Introductory Soil Science Course Research Articles

Integrating United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in Soil Science Education

The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offer an opportunity to improve soil science education on sustainability because they provide specific context to educate faculty and students from various disciplines, including Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) about SDGs. Soil science is a STEM discipline with a wide range of applications in the SDGs. The objectives of this study were to use a matrix approach (framework for presenting options for discussion and implementation) to integrate SDGs into an existing introductory soil science course taught to undergraduate students from different STEM fields (environmental and natural resources; wildlife biology; and forestry). The course was enriched with a lecture on SDGs and students were asked to link soil properties and class activities to specific SDGs. A post-assessment survey revealed an increase in students’ familiarity with SDGs, and their relevance to soil properties and course activities. Students acknowledged the importance of soils and individual actions for achieving the SDGs. There was an overall increase in student familiarity (+59.4%) with SDGs. Most students agreed (46.7%) and strongly agreed (23.3%) that the course activities were an effective way to learn about SDGs with examples from soil science. Identified learning gaps in subject matter found through the surveys on SDGs were clarified during later classroom discussions. The advantage of this teaching approach is that it seamlessly integrates SDGs with existing course materials while relying on students’ critical thinking skills to effectively analyze soil science information and form a judgement on how it relates to SDGs.

Student perception and performance with self‐guided learning in soil science laboratory courses

AbstractDuring the COVID‐19 pandemic, preexisting soil science laboratories were redesigned for self‐guided learning (SGL). The SGL laboratories occurred on‐campus during the fall 2020 semester in two introductory soil science courses at the University of Tennessee at Martin and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Students carried out the activities by visiting multiple outdoor sites on campus, individually or in pairs, without the instructor. Students accomplished this by following instructions provided on location sign boards and instruction manuals. We evaluated student perceptions of the SGL laboratories using an optional qualitative survey that students completed post‐laboratory and student performance on SGL activities using rubrics. Our results showed that students found the difficulty level and amount of time required for the SGL laboratories to be equal to traditional in‐person laboratories. Most students found the SGL laboratories enjoyable or very enjoyable because of the flexibility and hands‐on learning outdoors. Students recommended more SGL laboratories during and after the pandemic, preferably accompanied by frequent student–instructor interaction. Rubric analysis showed that SGLs were best suited for practicing previously learned skills in practical contexts and learning simple skills and concepts, but students did not perform well with complex and abstract concepts. Overall, students were able to successfully complete SGL laboratory activities in a hands‐on yet socially distanced way. The results suggest that SGLs can be implemented in post‐pandemic lectures and laboratory courses designed for hands‐on learning in a distance learning format.

Teaching introductory soil science before, during, and “after” the COVID‐19 pandemic

AbstractBeginning abruptly in the second half of the Spring 2020 semester at Purdue University, we modified our teaching approach in Introductory Soil Science and Forest Soils courses (AGRY 255/270) with a combined annual enrollment of ∼370 students to cope with the COVID‐19 pandemic. In that semester, we went to entirely virtual lecture, lab, and discussion sessions with limited instructor‐to‐student interaction to reduce the spread of COVID‐19. From Fall 2020 to Spring 2022, we re‐instituted many of our pre‐COVID‐19 practices, with some COVID‐19 modifications, as we adjusted to the new normal. These modifications included (1) an introductory video released at the start of the semester to explain the course structure and expectations for students who begin the semester ill or in quarantine and could not attend the first lecture in‐person or live virtual, (2) lectures and exam reviews delivered in multiple formats (i.e., in‐person, live over Zoom, and recorded/pre‐recorded) to increase student access to these materials throughout the semester, (3) allowing early access to weekly online lab materials at the completion of the previous week (instead of after the next week's lecture) to allow students 3 more days to complete the online portion of the lab, and (4) creating digital versions (photographs and videos) of the hands‐on lab materials and virtual field trips for students in quarantine or with excused absences. When activities were primarily virtual, we found email reminders were needed to make sure that students stayed on task and met course deadlines. Adjustments necessary during the early days of the pandemic that were not continued include (1) an assigned and supervised 1‐h lab time (rather than unscheduled and self‐guided student access to the lab) and (2) online live exams.

