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214 Natural Resources and Environmental Issues Volume VII I. Course content — The course focuses on the following topics: 1) concepts of environmental problem solving; 2) environmental impact assessment; 3) process of environmental problem solving as mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); 4) group dynamics as they pertain to environmental problem solving; 5) decision making (under conditions of certainty and uncertainty or risk); and 6) risk assessment. II. Collaborative activities and other processes to promote learning in a less stressful environment: 1. Food and drink — The ‘lecture’ portion of the course meets from 9:30 till 10:45 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. For many students, this is their first class of the day. Consequently, I provide free coffee, tea or hot chocolate. Students are required to bring in their own non-disposable cups, and they are asked to sign up to bring in ‘goodies’ twice during the semester. Each class period, about four students bring in ‘goodies’ (which usually vary from fruit, to donuts, bagels, or homemade muffins). This activity has proven to be very popular; it appears to produce a much more relaxed learning environment. 2. Text — Although many texts are available dealing with individual components of this course, i.e., problem solving, environmental impact assessment, NEPA, group dynamics, etc., no single text covers all topics. Consequently, during our recently completed Christmas break, I compiled all of my lecture notes into a broad compendium and made it available to the students ($10). Students are expected to complete the reading assignment (usually less than 20 pages) before each class period. 3. ‘Lecture’ format — Rather than providing 75-minute lectures based upon the assigned readings, much of the ‘lecture’ time is now spent having groups of students respond to questions designed to promote creative and critical thinking. The process for doing this is outlined below. Mini lectures are provided as needed. 4. Student involvement (collaborative activities) — Students are involved in several teams, usually with 4 or 5 students per team: a) ‘Lecture’ teams — At the beginning of the semester, students were asked to form a 4- or 5-person team of their choosing, and each team was supplied with a notebook to record responses to questions I pose. Throughout the semester, usually at least once or twice per class period, I will pose some type of question, which requires critical or creative thinking. After the question has been posed, the students meet in their individual group, record their responses and record the names of all group members present. I collect these ‘Activity Journals’ at the end of each class period, look over the responses, and use them as the basis for comments during the following class. Responses are not ‘graded’, but I keep a record of who was involved and this comprises 15 % of each student’s course grade. b) Teams to complete an Environmental Impact Assessment — Students are formed into approximately 5- person teams that are as heterogeneous as possible (based upon their college major) and are given information regarding an actual land management project proposed to take place on a nearby national forest. Each team visits the project site and is required to complete an Environmental Impact Assessment for one environmental component (e.g., water quality, aesthetics or wildlife, for example) that might be affected by the proposed project. Each team’s activities result in the preparation of a chapter for a document, which, in total, summarizes the expected environmental impacts of the proposed project. In addition to their written document, each team makes an in-class presentation of its findings. c) Teams to complete an Environmental Assessment — Working in the same teams as those described above and working on the same proposed project, students complete an Environmental Assessment (EA) prepared in compliance with requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This assignment requires that teams: 1) prepare a ‘scoping’ letter to identify issues of public concern (students in another of our CORE courses act as the public and respond to this scoping letter); 2) develop viable alternatives that work toward solving the initial problem and address the identified key issues; and 3) assess the expected impacts that each alternative would have on each of the identified key issues (much of this information is derived from techniques described in the previously prepared Environmental Impact Assessment). After finishing their Environmental Assessment, students prepare a Decision Notice and complete the NEPA process in a public meeting during which individual teams present and defend their decisions to the same group of students who responded to the scoping letter.
1998 University Education in Natural Resources 215 5. Exams — Students complete two in-class exams, a mid-term and a comprehensive final. Exams are not ‘open book’, but students may bring in two pages of any ‘notes’ they’d like. In addition, in order to promote teamwork and to foster learning, students have the option of completing the exams individually or working with one other student of their choosing. In my presentation, in addition to providing more details on the activities described above, I will: 1) involve the audience in developing group responses to some of the questions I have posed this semester in my problem-solving course; 2) describe some of the student-based, instructor-based, learning environment-based and institution-based challenges facing those who implement collaborative learning activities; and 3) show samples of my course syllabi, draft text, “activity journals”, and recently completed student projects (Environmental Impact Assessments, and Environmental Assessments and Decision Notices). INTERDISCIPLINARY CAPSTONE COURSE: THE MIZZOU EXPERIENCE John P. Dwyer 1 , Ernie P. Wiggers, and Hardeep S. Bhullar Associate Professors, Forestry Program, Fisheries and Wildlife Program and Parks, Recreation and Tourism, respectively, The School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, 1-30 Agriculture Bldg., Columbia, MO 65211 During the winter semester of 1992, in response to a university-wide mandate through its General Education Program for each academic unit to have a capstone experience in their degree programs, the School of Natural Resources initiated an interdisciplinary course that would bring together students from forestry and fisheries and wildlife. After eight years, the capstone course has grown to include students from Parks, Recreation and Tourism as well. The process of developing the interdisciplinary capstone experience has been driven by our vision to produce a learning experience in which the student can feel comfortable and confident in working as a productive member of an interdisciplinary team on a complex natural resource problem. In this developmental stage both student and instructors have benefitted from the experience. The students have identified the importance of working within interdisciplinary teams to solve natural resource conservation problems and a need to work effectively as a member of a team. At the request of students, a “team building” exercise was added to the class to help the students understand the personality types that might be represented on teams and how to best blend these “types” to help the team function smoothly. Other actions taken to improve the quality of the capstone experience included providing the students with feedback on their plan from a panel of outside reviewers and requiring the students to incorporate the panel’s feedback into their final draft. The ultimate goal of the capstone experience is the achievement of the desired outcomes for the student. Based upon an evaluation of the capstone experience the students realize that cross-disciplinary teamwork is essential to address today’s complex natural resource problems. Likewise, they tell us that they feel more comfortable and confident in using the knowledge and skills they have gained in the classroom. This paper will describe the course, outline our vision, and share in the actions taken in the past and projects designed for the improvement of the course in the future. 1 John P. Dwyer, corresponding author, phone 573-882-3537, email: john_dwyer@muccmail.missouri.edu
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Teaching Methods: Collaborative Lea
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The Upper Midwest Regional Capstone
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INTEGRATED NATURAL RESOURCE PLANNIN
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TEACHING CORE VALUES: SOME QUESTION
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WRITING AND FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE
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THE INTERDISCIPLINARY NATURAL RESOU
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AN ETHICS PRIMER FOR UNIVERSITY STU
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