This book focuses on online pedagogy and the challenges and opportunities incumbent in the transformation of a face-to-face college course. It is intended as a resource and support for new online teachers--a source of ideas and strategies from a variety of disciplinary perspectives as well as pedagogical perspectives--and for those experienced in…

Ten specific activities aimed at studying soil in a vacant lot are presented along with a discussion of necessary/useful equipment and an expemplary lesson plan. (JC)

Two easy student activities that demonstrate physical weathering by expansion are described. The first demonstrates ice wedging and the second root wedging. A list of the needed materials, procedure, and observations are included. (KR)

Reported are the results of a survey of awareness, use, and attitude of Indiana secondary school agriculture and social science educators toward soil survey reports. An analysis by teaching discipline and geographic location is presented. (CW)

To help plan effective teaching strategies, it is important to determine students' existing knowledge about the topic to be taught. Interviews with New Zealand students showed that they hold nonscientific ideas about soil. These student views should be respected by teachers. They should be discussed and compared with scientific viewpoints. (RM)

Describes an introductory college level course in soil and vegetation which uses lecture, audiovisual tutorial, individualized instruction, field trips, films, and games. The course consists of three segments: basic concepts of soils, basic concepts of plants, and soil and vegetation concepts in a spatial context. (KC)

Stressed is the interrelationship among the three major groups of sedimentary rocks and the potential benefits in understanding of sedimentary processes to be gained by a petrosynthesis. Listed are 59 references. (CW)

Offers perspectives and an overview of 35 years of teaching an elementary course in soils at Mississippi State University. Discusses the nature of and changes over the years in course content, teaching methods, and student characteristics. Explains the principles that guided instruction in the course. (ML)

The advantages and disadvantages of poster sessions vs. oral talks are reviewed. Front-end and secondary planning, materials, and follow-up needed for poster sessions are outlined. An example session and a check list are included. (Author/CW)

Presented is a successfully implemented active learning project and results of a survey to assess the success of the project. Materials and methods are discussed, and an example of one project is provided. (Author/CW)

Reviews issues related to soil erosion and soil loss tolerance in the United States. Describes an instructional plan in which students estimate soil loses in three geographical regions using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). Recommends integrating the geography of soil erosion with broader conceptual questions in physical geography. (CFR)

Described is a technique for taking a large monolith for the purpose of teaching soil structure. Materials and procedures are detailed. A survey of 93 students indicated that the larger monolith was preferred over the commonly used narrow ones. (CW)

Presented is a comprehensible structural representation of humic substances. A number of important roles of soil organic matter, including contribution to the cation-exchange capacity, binding of pesticides, and formation of complexes with micronutrient cations, are illustrated. (Author/CW)

Compared are the estimates of students and professional field soil scientists. Results indicate that with three weeks of practice and the availability of good reference samples, students can attain a level of proficiency comparable to professional soil scientists. Suggestions for grading evaluations are provided. (Author/CW)

A peer review process similar to that used by scientific journals which can be applied to class work is presented. Stressed is the advantage of using peer review when writing skills are a priority but instructor time is limited. Guidelines and examples of comments are provided. (CW)