Connecting Students’ Interests to a Learning Context: The Case of Ecosystem Services in STEM Education

Interest in a subject matter is a powerful motivation in education. Prior knowledge of students’ interests can be helpful in teaching the concept of ecosystem services (ES) and disservices (ED), which is increasingly being used in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, including soil science. Study objectives were to evaluate prior students’ soil science-related interests and use them to expand the learning context of a laboratory exercise on soil reaction (pH) with ES/ED in an online introductory soil science course (FNR 2040: Soil Information Systems) taught at Clemson University. Students from multiple fields of study (environmental and natural resources, forestry, and wildlife biology) completed the laboratory exercise in Fall 2021. This exercise on soil regulating and provisioning ES/ED included a sequence of reusable learning objects (RLOs), which are self-contained online modules frequently used for e-learning. Laboratory activities included calculating the liming replacement cost of soil inorganic carbon (SIC) and avoided social cost of carbon (SC-CO2) from soil inorganic carbon (SIC) stocks in the assigned soil. The laboratory exercise was effective in increasing the familiarity with the concept of ES/ED (+39.4 increase in “extremely familiar” category) and the concept of SIC (+44.7 increase in “moderately familiar” category). The graded online quiz consisted of 9 questions and was taken by 55 students with an average score of 7.0 (out of 9). A post-assessment survey found that the laboratory was an effective way to learn about soil pH, SIC, and their ES/ED. Detailed student comments showed learning enjoyment (e.g., calculations, good experience), the value of multimedia (e.g., video, PowerPoint), the learning flexibility (e.g., separate parts), content applicability (e.g., economic values of services), and constructive criticism (e.g., clearer instructions, lots of information). A word cloud based on comments by the students about their soil ES laboratory exercise experience indicated the most common words submitted by students to describe their experience, such as “soil”, “calculations”, “enjoyed”, “learning”, and “values”, among others. Applied recommendations are proposed to develop future exercises based on the alignment of students’ interests, STEM subject matter, and ES/ED applications.

Teaching Field Data Crowdsourcing Using a GPS-Enabled Cellphone Application: Soil Erosion by Water as a Case Study

Crowdsourcing is an important tool for collecting spatio-temporal data, which has various applications in education. The objectives of this study were to develop and test a laboratory exercise on soil erosion by water and field data crowdsourcing in an online introductory soil science course (FNR 2040: Soil Information Systems) at Clemson University. Students from different STEM disciplines (wildlife biology, forestry, and environmental and natural resources) participated in the study in the fall of 2021. They completed a sequence of self-contained digital teaching modules or reusable learning objects (RLOs), which are often used in online learning. The exercise included a field exercise and learning module to teach students about different types of water-based soil erosion as well as field data collection and crowdsourcing tools. As a result of this exercise, student familiarity with crowdsourcing was effectively increased, as shown by the post-assessment survey with a +31.2% increase in the “moderately familiar” category and a +28.3% increase in the “extremely familiar” category. The online quiz contained ten questions and was taken by 56 students with an average score of 9.5 (out of 10). A post-assessment survey found that most of the students indicated that the laboratory was an effective learning experience about field data crowdsourcing using a GPS-enabled cellphone application. Detailed students’ comments indicated enjoyment of learning (e.g., data collection, learning about different technologies), the value of multimedia (e.g., ArcGIS Survey123, cellphone), the flexibility of learning (e.g., field work), the content applicability (e.g., actual field examples of erosion by water), and criticism (e.g., technical issues). A word cloud derived from students’ comments about their laboratory exercise experience indicated the most frequent words used by students, such as “erosion”, “enjoyed”, and “different”, among others. Incorporating a learning module and field exercise using modern data collection technology into an undergraduate soil science education course enabled students to understand the value and methods for leveraging cellphone-based field collection methods to crowdsource data for environmental assessment. Practical recommendations for planning and executing future crowdsourcing exercises were developed using the current study as an example.

