Engagement involves students' investment in learning activities, as well as interrelated affective (emotive responses), behavioral (active responses), and cognitive (mental effort) components. This study assessed undergraduate student and instructor perceptions of the interrelated components of engagement during and after the rapid online…

Field instruction is a crucial component of natural sciences education. The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted many university courses to an online format, significantly impacting field instruction. FRST 350, "Foundational Field School," is an 8-day University of British Columbia Forestry field course taught to incoming transfer students from…

Plant identification is a critical skill for students in biological sciences, especially forestry. Many students begin with limited plant identification abilities and struggle to learn this skill. To support student learning of identification and ecological characteristics of important forest plants in an undergraduate forest ecology course at the…

The provision of meaningful experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate students in natural resources-based programs is particularly important. In 2017, the Department of Wood Science at the University of British Columbia reintroduced a dormant, 1-week tour of manufacturing operations for students in the Wood Products Processing…

This study explored practices that Canadian soil scientists use to educate postsecondary students, K-12 students, and the general public. The most commonly used type of educational activities described by survey respondents, regardless of the settings and the type of target audience, were field-based hands-on activities. The other two commonly…

The world population is expected to reach 9.2 billion by the year 2050. Farmers are faced with the daily challenge of how to feed these people while availability of land and water is dwindling. The growth rates of global agricultural production and crop yields have slowed in the last couple of years, raising fears that the world may not be able to…

Most undergraduate students arrive on campus fluent in electronic communication methods and social media (SM). This cultural or communication shift presents both opportunities and challenges in pedagogy. Social media allows users to share and network with geographically diverse individuals and has the potential for engaging students both inside…

As global issues continue to place increasing demands on soil resources, the need to provide soil science education to the next generation of soil scientists and the general public is becoming more imminent. In many countries around the world, including Canada, soil is either not included in the high school curriculum or it is not covered in…

Since soil plays a crucial role in all aspects of global environmental change, it is essential that post-secondary institutions provide students with a strong foundation in soil science concepts including soil classification. The onset of information technology (IT) and web-based multimedia have opened new avenues to better incorporate…