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Participative, Blended And Networked Learning: Meeting Educational Needs In Australia’S Rangelands, John A. Taylor, Patricia M. Andrews
Participative, Blended And Networked Learning: Meeting Educational Needs In Australia’S Rangelands, John A. Taylor, Patricia M. Andrews
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
This paper reports on the key elements and outcomes of a national educational initiative designed to meet identified learner preferences and stakeholder expectations of the knowledge and skills needed by ranchers, extension officers, Landcare and Natural Resource Management facilitators/advisors for future success in Australia’s rangelands. At the outset, research into the market for learning in rural and remote Australia was conducted. This led to the recognition that the existing courses available to this group did not meet the learning requirements of people living and working in the Rangelands in relation to current and emerging economic, environmental and social issues. This …
Military Veterans In Natural Resources Management: The Veterans Fire Corps Model, William W. Doe
Military Veterans In Natural Resources Management: The Veterans Fire Corps Model, William W. Doe
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
There are many affinities between military service in the Armed Forces and careers in natural resources, particularly in jobs involving outdoor conservation and wildland fire fighting. Military members have a sense of service and teamwork, conduct numerous actions under harsh and extreme conditions and long hours, are familiar with dangerous equipment and hi-tech instruments, and enjoy the outdoors. The decade of war since 9/11 and the end of combat operations in Iraq have resulted in numerous service members returning to their communities in search of meaningful employment. Unfortunately, a coalescence of conditions, including the poor economy, has resulted in extremely …
Teaching A Large Field Course In The 21st Century, Paul C. Layden, Robert Coleman
Teaching A Large Field Course In The 21st Century, Paul C. Layden, Robert Coleman
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
Recent enrollment increases have presented some interesting challenges in maintaining the quality of our summer field course for natural resource students. We will discuss the logistical challenges, content and structure of the course and recent improvements made to the curriculum.
Initiatives To Increase Ethnic Diversity In Natural Resources Majors At The University Of Wisconsin-Stevens Point College Of Natural Resources, Bobbi Z. Kubish
Initiatives To Increase Ethnic Diversity In Natural Resources Majors At The University Of Wisconsin-Stevens Point College Of Natural Resources, Bobbi Z. Kubish
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
This session will discuss initiatives the College of Natural Resources (CNR) at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) is taking to increase the number of students from ethnically diverse backgrounds entering the college. The CNR has roughly 1600 declared majors but less than 4% are students of color (and 28% female). This poses a significant problem for many reasons. As many are aware, natural resources management and policy decisions are currently based on a small set of experiences within our population, mainly that of the white perspective. As minority numbers continue to increase in the US and our country becomes …
Teaching Natural Resource Economics With Digital Learning Objects: Evolution From Chalk To Digital Ink, Joey E. Mehlhorn, Timothy Burcham, Sandy Mehlhorn, Philip Smartt
Teaching Natural Resource Economics With Digital Learning Objects: Evolution From Chalk To Digital Ink, Joey E. Mehlhorn, Timothy Burcham, Sandy Mehlhorn, Philip Smartt
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
Over the past 8 years faculty at UT Martin have experimented with various tools to deliver online content to students at a distance. The most common tool used by faculty is the use of a plug-in for PowerPoint that allows voice annotation of slides. These tools are effective at delivering materials that are in a traditional format with the instructor’s recorded voice. However, these types of tools do not allow you to develop dynamic mathematical problem solving examples for students without working out the problems in advance. The natural resource economics course, like most classes is dependent upon the ability …
Outside Inside: A Survey Of Field Activities In The Virtual And Non-Virtual Natural Resources Classroom, Kieran J. Lindsey, Robert Bush
Outside Inside: A Survey Of Field Activities In The Virtual And Non-Virtual Natural Resources Classroom, Kieran J. Lindsey, Robert Bush
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
When the possibility of incorporating the virtual classroom into a natural resources curriculum is broached, faculty members often will argue that this approach to education doesn’t make sense for a discipline in which future professionals need to walk away from their computers, at least occasionally, and go outside. Similar discussions with colleagues at our own university, and with faculty at other institutions involved in the Natural Resources Distance Learning Consortium, caused us to wonder how and how often field experiences are actually incorporated into both non-virtual and virtual classrooms. We searched the employee directories of 294 U.S. universities to find …
High School Science Teachers And Forestry Education: How Are They Connected?, Shannon M. Fowler, John F. Munsell
