Enhancing Soil Science Education with a Graphic Syllabus

Mikhailova, Elena A.

doi:10.4195/nse2017.12.0025

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 15 publications

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“…Continuous technological advances in educational multimedia provide new opportunities to expand the variety of RLOs used for ES/ED teaching, including digital story maps to bring a spatial component into teaching and learning [37]. Course syllabi provide a topical outline for selecting and integrating appropriate ES/ED when planning and designing educational activities related to ES/ED [38].…”

Section: Examples Using Ecosystem Services (Es)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Incorporating Ecosystem Services into STEM Education

et al. 2021

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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.

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Section: Examples Using Ecosystem Services (Es)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Incorporating Ecosystem Services into STEM Education

et al. 2021

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Designing and Developing an Interactive Syllabus for e-Business Training as Part of Design-Based Research

Hanna,

Conner

2024

EDU

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A syllabus is an arrangement of subjects and a plan for a course of study. It enables visualization of the big picture of the course structure. Syllabi play various valuable functions, including providing information about the communication mechanism between the teacher and students, a planning tool for instructors, a course plan for learners, a source for learning materials or additional readings, a guide that learners can use in their learning both in-class and out-of-class, and it can also serve as a contract or written agreement between learners and instructors or their institutions about learning outcomes. Education today is more interactive, and courses are increasingly multimedia-rich; therefore, syllabi need to be interactive as well. In designing and developing an interactive syllabus for Smart Training for Arabic-speaking Residents on Technology START e-Business Training, learners can visualize the structure of training, search its contents, access frequently asked questions, and explore additional resources. This paper discusses the best strategies used to design START e-Business Training's interactive syllabus and the tools employed to develop it, as a core component of the design-based research DBR methodology. The paper also outlines some challenges in developing an interactive multimedia-rich syllabus, especially with accessibility features, and proposes solutions to overcome these challenges from the perspectives of educators and learning designers. Additionally, the paper explores the iterative process of feedback incorporation and continuous improvement essential to maintaining the syllabus's relevance and effectiveness. By leveraging advanced technological tools and user-centric design principles, the interactive syllabus aims to enhance learner engagement and support diverse learning needs. The discussion includes an evaluation of the pedagogical impacts of the interactive syllabus and its potential to serve as a model for future educational design projects. Furthermore, the implications for broader application in various educational contexts are considered, highlighting the importance of adaptability and innovation in modern educational practices.

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Enhancing Soil Science Education with a Graphic Syllabus

Cited by 2 publications

References 15 publications

Incorporating Ecosystem Services into STEM Education

Incorporating Ecosystem Services into STEM Education

Designing and Developing an Interactive Syllabus for e-Business Training as Part of Design-Based Research

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