Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education最新文献

In an attempt to address declining enrollment in soil science programs and the changing learning needs of 21st century students, several North American universities have re-organized their soil science curriculum and adopted innovative educational approaches and web-based teaching resources. An interdisciplinary team set out to integrate teaching approaches to address this trend. The objective of this project was to develop a web-based teaching tool, which combined a face-to-face problem-based learning (PBL) case study with multimedia to illustrate the impacts of three land-uses on soil transformation and quality. The Land Use Impacts (LUI) tool (http://soilweb.landfood.ubc.ca/luitool/; verified 4 Oct. 2011) was a collaborative and concentrated effort to maximize the advantages of two educational approaches—the web's adaptability and accessibility, and PBL's capability to foster an authentic learning environment, apply core concepts, and encourage group work. The design of the LUI case study was guided by Herrington's development principles for web-based authentic learning. The LUI tool presented students with rich multimedia (streaming videos, text, data, photographs, maps, and weblinks) and real world tasks (site assessment and soil analysis) to encourage students to utilize knowledge of soil science in collaborative problem-solving. Preliminary student feedback indicated that the LUI tool conveyed case study objectives and was appealing to students. The tool is intended primarily for students enrolled in an upper level undergraduate/graduate university course titled Sustainable Soil Management, but it is flexible enough to be adopted for other natural resource courses.

The majority of soils in the western Wisconsin have developed from glacial sediments deposited during the Quaternary Period (2.6 million years before present). In many regions, multiple advances and retreats have left a complex landscape of diverse glacial sediments and landforms. The soils that have developed on these deposits reflect the nature of the parent material and glacial sediments. Data from the Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database were utilized to digitally map Quaternary deposits and in St. Croix County, Wisconsin. Maps of ice source region (northwest vs. northeast) and parent materials (till vs. outwash) were produced. Results were compared to a preliminary Quaternary surficial geology map. Overall agreement between the geologic map and the map created using soil survey information was generally greater than 60%. This research shows that soil surveys can provide reliable, accurate, and high-resolution data on Quaternary surficial geology. In addition, this research shows the linkage and value of soil science to other disciplines such as geology.

The Future Scientists Program of Texas A&M University and the Agricultural Research Service branch of USDA serves as a model program of effective collaboration between a federal agency and K–12. It demonstrates true partnership that contextualizes learning of science and provides quality professional development, benefiting teachers and their students. Endorsed by the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, this model is being adapted to target Hispanic populations nationwide based on successes it has had in reaching such students in the Southern Plains Area (Arkansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas) of USDA-ARS. Middle school students and teachers actively engaged with scientists and learned about opportunities available to those who pursue science. This project has been expanded to include internships with USDA-ARS for undergraduates. This meaningful, hands-on internship experience that can be used to replace more traditional coursework, showcases opportunities for college graduates at one of the nation's governmental agencies.

Understanding plant breeding as well as procedures and issues of seed companies are skills students studying agronomy need to acquire. Simulation games can be effective teaching tools in developing higher-order thinking skills of students. The “Fantasy Seed Company” game was developed to create motivated learners by allowing students to run a mock seed company. Students are confronted with a series of questions and scenarios that will determine their personal success and the success of the company. The format of Fantasy Seed Company is flexible enough to allow instructors to address a wide range of topics. Students can learn teamwork, the value of science to businesses, and long-term implications of decisions. Use of Fantasy Seed Company in the classroom potentially provides three cognitive learning outcomes: (1) declarative knowledge, (2) procedural knowledge, and (3) strategic knowledge.

Following a developmental model of career planning and preparation, an ementoring program was devised for first semester freshmen to (1) heighten career awareness and stimulate career exploration in food and agricultural sciences; (2) expand interest and willingness to follow career opportunities beyond the regional geographic area; and (3) stimulate deeper career exploration and development through participation in job shadowing and professional organization conferences. The ementoring program was part of a career portfolio prepared in sections of AGRI 1201, Agriculture and Human Sciences as a Profession, that were major specific for animal science majors. Impact of the experience on students was evaluated with pre- and post-mentoring questionnaires using Likert-scale (1–5, 1 = disagree or low level), selection (check those that apply), and open-ended questions. Pre-mentoring questionnaires (n = 128, 2002-2005) showed a willingness to participate in the ementoring program; however, students were reluctant to relocate for career reasons. Results revealed naivete about careers, limited career awareness and work experience. A total of 79 post-mentoring questionnaires were submitted from 2002 to 2005. Post-mentoring results indicated gains in career awareness (means of 3.84–4.23 across years) and that gains were related to the ementor (means of 3.33–4.00). Interest in career exploration also increased (means of 3.67–4.39) as did willingness to relocate for career purposes (mean of 3.64–4.15). The ementoring experience was perceived as a beneficial experience that included problem solving (38–64%), goal identification (33–67%), and career insight (44–72%). From 77 to 88% of students wanted to continue email communication with their ementor after the course-related requirement was completed.

Soil quality, soil health, and soil sustainability are concepts that are being widely used but are difficult to define and illustrate, especially to a non-technical audience. The objectives of this manuscript were to develop simple and inexpensive methodologies to both qualitatively and quantitatively estimate water infiltration rates (IR), water-holding capacity at saturation (WHC_s), and potential nitrate-nitrogen (NO₃–N) loss and to test the accuracy and precision of these methods. Complete details for how to assemble the appropriate supplies and conduct the measurements are provided, but for demonstrative purposes these methods do not need to be followed in detail, particularly using the various equations to get quantitative values. In the field and classroom, these demonstrations have been well received by non-technical and technical audiences and have been performed by request as well as incorporated into agronomy classes for high school and college students and training for agriculture educators. In the laboratory, these methods were tested on 10 benchmark soils and values were compared with each other and soil aggregation as measured by dry soil aggregate distribution and water stability. In these benchmark soils, IR and WHC_s increased with a reduction in soil disturbance and more continuous plant cover due to diverse crop rotation and perennials while NO₃–N loss was highest in soils with synthetic fertilizer inputs, little plant cover, and more soil disturbance. These results indicate the methodologies outlined here may be used to demonstrate agroecosystem management's impact on soil health.

Using spreadsheets such as Microsoft Excel for building crop models and running simulations can be beneficial. Excel is easy to use, powerful, and versatile, and it requires the least proficiency in computer programming compared to other programming platforms. Excel, however, has several weaknesses: it does not directly support loops for iterative calculations, and it does not allow one cell to alter the contents of another cell. Thus, the objective of this study was to develop an Excel add-in, called BuildIt, that overcomes some of Excel's weaknesses by: (1) providing a loop for repetitive calculations and (2) providing several operations (called actions) typically needed in building crop models. These actions are such as for numerical integration, initialization of variables, and solving differential equations using the Runge-Kutta method, as well as for copying and manipulation of cell ranges. BuildIt was written in Excel's script language, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), but it does not require users to program in VBA to build their models. Several examples of models were used in this article to illustrate how BuildIt implements the infrastructure in Excel, and how it can be used to build models and run model simulations. With BuildIt, users are able to use Excel to build and run their mathematical models, without requiring any knowledge in VBA.