A teacher/student commentary on a field test of Manning's roughness coefficient

Abstract

This paper describes and appraises a two‐day field project designed by a member of staff to be carried out by a group of students in a series of stream sections. The main aims of the project were (1) to help students develop a better understanding of stream processes, but more importantly (2) to help students develop an awareness of how ideas evolve, (3) how to test their ideas using a sound procedural methodology and (4) how to assess the implications of their results. The paper outlines how the project developed in collaboration with six students, examines the varying contributions made by staff and students at each stage and discusses the problems that arose during its execution. The project itself involved determining the most accurate method of predicting mean flow velocity in a stream using three different methods of estimating Manning's roughness coefficient.