Articulating the Relationship Between Teaching and Research Toward a New Culture of Water.

In Mexico, Guanajuato state is one of the five states with the greatest problems of water. It shows deficits in 46 municipalities and has over-exploitation in 90 % of the aquifers. Despite the presence of numerous environmental education programs in the state, it is necessary to develop strategies more efficient for the management and protection of water. Education is the most important way to build ethical culture of water. Currently there is a guidance of student-centered learning in many educational institutions. From this vision, is required to engage student and generate knowledge from the curriculum and the mediating role of the professor. One strategy is to develop courses where professors and students share their knowledge to develop projects to resolve local situations. A pilot test was developed in a graduated program from the University of Guanajuato, considering students do not learn significantly from the speech professor, but from their own awareness. Two different teams were established, one focuses on to remove color from a textile effluent and another, to produce biogas using lignin-cellulosic wastes and manure. Students developed the experimental set up with help of the professor. Each team was encouraged to use their previous knowledge to resolve the issues and let them make mistakes. How to apply statistical designs, interact with different areas and correlation them were learned by the students. Also they had to find quick solutions to face troubles during the experimental process and how to interpret results. It was noticed importance to know the reasons for the students concerns to be committed from their freedom of thought to the issues and individualities, participatory and endogenous development solutions. This creates cultural conditions and especially ethics as a way of life to resolve others problems in the short and long term. Also, this process helps to support the curriculum with more creative students and participative with a new way to face scientific problems.