Producing “Society-Ready” Foresters: A Research-Based Process to Revise the Bachelor of Science in Forestry Curriculum at Stephen F. Austin State University

Bullard, Steven H; Williams, Pat Stephens; Coble, Theresa; Coble, Dean W.; Darville, Ray; Rogers, Laurie

doi:10.5849/jof.13-098

Cited by 39 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The mission statement of ATCOFA is to maintain excellence in teaching, research and outreach to enhance the health and vitality of the environment through sustainable management, conservation, and protection of natural resources. The college is dedicated to comprehensive undergraduate and graduate education, basic and applied research programs, and service (Bullard, Coble, Coble, Darville, & Stephens-Williams, 2014). To achieve the mission statement, undergraduate course work in the Spatial Science program within ATCOFA focuses not only on traditional classroom instruction combined with outdoor lab instruction but also focuses heavily on integrating hands-on instruction via one-on-one faculty interaction to produce a more well-rounded and more competent graduate.…”

Section: Spatial Science Within a Natural Resource Curriculummentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Hands-On Undergraduate Research in an Applied Spatial Science Senior Level Capstone Course

Kulhavy

Unger

Hung

et al. 2014

IJHE

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A senior within a spatial science Ecological Planning capstone course designed an undergraduate research project to increase his spatial science expertise and to assess the hands-on instruction methodology employed within the Bachelor of Science in Spatial Science program at Stephen F Austin State University. The height of 30 building features estimated remotely with LiDAR data, within the Pictometry remotely sensed web-based interface, and in situ with a laser rangefinder were compared to actual building feature height measurements. A comparison of estimated height with actual height indicated that all three estimation techniques tested were unbiased estimators of height. An ANOVA, conducted on the absolute height errors resulting in a p-value of 0.035, concluded the three height estimating techniques were statistically different at the 95% confidence interval. A Tukey pair-wise test found the remotely sensed Pictometry web-based interface was statistically more accurate than LiDAR data, while the laser range finder was not different from the others. The results indicate that height estimates within the Pictometry web-based interface could be used in lieu of time consuming and costly in situ height measurements. The findings also validate the interactive hands-on instruction methodology employed by Geographic Information Systems faculty within the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture in producing spatial science graduates capable of utilizing spatial science technology to accurately quantify, qualify, map, and monitor natural resources.

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Section: Spatial Science Within a Natural Resource Curriculummentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Hands-On Undergraduate Research in an Applied Spatial Science Senior Level Capstone Course

Kulhavy

Unger

Hung

et al. 2014

IJHE

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“…To facilitate those objectives undergraduate coursework within ATCOFA accredited by the Society of American Foresters (Society of American Foresters, 2011) focuses on hands-on instruction, field exercises, and real-world applications to produce society ready foresters who are ready to make a difference the day after graduation (Bullard et al, 2014). night before and early in the morning for a summary of each day's activities and then are driven out into the field to complete each day's hands-on activities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Drone Technology with GPS Data Collection to Enhance Forestry Students Interactive Hands-On Field Experiences

Unger¹,

Hung²,

Kulhavy³

2018

HES

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Undergraduate students pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Forestry (BSF) at Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) within the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture (ATCOFA) attend an intensive 6-week hands-on instruction in applied field methods. The second week of field station is focused on land measurement activities to introduce students to practical, hands-on, and technology based ways to survey forest boundaries. On Monday of the second week students are introduced to the concepts of how to use a handheld compass to navigate from point to point, use a consumer-grade handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) unit for collecting the geographic coordinates of given locations, use a GPS unit to calculate the area of a forest opening, use a GPS unit to walk and record a forest hiking trail, and evaluate the accuracy of their GPS derived locations via a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) analysis. RMSE analysis between a students collected geographic coordinates and the instructors collected geographic coordinates indicated that the students were sufficient in correctly recording the geographic coordinates of point, line, and polygon features identified in the field. Grades on the student submitted reports summarizing Monday's activities resulted in 33 of 56 students (59.0%) receiving a high A, 14 of 56 students (25.0%) receiving a low A, and 9 of 56 students (16.0%) receiving a high B indicating that the interactive hands-on nature of ATCOFA's field station is effective at providing students with real-world applications whereby they will be ready to make a difference the day after graduation. Interactive drone imagery and video integrated into the daily activities in the field to enhance a student's understanding of their specific objectives provided the students in the field with a bird's eye perspective of the landscape to aid their understanding and planning of the field tasks assigned. In conclusion, employers can have confidence that when hiring recent BSF graduates from ATCOFA that the students have been introduced to geospatial technologies within a proven one-on-one instruction methodology designed to increase cognitive retention and can traverse from location to location accurately and record the geographic coordinates of earth surface features correctly.

