Bringing University Soil Science to Non‐Science Students ‐ and Vice Versa Ray R. Weil Department of Environmental Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 2782, USA, Email
[email protected] Introduction Despite some 40 years of environmental education in U.S. schools, surveys (Coyle 2005) suggest that fewer than 32% of adult Americans can correctly answer nine out of 12 simple but substantive questions about the environment. For example, only 28% could identify “non‐point run‐off” as the leading cause of water pollution. However, environmental knowledge did improve substantially with increasing education, highlighting the importance of environmental education efforts at all levels. Generally, Introductory Soils courses enrol primarily students majoring in a natural resource curriculum. Consequently, most soil scientists have few opportunities to reach a more general audience of people who may never give any thought to soils or other natural resources. Students majoring in business or humanities will eventually make decisions and cast votes on environmental issues in their various adult roles in society, yet few will have an understanding of soils or the natural environment and most will have little understanding of what science is and what scientists do. Fortunately, many public universities in the U.S. require all their students to take at least some courses in natural sciences as well as in social sciences and humanities. At the University of Maryland we developed an introductory level course entitled “Soil and Environmental Quality” as a vehicle to address an audience not usually reached by soil scientists.
Table 1. Anonymous student comments written on course evaluation forms LETTERS&SCI GENERAL STUD BUSINESS GOVERNMENT JOURNALISM CRIM-JUSTICE COMPUTER HISTORY ACCOUNTING ART SPEECH ECONOMICS EDUCATION ENGLISH PSYCH GEOGRAPHY SOCIOLOGY AG RES ECON ENGINEERING AMERICAN STU FAMILY PRE-MED NAT. RES. MG ANTHROPOLOGY AG&RESRC-BUS PRE-PHY LINGUISTICS SPCH COMM HEAR+SPCH LANDSCAPE MARKETING PHYS.THER SPANISH MARKET AGRO
0 Objectives of providing this course: •To reach out to an audience that does not normally hear about science or soils. •To cultivate an excitement about soils that may lead further study in soil science. •To present soil science as interesting subject to study for people who do not intend to pursue a soils‐related career.
Student Backgrounds The backgrounds and interests of students who take this course are typically very different from those of students who enrol in our “professional gateway” to soil science, Fundamentals of Soil Science. The latter provides a rigorous survey of the field designed to prepare students either for more advanced soils courses or for related courses that depend on basic soils principles. On the other hand, Soil and Environmental Quality is meant to be accessible to a diverse group of students with weak math skills and little to no science background (Figure 1). Teaching these students is very different from teaching a relatively homogeneous group of students who all are majoring in some soils‐related field. About one third of the students choose to enrol in the course because of a genuine interest in environmental issues. Another third bring a neutral attitude and only become interested occasionally when a topic seems particularly relevant to their lives. The final third of the students show little interest and are taking the course mainly because it fulfils their science requirement at a convenient time. Teaching this group can be exhausting because of the need to challenge the first group, while stimulating interest among the second, and managing to keep the third group from disrupting or dispiriting the class.
“Advertisement “ in schedule of classes
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Total enrollment=173
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Figure 1. The major subjects of study for students enrolled in ENST105.
WATER POLL'N EROSION&CONS WORLD FOOD HOME RADON CHES. BAY HOMEOWNER PR GROUNDWATER ORG. WASTES WORLD SOILS LANDFILLS SUST. AGRIC. GARDENING SOIL MAPS BIO-FUELS SOIL PROFILE WATERSHED ENGIN. PROP. SEDIMENT CTL SOIL ECOLOGY SEPTIC SYST. SOIL PROP.
Counts toward the University of Maryland liberal arts requirement for science classes.
ENST 105 - SOIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY. CORE: Life Science without a lab. There's more to soil than just dirt! Learn how the way we treat our soil affects the way the lands treats us. Soil is central to the quality of the food we eat, the water we drink, and the places in which we live. This down-to-earth course uses interactive lectures, discussions and hands-on demonstrations. Provides an ecological approach and a worm's eye view to explore the soil system and its role in support of life on Earth.
Very informative, interesting and relevant to life. Kept my attention really well. Lectures motivated me to learn about subjects presented in class on my own. Loved the lecture booklet with visuals. I liked the hands‐on activities in the discussion sections. Although I'm … typically averse to science courses, I found this course very
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N = 433
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Figure 2. Soils topics in order of frequency of selection as “top three interests.”
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Figure 3. (a) Getting ready to auger soil during “discussion session.” (b) Students really “get into” feeling the soil and determining it properties.
Unique Mix of Course Content Soil and Environmental Quality has very little discussion of agricultural production topics. Instead, most of the topics are of immediate relevance to suburban and urban residents who make up the bulk of the students in the course. The course consists of three main units: The Soil System (3 weeks), World Soil Resources (2 weeks), and Environmental Problems Involving Soils (9 weeks). The first unit is structured around the six ecological roles that soils play (Brady and Weil, 2008). The specific topics covered under the last unit are partially determined by a surveying the class during the first lecture session (see Figure 2 for typical results). This flexibility in the syllabus gives the class some ownership of the course content and provides the instructor with valuable information on students’ interests.
