy

As a cooperative effort between Northern Arizona University and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the American Indian Air Quality Training Program seeks to fulfill the mandate of the 1990 Clean Air Act to offer Native American tribes full partnership in the management of air quality on tribal lands. It is also recognized that any training program provided to Native Americans must be sensitive to their cultural heritage.

Course Structure and Approach

This course takes a “learning by doing” approach. Brief lectures will be interspersed with activities in which participants practice the skills introduced during the lectures. Each participant will have access to a calculator and/or computer as needed during the practice sessions. There will be homework each evening during the course.

Course Schedule

A detailed agenda is included in the training manual.

Essential Reading

Reflective Writing

In-class reflective writing will be assigned days 1-5 during the course. A “Guide for Reflective Writing” follows this syllabus.

Assessment of Learning

Assignments

  • Homework will be assigned on Days 1-4.
  • In-class reflective writing will be assigned on Days 1-5.

Assessment of Content

An assessment tool will be administered twice. As a pre-assessment at the beginning of the course it will establish a baseline of knowledge among the participants and help to focus attention on the week’s activities. As a post-assessment at the end of the course it will provide one indication of the knowledge gained. The assessment will be based on presentations, group activities, and homework assignments. It is one of several tools for assessing learning during the course.

Revised 1/08/07:sr