Question banks for effective online assessments in introductory science courses

AbstractThe transition of our large (∼300 student) introductory soil science course to the online setting created several challenges, including engaging first‐ and second‐year students, providing meaningful hands‐on learning activities, and setting up online exams. The objective of this paper is to describe the development and use of question banks for online exams and other forms of assessment in an introductory soil science course. Use of question banks for the development of the online exams, especially in large classes, may be advantageous due to time saving features such as automatic marking of quiz style questions, the ability to easily setup practice exams, and question randomization to reduce the risk of misconduct. Instructors should keep in mind that questions in the question banks should be aligned with course learning outcomes, and organized by theme and level of difficulty. Through a case study of this course, we hope to provide lessons learned which may be applicable to other large introductory science courses.

Student perceptions and performance in a traditional, flipped classroom, and online introductory soil science course

Innovative didactive strategies such as online learning and flipped classroom can improve student performance while maximizing university resources and personnel. Assessing how students perceive courses designed using these strategies, as well as perform within them, is becoming increasingly important. An introductory soil science course at a 4-year land-grant university was taught (1) face-to-face (FTF, n = 110) with one 50-minute lecture per week and a 2-hour lab twice per week, using (2) flipped classroom (FC, n = 31) design in which most instruction occurred online with a 2-hour lab once per week, and (3) fully and asynchronously online (OL, n = 23). Students completed an end of the semester survey designed to assess perceptions of course utility, the utility of course components, and engagement level in the course. Proportional odds regression models and log odds ratios were used to assess how student perceptions of and performance in this course were influenced by teaching method or student class standing. Class standing had the strongest influence on responses to perception and engagement questions, while teaching method minimally influenced responses to perception and engagement questions. Furthermore, students with the largest odds of expressing potentially less positive perceptions – in this case sophomores – also had the largest odds of performing poorly in the course. These results suggest that FC and OL are viable options which can extend university resources, impact, and accessibility, and that student perceptions of college courses, which in this study varied by class standing, can influence their performance. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10899995.2021.1965419

Incorporating Ecosystem Services into STEM Education

The framework of ecosystem services (ES) and disservices (ED) has increasingly been used in various science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, including soil science. The objectives of this study were to use ES/ED concepts to extend and test an existing lecture and laboratory exercise on soil organic carbon (SOC) in an online introductory soil science course (FNR 2040: Soil Information Systems) taught to Clemson University students from various STEM disciplines (forestry, wildlife biology, and environmental and natural resources) in Fall 2020. The laboratory exercise was extended with a series of reusable learning objects (RLOs), which are self-contained digital modules commonly utilized in e-learning. The laboratory exercise consisted of identifying ES and calculating the avoided social cost of carbon (SC-CO2) from soil organic carbon stocks in the assigned soil’s topsoil horizon. The laboratory exercise effectively increased student familiarity with ES/ED as indicated by the post-assessment survey with a +24.4% increase in the moderately familiar category and a +36.1% increase in the extremely familiar category. The graded online quiz consisted of ten questions and was taken by 51 students with an average score of 8.7 (out of 10). A post-assessment survey indicated that most of the students found that the laboratory was an effective way to learn about ES/ED with examples from soil science. Detailed students’ comments indicated enjoyment of learning (e.g., calculations, applying new knowledge), the value of multimedia (e.g., PowerPoint, video), the flexibility of learning (e.g., different parts in the laboratory), the applicability of content (e.g., real-world examples), and criticism (e.g., tedious calculations). A word cloud based on students’ comments about their experience with the laboratory exercise on soil ES indicated the most common words used by students to describe their experience, such as “soil services”, “learning”, “enjoyed”, and “ecosystems”, among others. Incorporating ES/ED into an undergraduate STEM course enabled students to connect ES/ED provided by soil with the societal systems reliant on the soil resources.

Lessons learned teaching during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Incorporating change for future large science courses

Due to the COVID‐19 pandemic we were confronted with the transition of a large, on‐campus introductory soil science course into an online setting. This created several challenges, such as providing meaningful learning experiences to engage first‐ and second‐year students, and restructuring course content for the online environment. The objective of our article is to document the transition from on‐campus to online teaching and learning, through the consolidation of existing course material and the development of new resources to engage students in an introductory soil science course. We compare on‐campus, distance education, and online blended teaching and learning approaches for the same course, and provide lessons learned that may be applicable to other large introductory science courses. Our experience included the use of virtual laboratories, traditional online course materials, synchronous and asynchronous discussions, and the use of question banks for online exams. Recognizing the narrow preparation window, we focused on developing resources that provide benefits beyond COVID‐19.

