Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education最新文献

Some soil and crop science university programs undergo curricula revision to maintain relevancy with their profession and/or to attract the best students to such programs. The Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Texas A&M University completed a thorough data gathering process as part of its revision of the undergraduate curriculum and degree programs in 2010. The purpose of this study was to determine the scientific and technical knowledge, skills, and abilities needed by graduates for career success in 2015 and beyond. Data were collected from three expert panels (soils, crops, and turfgrass) using the Delphi method. Scientific and technical knowledge, skills, and abilities in water-related issues were indicated as a necessary curriculum item by all three panels. Soil science experts indicated that water studies should focus on movement of water in soils and the contribution of soils to water quality, whereas crop and turfgrass experts emphasized the management of water as a resource. Both the soil and crop panels specified a need for study in data collection and analysis, problem solving, and using scientific reasoning. Turfgrass experts emphasized the need for students to learn business principles and compliance with external regulations. All three groups designated the importance of including soft skills, such as communicating effectively, working collaboratively, and personal and social responsibility, as important curriculum components for students’ career success. These data will serve as the foundation for constructing new curricula and potentially new degree programs in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Texas A&M University.

“Watershed Manager” is a spreadsheet-based model that is used in extension education programs for learning about and selecting cost-effective watershed management practices to reduce soil, nitrogen, and phosphorus losses from cropland. It can facilitate Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) stakeholder groups’ development of comprehensive watershed management plans that are required to be eligible for state and federal funding. This tool was developed to educate stakeholders about alternative best management practices (BMPs) that result in improvements in water quality and to select the combination of BMPs that yield the largest improvement in water quality per dollar spent. Users are able to estimate, optimize, and compare the economic and environmental effects of alternative management practices. WRAPS represents a citizen/stakeholder-led approach rather than a government-mandated and directed approach to watershed management. Kansas WRAPS is a state-sanctioned process whereby watershed protection and restoration plans are created and implemented. Funds, guidance, and technical assistance are provided for stakeholders to reach consensus on issues of relevance in their watershed and to design and execute a plan to address those issues. Cost-effective conservation is a way of getting the largest benefit for the dollars invested, but it is not always the most politically or socially palatable approach. Watershed Manager allows local stakeholders to cost-effectively identify politically and socially acceptable management practices. Watershed Manager has been utilized in developing cost-effective implementation plans to meet total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for 16 Hydrologic Unit Code 8 (HUC 8) watersheds in Kansas through the WRAPS program.

Soil science students are required to apply knowledge from a range of disciplines to unfamiliar scenarios to solve complex problems. To encourage deep learning (with student performance an indicator of learning), a formative assessment exercise was introduced to a second-year soil science subject. For the formative assessment exercise, students were required to prepare a draft of a critical review of a current topic in soil science, and then (following guidance from staff members) provide feedback to each other through a peer assessment exercise. In contrast to expectations, the formative assessment did not appear to improve overall student performance in this task based upon their grades for this task. Furthermore, despite being given an exemplar and attending a workshop where tactics for searching the scientific literature were discussed, this did not increase the likelihood that students would cite studies from the scientific literature when conducting their critical review. Regardless of these observations, the students were positive and appreciated the feedback they received through the exercise. This study demonstrates the need to ensure that feedback is effective and enables students to identify their weaknesses and modify their work accordingly.

Forest Resource Management Plans is the capstone course in many forestry and natural resource management curricula. The management plans are developed by senior forestry students. Early management plans courses were commonly technical exercises, often performed on contrived forest “tracts” on university-owned or other public lands, with a goal of generating standard reports showing silvicultural, forest management, and timber harvesting activities. This early timber-oriented management approach gradually changed late in the last century into one that was oriented around real-world private forest landowners. Various types of actual forest properties and owner types were used for the exercises, but family forest properties tended to be stressed because they represent one of the most common types of management plans. Also, the timber emphasis changed to a multiple-use emphasis (with major considerations of nontimber resources, like wildlife, recreation, water, soils, and aesthetics). Forestry students were exposed to real-world forest owners and linked to practicing professional foresters who currently managed these properties. This same approach is being used to introduce forestry students to a major new emphasis: forest sustainability and forest certification. Sustainable forest management has grown into a major thrust of forestry for economic and ecological interests and forest certification systems are now crucial to ensuring sustainability. Clemson University is incorporating a major American forest certification system for family forest owners into its curriculum and capstone course to strengthen student understanding of these essential concepts. It represents an expansion of the landowner approach to broaden the capstone course to emphasis forest sustainability issues.