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“…The mission statement of ATCOFA is to maintain excellence in teaching, research and outreach to enhance the health and vitality of the environment through sustainable management, conservation, and protection of natural resources. The college is devoted to comprehensive education at undergraduate and graduate levels, basic and applied research programs, and service (Bullard et al, 2014). In order to effectively attain the mission statement, undergraduate remote sensing coursework within ATCOFA focuses on traditional classroom and laboratory instruction combined with a heavy emphasis on integrating hands-on instruction in a rigorous setting via one-on-one faculty collaboration, to produce a more accomplished and competent graduate (McBroom, Bullard, Kulhavy, & Unger, 2015).…”

Section: Mentored Undergraduate Scholarship Programmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This conceptual training will provide them with new knowledge about our natural resources and the field in which they will participate. Natural resource undergraduates are tasked with solving complex problems, working in interdisciplinary teams to develop and implement spatial science research plans as they prepare for their profession (Thompson, Jungst, Colletti, Licklider, & Benna, 2003;Newman, Bruyere, & Beh 2007;Bullard et al, 2014); their education must be relevant, rigorous and build relationships (Bullard, 2015). Collaborative learning problem-solving and written and oral communication skills are identified by natural resource employers as desirable traits for solving societal, employer and environmental needs (Sample, Ringgold, Block, & Giltmier, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Faculty Led Service Learning Training to Quantify Height of Natural Resources from a Spatial Science Perspective

Unger

Kulhavy

Busch-Petersen

et al. 2016

IJHE

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Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture (ATCOFA) faculty members were trained how to integrate service learning activities within senior level classes at Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU) in Nacogdoches, Texas. The service learning training, taught under the acronym Mentored Undergraduate Scholarship (MUGS), involved meeting with fellow faculty members over the course of an academic year during the fall semester to first learn how to incorporate service learning activities in a senior level class followed by its incorporation into a class the following spring semester. The service learning model was applied to students in GIS 420, a senior level Landscape Modeling, Spatial Analysis, and Quantitative Assessment course within ATCOFA. The students were instructed within a hands-on interactive environment on how to use geospatial analysis to quantify natural resources. The overall goal was for a student to demonstrate proficiency in understanding how to apply aerial photo interpretation, satellite remote sensing, global positioning system and geographic information systems technology to quantify, qualify, map, monitor and manage natural and environmental resources at the local and landscape scales. Students applied this concept within a quantitative resource assessment, whereby students compared the conventional methodology of measuring height of vertical features within a landscape using a clinometer with the newer ways of measuring height using Pictometry hyperspatial imagery and drone acquired digital imagery. Conventional results were compared to newer technological methodologies to determine the most efficient and accurate way to quantify vertical resources from a spatial perspective.

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Producing “Society-Ready” Foresters: A Research-Based Process to Revise the Bachelor of Science in Forestry Curriculum at Stephen F. Austin State University

Cited by 39 publications

References 14 publications

Integrating Hands-On Undergraduate Research in an Applied Spatial Science Senior Level Capstone Course

Integrating Hands-On Undergraduate Research in an Applied Spatial Science Senior Level Capstone Course

Integrating Drone Technology with GPS Data Collection to Enhance Forestry Students Interactive Hands-On Field Experiences

Integrating Faculty Led Service Learning Training to Quantify Height of Natural Resources from a Spatial Science Perspective

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