Virtualizing soil science field trips

AbstractIn response to the coronavirus pandemic in the fall of 2020, we created hybrid–virtual or fully virtual field trips to replace in‐person field trips in two courses. For an introductory soil science course with 178 students enrolled, we used a narrative format supported by 360° ground‐level and drone photos, newspaper articles, videos, websites, and landscape diagrams. After reading the narratives, the students took a quiz and then visited the sites (public parks near campus) on their own. For the advanced pedology course with seven students enrolled, a virtual trip replaced an all‐day field trip that travels a 100‐mile route from West Lafayette to Michigan City, IN. The virtual trip was created within the Soil Explorer platform and consists of >50 points of interest (POIs) overlayed on detailed soil maps. Each POI includes relevant information about the soils, agriculture, geology, geomorphology, or history at that point. At two POIs students examined four or five soils along two transects by filling in worksheets using the official series descriptions. Learning was facilitated by a study guide. Effectiveness was assessed by anonymous surveys. Students found the hybrid–virtual or fully virtual field trips informative, interesting, enjoyable, and appropriate given the pandemic. For the introductory class, 42% preferred a virtual field trip format, 39% preferred an in‐person format, and 19% were neutral. In the advanced class there was with a clear preference for in‐person field trips.

Teaching water movement in soil through experiential activities

AbstractWater movement in soil is often difficult for students to understand, particularly when soil texture changes within the profile. Students in introductory soil science courses may be able to define concepts of water movement, but not be able to apply the information in real scenarios due to reliance on intuition rather than fundamental concepts. To apply concepts, students need to experience them for themselves. Experiential learning can teach concepts of water movement through the soil in order to link fundamental concepts with real‐life experiences to improve understanding. A lesson was developed for an introductory soil science course for undergraduates utilizing small plastic soil columns that allow students to test scenarios of water movement through soil to prove concepts taught in class. The described lesson plan can be expanded or revised to adapt to a wide range of students, and activity materials are relatively inexpensive and reusable. Student feedback was positive. Assessment through exam questions showed an increase in correct responses for all types of soil water questions with experiential activities, except soil water forces and potentials. Substitution of demonstrations utilizing non‐graded self‐evaluation with experiential learning activities requiring submission of answers improved engagement during lab, which is translated into improved exam scores. Experiential learning activities appear to have improved understanding of soil and water concepts.

Comparable outcomes in studio vs. traditional delivery of an introductory soil science course

AbstractStudio‐style course delivery involves the integration of laboratory activities with lecture elements of the course, with the goal of increasing student learning and satisfaction through directly linking laboratory and lecture concepts while focusing on active learning. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of studio delivery of an introductory soil science class at California Polytechnic State University, we first redesigned the course to integrate appropriate technology and to align lectures with laboratory activities. We then offered multiple test sections of the course, including concurrent studio and traditional lecture/laboratory sections taught by the same instructor using the same materials and activities. Student learning was measured at the end of the course with exam questions, including sets with or without direct connection to laboratory activities. Student attitudes were evaluated with a survey. Few significant differences were found between studio and traditional sections, gender, grade point average, or major. Some students seemed to struggle with the extended time commitment for each meeting of the studio‐style section, but overall, results were very positive for both styles of delivery. Careful design and delivery of the course, including aligning lecture and laboratory materials and incorporating active‐learning strategies, resulted in a high degree of satisfaction with the course, with or without integration of the laboratory and lecture components.

Active Learning Approaches to Teaching Soil Science at the College Level

Traditional passive approaches to teaching, such as lectures, are not particularly effective at promoting student learning, or at developing the qualities that employers seek in graduates from soil science programs, such as problem-solving and critical thinking skills. In contrast, active learning approaches have been shown to promote these very qualities in students. Here I discuss my use of active learning approaches to teach soil science at the introductory and advanced levels, with particular focus on problem-based learning, and combined just-in-time teaching and peer instruction. A brief description of the each pedagogical approach is followed by evidence of its impact on student learning in general and, when available, its use in soil science courses. I describe and discuss my experiences using these approaches teaching introductory soil science (face-to-face and online), soil chemistry and soil microbiology courses, and provide examples of some of the problems I use. I have found the benefits to student learning in terms of student engagement, ownership of learning, and development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills easily outweigh are clear relative to traditional, passive approaches to teaching.

