Information is more accessible to students than ever before. Gone are the days of a single instructor being the ultimate authority on a specific scientific discipline. Search engines, online journals, virtual libraries, and the development of Internet II will continue to drive the increase in availability of information. With basic computer skills, the average college student can put their hands on more subject data than they could possibly read during the time frame of a semester-long course. Therefore, it is more critical than ever to give students the logical tools to evaluate information and construct intelligent arguments. One particular area of interest to the horticulture industry is the impact of environmental regulations and public concern over common horticultural production practices such as irrigation, land development, application of pesticides, and developmental manipulation using growth regulators. South Florida is a mosaic of pristine natural areas, major agricultural production regions, densely populated urban areas, and regions of rapid suburban growth. As a result, there is heightened public awareness of environmental issues, which often leads to spirited conflicts among people with diverse professional backgrounds and personal interests. This catalyzed the development of a new course entitled “South Florida Flora and Ecosystems” that uses several different types of critical thinking exercises to help relate course content information into the cultural and political framework of South Florida. Techniques such as role playing, utilizing guest speakers with opposite opinions on the same topic, and active evaluation of data were used to enhance student learning, increase environmental awareness, and place undergraduate horticultural students one step closer to becoming “society-ready” graduates.
significant increase in scores when the assignments were included in the curriculum suggests the reflective writing assignments are an effective method to enhance the critical thinking skills of analysis and synthesis in landscape design. Fig. 4. Student
are doing well at training our students technically, but our graduates require more training in communications, critical thinking/problem solving, and leadership/management to be competitive in the job market. Matteson et al. (2016) noted that in the
introductory pomology class provided a sound pedagogical approach to teach horticultural techniques while also meeting broader university learning objectives, including fostering critical thinking, communication, teamwork, and community involvement. Materials
Abstract
Several recent reports have been critical of the quality of general education in the United States (Assn, of American Colleges, 1985; Geiger, 1980; Schwerin, 1983). Baccalaureate education has not been spared from negative evaluation (Boyer, 1987). A report of the Assn, of American Colleges (1985) stated that the bachelor’s degree had lost its intrinsic value: undergraduate education was being dominated by a marketplace philosophy and universities were not promoting rigorous thinking.
Graduate students within the Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences Department at the University of Hawaii at Manoa developed a program that addressed their concerns regarding career enhancement and planned a Professional Development Seminar Series. Students identified topics related to enhancing their overall graduate experience and professional development, such as ethics in research, leadership in graduate school and beyond, interviewing skills, and writing critically for publications. Experts from the University of Hawaii and business communities presented 35- to 40-minute seminars on the various topics. Expectations of the students included participation in discussion sessions and completion of a critical thinking exercise after each presentation. Course evaluations revealed that the new seminar series was considered to be as effective as established courses within the department. On a scale from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree, students learned to value new viewpoints [4.2 ± 0.8 (mean ± SD)], related what they learned in class to their own experiences (4.5 ± 0.8), and felt the course was a valuable contribution to their education (4.4 ± 0.9). Students suggested offering the course during fall semesters to incoming students, reinforcing of the critical thinking exercise, and making the course mandatory for first-year graduate students.
Decision cases are designed to enhance students critical thinking by engaging them in authentic problem situations. Students are assigned the role as decision maker with a dilemma to solve. In the assignment, the decision maker has to weigh the issues, identify the options, and develop strategies for solutions either individually or as a group. The authors have been writing and using decision cases in upper level undergraduate production courses in fruits and vegetables to integrate information from classes in plant pathology, entomology, and production horticulture. Decision cases dealing with weed control strategies in small fruit production and vegetable production scheduling will be discussed to illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of the case approach.
Horticulture students often lack practical experience integrating information from diverse sources to solve complex real-life problems. Capstone courses seek to remedy this by giving students an opportunity to demonstrate a range of workplace skills such as teamwork, effective communication, and critical thinking. Sponsored competitions provide educators with an active-learning framework into which the goals of a capstone course can be developed. The Greenhouse of the Future competition allowed undergraduate students to conceptualize, develop, and prototype innovative greenhouse designs in a national competition venue. This article explains the guidelines of the Greenhouse of the Future competition and discusses how the competition was integrated into the capstone course Greenhouse Management.
The main objective of this study was to investigate the impact of an outdoor environmental program, Math and Science in the Outdoor Classroom, on elementary grade students' creative and critical thinking, and attitudes toward math and science. Math and Science in the Outdoor Classroom is an on-campus nature program in Santa Fe, N.M. Students participated in half-day programs focusing on topics such as water, insects, soil, and weather. Twenty-one teachers from five schools volunteered 175 second through sixth graders to participate in the program and research study. Surveys were administered to students, teachers, and volunteers after completion of the program. Interview data was analyzed using QSR NUD*IST (Nonnumerical Unstructured Data Indexing Searching and Theory-building) computer-assisted qualitative data analysis system to examine respondents' perceptions of the program using Bloom's taxonomy as a theoretical framework. Results indicated that students not only learned math and science at the lower levels of Bloom's taxonomy, but were also thinking at the higher levels of synthesis and evaluation within the framework.
Capstone courses generally target students who are nearing completion of their studies, are designed to build on skills acquired in earlier courses, and emphasize realistic situations and challenges that exist in the “real world”. Specific learning goals and course objectives are found to vary across disciplines but most capstone courses provide an opportunity for students to demonstrate a range of professional competencies and communication skills. By incorporating computer simulations, case studies, or research projects, students are better able to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills, a learning goal frequently adopted following curriculum review. The goals and organization of “Quality, Ethics, and the Global Environment,” the capstone course in Horticulture at The Ohio State University will be compared to other capstone courses.