High School Science Teachers And Forestry Education: How Are They Connected?, Shannon M. Fowler, John F. Munsell
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
A quantitative study of high school science teachers in the five state Southern Piedmont region of the United States investigating their attitudes toward and understanding of forestry as well as the extent to which they are teaching forestry concepts was conducted. Specific factors that were addressed include teachers’ attitudes toward the impacts of forest management, specific forest management practices, forest management goals, the forestry profession, and forestry education. The primary method of data collection for this study was a web-based survey and data analysis included calculating descriptive statistics, performing exploratory factor analysis and producing several regression models. Very few similar …
Incorporating A Forest Insect Alphabet And Edge Of Life: Forest Pathology Art Into A Forest Insects And Disease Class, David L. Kulhavy, Charles Jones
Incorporating A Forest Insect Alphabet And Edge Of Life: Forest Pathology Art Into A Forest Insects And Disease Class, David L. Kulhavy, Charles Jones
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
In Forest Insects and Diseases, a junior level forestry course, students combine knowledge into synthesis and creativity by creating a booklet of a forest insect or disease from either A Forest Insect Alphabet by David Kulhavy and Charles Jones or Edge of Life: Forest Pathology Art by Michelle Rozic and David Kulhavy into an interactive student guide with knowledge skills, reflection, activities and synthesis. Students present a 20 x 20 PowerPoint (20 slides, 20 seconds per slide) and an interactive performance with art, music over their booklets. Students use small group discussion, interactive questions and answers and reviews to complete …
Reinventing Our Educational Models To Train The Next Generation Of Environmental Leaders, Joyce Berry
Reinventing Our Educational Models To Train The Next Generation Of Environmental Leaders, Joyce Berry
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
No abstract provided.
Recruiting And Advising Minority Students In Cooperative Land-Grant/Hbcu Programs, Kevin M. Hunt
Recruiting And Advising Minority Students In Cooperative Land-Grant/Hbcu Programs, Kevin M. Hunt
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
Many agriculture and natural resources academic departments at southern land-grant institutions often have a difficult time attracting minority students directly from high schools. Resultantly, some have developed cooperative programs with related departments at historically black colleges and universities to help diversify their student body. Based on the course offerings at HBCUs, these programs usually require that students attend two to four semesters at the land-grant institution. These cooperative programs provide benefits to program students as well as the partner institutions, but also present unique challenges to advisors at the land-grant universities charged with mentoring these students. The objectives of this …
Factors Influencing Undergraduate Enrollment Trends In Natural Resources, Terry Sharik, Robert Lilieholm, William Richardson
Factors Influencing Undergraduate Enrollment Trends In Natural Resources, Terry Sharik, Robert Lilieholm, William Richardson
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
Our 30-year record of undergraduate enrollment trends in natural resources shows pronounced cyclical swings over time, well beyond those for enrollments across all disciplines in four-year U.S. institutions of higher learning. Despite large increases in overall student enrollments, current natural resources enrollments are at about the same level as historic highs in the early 1980s and mid 1990s, and are increasingly dominated by broad degrees in natural resources. The reasons for these cycles are many and complex, and appear to be influenced by the political climate, unemployment rates, changing public values towards forests, a perceived lack of jobs and low …
Undergraduate Teaching Assistants: Promises And Pitfalls, Sarah Vonhof
Undergraduate Teaching Assistants: Promises And Pitfalls, Sarah Vonhof
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
After working with almost forty undergraduate teaching assistants over the past six years, I have developed and refined a program to effectively utilize these students as teaching assistants. At first I registered one or two students for individual independent study projects, but this has since evolved into a new formal course offering and a group or “class” of three to five teaching assistants per semester. This presentation explores some of the advantages and disadvantages of using undergraduate students to fulfill responsibilities that are typically assigned to graduate students. An undergraduate teaching assistantship program can benefit both students and instructors. Instructors …
Envisioning The Future Of Continuing And Professional Education In The Pacific Northwest, Nicole A. Strong, James E. Johnson
Envisioning The Future Of Continuing And Professional Education In The Pacific Northwest, Nicole A. Strong, James E. Johnson
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