A Survey of Introductory Soil Science Courses and Curricula in the United States

A Survey of Introductory Soil Science Courses and Curricula in the United States

Developing and Evaluating an ESRI Story Map as an Educational Tool

Core Ideas An ESRI Story Map (a web application based on maps) was developed and tested for teaching topography. Student evaluations of the ESRI Story Map were positive. ESRI Story Maps can be an effective teaching and learning tool. Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) Story Maps are web applications based on maps and other multimedia, which can be effectively used in soil science education. The purpose of this study was to develop an ESRI Story Map “Soil Forming Factors: Topography” for teaching an introductory soil science courses and to assess the performance of the newly developed story map using ESRI's “five principles of effective storytelling” and user responses to a quiz testing the acquired knowledge. Specific learning objectives were stated on each story map page and throughout the learning materials. Navigation of each story map page is controlled by the participant via tabs to allow the user to control the pace of the learning experience. Participants received an average score of 8.2 (out of 9 maximum points) for the quiz. The ESRI Story Map scored well for each principle of the ESRI's five principles of effective storytelling, with more than 70% of responses having an excellent rating. Additional comments suggest that participants were positive about the ESRI Story Map as a stand‐alone teaching tool or in combination with PowerPoint slides. The ESRI Story Map “Soil Forming Factors: Topography” can be further improved by incorporating interactive exercises. ESRI Story Maps can be effective teaching tools in science education.

Enhancing Soil Science Education with a Graphic Syllabus

Core Ideas The graphic syllabus can be an addition to the traditional course syllabus. The graphic syllabus enables students to visualize the “big picture” of the course. Most students preferred graphic syllabus in addition to traditional one. A graphic syllabus that enables students to visualize the “big picture” of the soil science course can be an addition to the traditional course syllabus. The purpose of this study was to develop the graphic syllabus and test it in an introductory soil science course. The graphic syllabus was based on the principles of “parallel” teaching/learning and storytelling. It was created by dividing the course into three units: (1) Soil ABC's, (2) Soil properties, and (3) Soil fertility and management. Each unit contains a set of soil orders with a list of corresponding state/representative soils in the United States. Clemson University students from various fields (forestry, wildlife biology, and environmental science) compared traditional and graphic syllabi. Students were asked to complete a survey consisting of questions related to their opinions of traditional and graphic syllabi. Responses to the survey questions indicated that most students were juniors and almost never experienced (97%) graphic syllabi in their college courses. Most students preferred the graphic syllabus in addition to a traditional one. Students reported that the graphic syllabus helped them better understand the course structure and was more exciting and easier to view on cell phones. Although the use of a graphic syllabus is usually limited to introductory courses, it can also be adapted to upper‐level soil science courses. This article offers an organizational strategy for expediting the graphic syllabus design.

An Open-Source Laboratory Manual for Introductory, Undergraduate Soil Science Courses

Core Ideas The Soils Laboratory Manual is a blueprint for open-source laboratory resources. The Soils Laboratory Manual saves students a combined $12,410 per semester. Open lab manuals should be optimized for laptop screens and printed copies. Instructors can develop course-specific resources using this open-source lab manual. High textbook cost is a major obstacle to affordable higher education. Open textbooks present one solution, but open laboratory manuals must be developed for lab-based courses to successfully reduce overall textbook costs. Here, we present the Soils Laboratory Manual, an open-source lab manual for undergraduate, introductory soil science courses. The manual facilitates the ability for instructors to develop their own editions of the manual customized for their specific course, teaching style, students, or even local soils. The manual was implemented in AGRON 305, an introductory soil science course at Kansas State University. During the fall 2016 and spring 2017 semesters, 213 AGRON 305 students responded to a survey that included questions regarding textbook costs, open textbooks, textbook format, and the Soils Laboratory Manual. Of students surveyed, 62% had forgone purchasing required textbooks due to cost, demonstrating a clear need for textbook alternatives. Overall, the Soils Laboratory Manual was well received. Based on student preferences, lab manual formatting should be optimized for printed copies, or for PDFs viewed using laptops. Adoption of the Soils Laboratory Manual saves AGRON 305 students a cumulative $12,410 per semester. Similar savings are expected as new editions are developed for other soils courses across the United States and abroad. The Soils Laboratory Manual serves as a model for developing open-source resources for natural science courses.