entertaining. Professor Weil is very passionate about the environment and that comes through in his lectures and is infectious. The content and course design was appropriate for a 100 level course designed for non‐majors. I feel like this course had a positive impact on my life. Provoked thinking about environmental issues … Class taught in a flexible manner with opportunity for discussion and comment. I especially enjoyed the lectures with (multi‐media) use and I think the lecture notes book was a godsend in helping students keep a handle on things. I learned a lot about something I had never given much thought to; made me think about the world around me. For as large a class as it was, he made the class seem very small and interesting. Really enjoyed the book with the visuals, which allowed me to listen more closely than be concerned with trying to draw and write. … has really given me a respect for and interest in, out of all things, soil! I never would have guessed it…his stories and anecdotes constantly related what we were learning to real life situations… A lot of science is self‐serving, but he made me feel that with soil science I could really help people. I may change major, actually. Course Format Each week the class as a whole meets for two 50‐minute lecture hall sessions and breaks into smaller groups for an additional 50‐minute discussion section. Although 150 to 175 students are enrolled, “lectures” are very informal and interactive (see Table 1, student comments). A 200 p course packet book (printed and online) includes most of the informational slides used in lectures, allowing students to pay more attention to what is going on and less to taking detailed notes. Frequent use of rhetorical questions with five or six students contributing elements to each answer works well if wrong answers are respected and used to build the discussion. This technique takes advantage of the great diversity of academic backgrounds represented in the class, turning this potential handicap into an advantage. In the discussion sections, post‐graduate teaching assistants (TAs) review and explain topics from lecture, but spend most of the time on activities that amplify and expand on lecture topics. These activities include case studies of local (e.g. sludge application Maryland farmland) and not‐so‐local (e.g. competition between urban uses and farmers for water resources in the Platte River basin, Nebraska) environmental controversies in which students role‐play the various protagonists (Table 2). Some sessions include simple hands‐on demonstrations and forays onto campus to auger a soil profile (Figures 3‐4), measure water infiltration rates (Figure 5) or take a walking tour of campus hydrology (Figure 6b). These activities provide students with some experience in gathering and interpreting quantitative data. Course Assignments. Students are required to complete their choice of one of three term projects: 1)The Letter. Write a one page letter to mail to a real person in a position to do something about a real life environmental situation involving the principles of soils discussed in the course. Typically students will write to congress people, senators, city or county officials, newspaper editors, directors of departments of highway or possibly the physical plant operations on campus. The student is to write the letter in the role of an informed and concerned citizen, not as a student. The letter goes through outlines and at least three drafts until it is ready for the “real world”. 2)The Group Presentation. This assignment allows for much creativity as groups of three to four students self‐organize around a topic of mutual interest on a soil‐and‐ environment issue. They group makes an informative and entertaining presentation to the class using any format or medium that the group desires. Poems, songs, dances, skits, videos – as well as PowerPoints– have been used. 3) The Illustrated On‐Site Investigative Report. This is investigative journalism in about a field site that involves a soil and environment issue (sanitary land fill, sewage plant, sewage sludge composting facility, tree nursery, erosion control company, stream bank stabilization project, etc.). The student is to find a suitable site, interview the person in charge, get permission to visit and photograph, and research background information. The student then prepares an original, highly illustrated investigative report.
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Figure 5. (a) Driving in ring for infiltration measurement during “discussion session.” (b) Measuring infiltration rate. Note course book.
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Table 2. Discussion section guidelines for a “Case Study” on Biosolids Application to Suburban Land (Based on a real situation near the University of Maryland) Part 1, Background reading homework: newspaper articles, MDE regulations, and on‐line sources. Part 2, Group Preparation: TA explains group discussion and role playing and divides students into four groups for the “roles” in the case study. Each group prepares a 2 minute statement to be given at the town meeting. 1. Sludge application company consultants 2. Citizens of Clinton, Md. 3. Sludge producers (eg. residents of Prince George’s County) 4. Maryland State Department of Environment (MDE) Students within groups discuss these questions for 5‐10 minutes. • What are biosolids? • Should biosolids be applied to Hyde field? • How might soil properties affect this decision? • How else could the biosolids be dealt with? Part 3, Role Playing: Hold a town meeting on proposed biosolids application to Hyde field so that the community can learn about the issues. The TA or a student volunteer chairs the meeting. MDE will present regulations and criteria used to determine if a site is suitable for biosolids application P.G. county (sludge producers) will describe how biosolids have been treated in their plant . Bio Grow consultants will describe the specific methods used to determine if the site and sludge is suitable for biosolids application Citizens of Clinton will have time to present their concerns (traffic, odors, groundwater pollution) or support of biosolids application and ask questions of the three agencies present.
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Photo by W. Remsburg
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Figure 6. (a) Really simple demo of soil particle size using food items. (b) Steam walk during “discussion session.” (c) weekend extra credit activity in the campus soil pit (in a Sassafras sandy loam).
Conclusions. This course represent one approach to bring soil science to young people and to some degree, bringing young people to soils. It presents a scientific view point without being highly quantitative Never to early to start loving and without requiring a previous background in formal science education. Students report that the soils! term assignments were very eye‐opening experiences. They express excitement about getting out Figure 4. Students texturing soil from an auger hole on campus during “discussion”. in the real world and seeing how soils actually affect the environment. Students express the opinion that the course is worthwhile, both on formal evaluations and by the fact that “word of References mouth” has keep the enrolment in this non‐required course at about 150 for the past two decades. To end on an ironic note, our department has just decided that because of limited resources it can Brady NC, Weil RR (2008) The soils around us. In 'The Nature and Properties of Soils' pp. 1‐31. (Pearson/Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ). no longer afford to teach this “service” course which is not required by our majors, but rather is Coyle K (2005) Environmental literacy in America: What ten years of NEETF/Roper research and related studies say about environmental literacy in the U.S. The National Environmental Education & Training Foundation http://www.neefusa.org/pdf/ELR2005.pdf. aimed at reaching a non science‐oriented segment of the public.