Historic demand for Natural Resources‐based Continuing and Professional Education (CPE) in the Pacific Northwest originated largely within private industry and government agencies. Rapidly changing and evolving professions and fields of interest necessitate a strategic shift among service providers, including higher education, so that professionals remain competitive and informed on emerging research, technology, and markets. A regional strategic plan to grow continuing and professional education infrastructure and business was developed for the Oregon State University College of Forestry (COF). Key informant interviews were conducted around the country to develop a guiding tool that will assist the College of Forestry take a …
Students Teaching Students A Unique Approach To Learning About The Complexities Of Marine Resource Management, Jim Berkson
Students Teaching Students A Unique Approach To Learning About The Complexities Of Marine Resource Management, Jim Berkson
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
The National Mairne Fisheries Service and Virginia Tech have teamed to develop a unique learning experience for top undergraduate students from across the country. During the six week summer program, students learn about the complexities of an important marine resources issue first‐hand from the experts who know the subject the best. In the summer of 2006, six students learned about marine protected areas (MPAs), and in particular, methods to evaluate the effectiveness of MPAs. The six students traveled to two MPAs in different stages of development and met with MPA experts. We designed the summer program to share the summer …
Instructional Program For Interdisciplinary Master Of Natural Resources Degree, Oregon State University Online, Badege Bishaw, Paul Doescher, Steven Radosevich
Instructional Program For Interdisciplinary Master Of Natural Resources Degree, Oregon State University Online, Badege Bishaw, Paul Doescher, Steven Radosevich
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
Managing natural resources is a complex problem involving production, ecological, social, economic and ethical systems, which affect and, in turn, are affected by the others. The proposed Master of Natural Resources (MNR) degree is designed to engage university scientists and world‐wide natural resource professionals in a process that integrates diverse perspectives about natural resource situations at the state, regional, national, and international levels. The MNR degree will assist agency and industry personnel meet their self‐improvement goals. Students will learn about the various disciplinary components that make up natural resource problems and solutions to them. The MNR curriculum is organized into …
Forest Technology Program Outcome Assessment, G. Andrew Bartholomay
Forest Technology Program Outcome Assessment, G. Andrew Bartholomay
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
Course grades are the norm for reporting a student’s overall proficiency. However, the one dimensional nature of grades implies that all individual course components have been equally mastered. The Pennsylvania College of Technology employs an institution wide program of Quality Through Assessment to aid in evaluating the institutional mission to, “provide students with quality academic programs that respond to economic and employment realities” (www.pct.edu/assessment/). The initiative employs outcome assessment at three levels, institution, academic school, and program. The Forest Technology faculty has been charged with incorporating outcome assessment into our ongoing curricular evaluation process. The faculty identified broadly defined required …
Merits And Broader Impacts Of Undergraduate Research In Water Sciences, Tamin Younos
Merits And Broader Impacts Of Undergraduate Research In Water Sciences, Tamin Younos
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
This presentation will discuss the importance of udergraduate research as critical component of undergraduate education. Three different undergraduate research activities will be discussed: 1) the Stroubles Creek Watershed Initiative at Virginia Tech; 2) the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF REU) in watershed sciences and engineering at Virginia Tech; and 3) integrating undergraduate research into service‐learning ‐ the Virginia Tech study abroad program in the Dominican Republic. The presentation will discuss merits of these programs and broader impacts on professional and personal growth and attitudes of participating undergraduate researchers. The presentation will also include testimony of 2‐3 students …
Reflection As A Learning Tool In A Nature Based Study Abroad Course, Annette C. Moore, Roger L. Moore, Patti Clayton
Reflection As A Learning Tool In A Nature Based Study Abroad Course, Annette C. Moore, Roger L. Moore, Patti Clayton
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
Study abroad programs taking students from the U.S. to other nations have grown in recent years, both in terms of the number of programs and participants. As international education becomes more extensive and popular, approaches to teaching and learning have evolved as well, including various approaches to reflection as a learning tool. Student reflection in general and the DEAL Model (Ash & Clayton, 2009) in particular appear to be well suited to generate, deepen, and document learning in nature‐based study abroad courses. International education typically exposes students to places and cultures different from their own. In the context of natural …
Assessing Student Learning In Natural Resources: Recent Efforts At The University Of Arkansas At Monticello, Sayeed R. Mehmood
Assessing Student Learning In Natural Resources: Recent Efforts At The University Of Arkansas At Monticello, Sayeed R. Mehmood