Studio Structure Improves Student Performance in an Undergraduate Introductory Soil Science Course

There has recently been an increase in the number of courses implementing active learning strategies in lectures. The studio structure takes this further by integrating these strategies into an environment where lectures and labs have been combined. Prior research on science course modifications (primarily physics, chemistry, and biology) often fails to consider factors such as gender or prior achievement. Here we describe the modification of an introductory soil science course from a traditional lecture-lab format to a studio structure. The primary objective of this study was to determine if this restructuring influenced student performance. We were also interested in whether the modification differentially influenced performance of lower vs. higher-performing students or male vs. female students. We found that students taking the studio course obtained higher final grades than those taking the traditional course and that the fail rate was significantly lower in the studio course. Lower performing students made greater gains in the studio relative to the traditional course. Female students outperformed male students in both the studio and traditional courses, but there was some evidence for the gap closing in the studio course (on exam performance only). These findings demonstrate that the studio structure can improve student performance in an introductory soil science course and that this format can be especially helpful for lower-performing students.

Incorporating a Soil Science Artifact into a University ePortfolio Assessment Tool

The ePortfolio is a useful educational tool that is utilized in many educational institutions to showcase student accomplishments and provide students with an opportunity to reflect on their educational progress. The objective of this study was to develop and test an artifact from an introductory soil science course to be included in the individual student ePortfolio utilizing Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Sites through Google Apps for Education. A State/Representative Soil Project developed for the FNR 204: Soil Information Systems course at Clemson University, taught in the fall of 2008, was used to create a PowerPoint presentation to be incorporated as an artifact for the ePortfolio. Fifty-seven students from various fields (forestry, wildlife biology, and environmental science) were surveyed following the exercise regarding the usefulness of including the PowerPoint presentation of the State/Representative Soil Project as an artifact in their ePortfolios. Students created an artifact for their ePortfolio, learned more about soil information systems, and completed a requirement for the course. Feedback was received on how to improve the artifact and its usability in their ePortfolio. Overall, student responses were positive, indicating that incorporation of the State/Representative Soil Project artifact can enhance their ePortfolios. Impact Statement Digital learner portfolios are of growing importance in higher education and it is important to help students to create artifacts from soil science courses. This article describes an example of an artifact from an introductory-level soil science course. The artifact was well received by the students and faculty.

Avatars Go to Class: A Virtual Environment Soil Science Activity

Web 2.0 technology is expanding rapidly from social and gaming uses into the educational applications. Specifically, the multi‐user virtual environment (MUVE), such as SecondLife, allows educators to fill the gap of first‐hand experience by creating simulated realistic evolving problems/games. In a pilot study, a team of educators at the University of Nebraska‐Lincoln and eXtension created a soil and water environmental case study using SecondLife in eXtension's Morrill2 Island for testing and use by students in an introductory soil science course (n = 126). In this pilot test with a class period of 110 minutes, approximately half of the students (n = 64) were first given an orientation on how to navigate in SecondLife before beginning the soil and water pollution activity. Another group of students (n = 62) formed a control group and completed the same activity using a traditional paper and pencil method and using supporting data presented in table or graphics format. A pre‐activity survey suggested that about 33% of all students had some level of experience with virtual environments and/or playing computer/video games. Results from a randomized experiment showed that the average post‐test score for the control group was 8.38 (out of a possible 12 points), which was significantly higher than the 7.34 for the SecondLife group. Post‐activity student survey results suggested that students prefer to have educationally designed virtual interactive objects such as simulation activities and experiments, characters with whom to interact and gain information, and overall more action and gaming features to benefit their educational experience. While SecondLife and other simulation software packages have potential for educational use, in order to improve learning, the design of the activity within the technology must be pedagogically sound and also create tasks that capture and engage the learner.