Nitrogen (N) management in container nurseries is part of a complex system. Working within this system, nursery owners, managers and employees routinely make N management decisions that have consequences for the immediate nursery environment (e.g., plant growth, yield, disease susceptibility, water quality) as well as areas beyond nursery boundaries (e.g., surface and groundwater quality, public perception). Research approaches often address parts of the system associated with the immediate nursery environment and purpose. As a result, best management practices that contribute to greater N use efficiency have been developed. Research approaches that consider the whole system reveal novel relationships and patterns that identify areas for future research and may direct future management decisions. To investigate N management from a whole system perspective, a group of nursery managers from Oregon and scientists from Oregon State University met three times between 2001 and 2003. Growers drew their N management systems and identified components, relationships and feedback loops using an ActionGram technique. From this information, researchers developed Group-based On-site Active Learning (GOAL). GOAL combines Action-Grams and the Adaptive Cycle at container nursery sites. In this case, N flow and management in container production systems served as the topic of active learning. Managers and employees from four wholesale container nurseries evaluated the GOAL exercise. After completing GOAL, 94% of participants indicated that they learned a new idea or concept about N cycling in their container nursery. Of those, 100% gained new ideas and concepts from peers and colleagues present at the meeting. In addition, 60% gained new ideas and concepts from researchers and 60% developed their own ideas and concepts. GOAL is a learning tool that provides a simple, convenient, interactive format for investigating complex systems.
learning outcomes in mind. We propose these learning outcomes ( Table 2 ) be adopted by programs that have not yet established formal learning outcomes, and encourage those institutions with existing outcomes to consider if additional outcomes and goals are
–Higher Learning Commission (2003) . It contains six categories: collective/shared understanding of assessment, mission and goals statements, faculty involvement, awareness of students, the assessment process–development and use of results, and proficiency in
arguments for experiential learning is that it places students in real situations where they must not only call on lower-level concepts, but also engage in higher levels of learning as they “analyze what is going on in the game or exercise, synthesize
people; and 5) demonstrate professionalism and proficiency in skills that relate to horticulture ( Table 1 ). Table 1. Learning outcomes and goals for achieving core horticulture competency in discipline-specific skills as defined in the University of
schoolyard garden movement. Garden-based experiential learning activities are increasingly being used in schools to improve youth attitudes toward healthy foods and exercise, to help develop environmental awareness and enhance academic learning, and to
achieve this goal, we first need to effectively coordinate our existing educational resources to increase the knowledge and capacity within our research and education community, as well as the industry. The impetus to develop this knowledge center is to
the North Central Region Colleges of Agriculture to globalize the undergraduate learning environment in response to the emerging importance of this topic ( Ford Foundation, 1997 ; National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges
Study abroad programs vary widely in their academic rigor. The goal of an effective study abroad program is to overcome the “on vacation” factor and to provide students with an opportunity to study relevant topics in a different culture, rather than
practical experience and hands-on learning to effective agricultural pedagogy. University of California—Davis used the Delphi survey technique to determine, from a subset of agricultural academics at that institution, the type of activities that should be