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
In recent years, there has been a trend requiring outcomes‐based assessment of student learning in all academic programs. Most of the major accreditation entities have revised their standards to reflect this trend. The Society of American Foresters (SAF), the accrediting body for the nation’s forestry programs has also moved in this direction. The School of Forest Resources (SFR) in the University of Arkansas at Monticello has taken an active role in revising its model for student learning and program assessment. SFR’s two‐tier model is an effort to link student learning and program assessment in a way that is meaningful and …
Building A Learning Community And Authentic Assessment Into A Hybrid Course, Dennis B. Propst
Building A Learning Community And Authentic Assessment Into A Hybrid Course, Dennis B. Propst
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
A review of the literature on blended learning, called hybrid courses at the author’s university, reveals that such learning “can be as successful as either online or face to face instruction” (Vignare, 2007). Blended learning has been defined as 1. “Courses that integrate online with traditional face‐to‐face class activities in a planned, pedagogically valuable manner; and 2. Where a portion of face‐to‐face time is replaced by online activity” (Laster et al., 2005). Learning communities arise as people address recurring sets of problems together and engage with each other in a collective learning process. In a classroom setting, this process typically …
Internships In Natural Resources: 15 Years Of Positive Results, Rich Etchberger
Internships In Natural Resources: 15 Years Of Positive Results, Rich Etchberger
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
Since 1995, I have administered the internship program in Natural Resources at the Uintah Basin Regional Campus of Utah State University. During that time, nearly 100 students have participated in the program. To date, 100% of program participants have been successful in seeking jobs in natural resources. My objectives are to outline the model I have used for this internship program, to describe a few examples of partnerships that have contributed to the program’s success, and to review student projects. I believe that one of the keys to the success of this program has been the partnerships forged with natural …
Graduate Students As Evaluation Consultants For Natural Resource Programs: A Service Learning Success Story, Nick Fuhrman
Graduate Students As Evaluation Consultants For Natural Resource Programs: A Service Learning Success Story, Nick Fuhrman
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
Providing graduate students with authentic, field‐based service‐learning experiences can be challenging. Promoting these experiences can be particularly difficult with graduate students enrolled in Extension‐related degree programs at a distance. Recent studies have found that employers desire new hires with Master’s degrees to have skills in educational program development and evaluation. In an effort to provide evaluation resources to statewide Extension programs, enhance the relevance of program evaluation skills for graduate students, and address the above‐listed challenges, twenty‐four Master’s level graduate students participating in a distance‐technology delivered (synchronous) program evaluation course served as evaluation consultants during the last four weeks of …
Integrating Service Learning And International Study Into The Traditional Degree Programs, Quint Newcomer
Integrating Service Learning And International Study Into The Traditional Degree Programs, Quint Newcomer
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
In 2001, the University of Georgia Foundation made a significant commitment to expanding the opportunity for study abroad at UGA when it purchased a 155‐acre farm and built a new education and research center in San Luis de Monteverde, Costa Rica. UGA Costa Rica collaborates with departments and schools across the University to offer study abroad programs that offer courses directly related to major areas of study and that also integrate service‐learning as a central component of the overall study abroad experience. “Global service‐learning is a course‐based form of experiential education wherein students, faculty, staff and institutions a) collaborate with …
Assessing Embedded Geospatial Student Learning Outcomes, John Carr, Heather Cheshire, George Hess, Hugh Devine, Donna Bailey
Assessing Embedded Geospatial Student Learning Outcomes, John Carr, Heather Cheshire, George Hess, Hugh Devine, Donna Bailey
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
Geographic Information Science and Technology (GIST) plays an increasingly pronounced role in providing natural resource professionals with information and analysis tools. GIST is an integral component of resource planning, management and assessment; therefore, professors in the College of Natural Resources at North Carolina State University have designed and embedded geospatial exercises across undergraduate curricula in Forest Management and Natural Resources. We developed a flexible framework for assessing how well geospatial learning objectives are being met. Developing a framework requires identifying geospatial learning objectives, establishing criteria for success, and creating assessment tools. Structured interviews were used to identify geospatial learning objectives …
Peer Reviewed Publications From Class Projects, Carolyn A. Copenheaver
Peer Reviewed Publications From Class Projects, Carolyn A. Copenheaver
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
From 2001 to 2008, I coordinated the publication of 13 peer‐reviewed manuscripts stemming from group projects in a graduate‐level Advanced Forest Ecology class. The intention of the group projects was to immerse the students in actual forest ecology research and increase their professional development by personally involving them in the publication process. The student publications appeared in 11 different journals (American Midland Naturalist, Castanea, Dendrochronologia, Forest Ecology and Management, Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education, Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society, Natural Areas Journal, Northeastern Naturalist, Southeastern Geographer, and Tree‐Ring Research) and each group project had a unique …
Teaching Environmental Communications Through Service Learning, Marc J. Stern
Teaching Environmental Communications Through Service Learning, Marc J. Stern
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
The presentation will reflect on the results of evaluations of a service learning course in environmental education in which students developed and delivered afterschool environmental education programs at local elementary schools. One strategy for a service‐learning course is basically to push the students off of a cliff, dangle a rope, and hope they can not only find the rope, but also climb back up. This generally means getting students out there as quickly as possible, equipping them with some basic tools and knowledge to make sense of their experience along the way, and seeing if they can put it all …
Teaching Critical Thinking In Statistics For Natural Resource Education, Lisa M. Ganio
Teaching Critical Thinking In Statistics For Natural Resource Education, Lisa M. Ganio
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
Graduate education in natural resource fields requires high level critical thinking in specialized areas of interest to the student. This challenge is typically embraced by graduate students who are excited to be learning in the areas of their choice. Most graduate programs in natural resources require students to take a course in statistics or data analysis and natural resources research relies heavily on these tools. But many students have limited experience with quantitative science and that experience may not have been recent. This poses a challenge when teaching courses in statistics. In this presentation I will outline the challenges to …
Assessment Of Employer Perceptions And Student Needs In The Design Of A Cooperative Employment Program In Professional Forestry Curricula, Jim Kiser, Kama Luukinen, Thomas Maness
Assessment Of Employer Perceptions And Student Needs In The Design Of A Cooperative Employment Program In Professional Forestry Curricula, Jim Kiser, Kama Luukinen, Thomas Maness
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
The knowledge and skills needed by professional foresters is rapidly evolving as the practice is changing to respond to a broader set of ecosystem services and markets. Today’s organizations prefer to hire graduates that have a specific set of skills to address these new and evolving issues, however, it can be difficult for students to gain experience in all of the necessary areas through a traditional four‐year academic program. A cooperative education program is an undergraduate education with approximately 1/3 of the education component conducted on the job. The work terms are structured to have a learning component, and the …
Partnering With International Study Abroad Vendors For Mutual Benefits, Wayde C. Morse, Greg Somers
Partnering With International Study Abroad Vendors For Mutual Benefits, Wayde C. Morse, Greg Somers
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
International educational experiences have the ability to promote cultural understanding, cooperation and interaction with global society. In a period of reduced financial and administrative resources it is more difficult to promote these experiences. Auburn University (AU) and the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences (SFWS) has partnered with International Student Volunteers, Inc. (ISV) to provide academic oversight and credit for study abroad volunteer service experiences. ISV is an international volunteer travel organization who sends over 3,000 students abroad each year and whose participants have contributed over 250,000 volunteer hours in the fields of natural resource conservation and community development. ISV …
Teaching Ecological Ethics, Mark C. Wallace, Dan Perry, Gad Perry, Howard Curzer, Peter Muhlberger
Teaching Ecological Ethics, Mark C. Wallace, Dan Perry, Gad Perry, Howard Curzer, Peter Muhlberger
Conference on University Education in Natural Resources
Wildlife researchers and managers frequently have to contend with difficult ethical questions during the course of their work, but currently lack an explicit scholarly forum to help them analyze the complicated ethical situations they encounter in the field, the laboratory, or conservation area. Since neither environmental ethics, nor animal ethics, nor research ethics currently addresses the tradeoff problems peculiar to wildlife research and management, a new field is needed. It must be the interdisciplinary product of organized and on‐going discussions across the natural sciences, social sciences, the humanities, and the conservation professions. Minteer and Collins (2005) proposed the creation of …