TY - JOUR
T1 - The “Soil Skills” Pedagogical Approach Conjugated With Soil Judging Contests
AU - Al-Ismaily, Said
AU - Kacimov, Anvar
AU - Al-Mayhai, Ahmed
AU - Al-Busaidi, Hamed
AU - Blackburn, Daniel
AU - Al-Shukaili, Afrah
AU - Al-Maktoumi, Ali
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2023 Al-Ismaily, Kacimov, Al-Mayhai, Al-Busaidi, Blackburn, Al-Shukaili and Al-Maktoumi.
PY - 2023/11/29
Y1 - 2023/11/29
N2 - The inherent complexity of soil and its interactions with Earth’s diverse spheres, including the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere within the ecosphere, and anthroposphere, requires that soil science specialists and students develop not only a profound understanding of soil science, but also the ability to collaborate across various disciplines to address these complex challenges. Equipping students with the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes to tackle the intricate and dynamic issues of the 21st century, spanning soil science, water sciences, hydropedology, geology, agronomy, geotechnical engineering, sedimentation, waste management, recycling, and environmental management, is of paramount importance. In response, innovative pedagogical approaches that integrate classroom learning from diverse soil science courses with practical skills and field-based competencies are needed. This paper suggests merging our own “Soil Skills” (SSK) pedagogical method with the “Soil Judging Contest” (SJC), a teaching approach supported by the American Society of Agronomy and the Soil Science Society of America since 1961. This integration aims to enhance the holistic, harmonized, interdisciplinary, and enthusiastic nature of soil science education. Both the SSK and SJC approaches received positive feedback from students and demonstrated significant improvements in academic performance. Our study begins with an in-depth exploration of the SSK contest, followed by an overview of the pertinent aspects of the SJC. Subsequently, we offer a comparative analysis of the complementarity of these two approaches. Finally, in the concluding remarks, we summarize the strengths of the implemented SSK and outline prospective applications. Our findings underscore the unique advantages of combining SSK and SJC approaches in delivering comprehensive, problem-based, and practical field-learning experiences. This combination approach closely aligns with applied scenarios that demand multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity perspectives, preparing students for their future professional careers, and enabling the practical application of their soil science knowledge in real-world contexts.
AB - The inherent complexity of soil and its interactions with Earth’s diverse spheres, including the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere within the ecosphere, and anthroposphere, requires that soil science specialists and students develop not only a profound understanding of soil science, but also the ability to collaborate across various disciplines to address these complex challenges. Equipping students with the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes to tackle the intricate and dynamic issues of the 21st century, spanning soil science, water sciences, hydropedology, geology, agronomy, geotechnical engineering, sedimentation, waste management, recycling, and environmental management, is of paramount importance. In response, innovative pedagogical approaches that integrate classroom learning from diverse soil science courses with practical skills and field-based competencies are needed. This paper suggests merging our own “Soil Skills” (SSK) pedagogical method with the “Soil Judging Contest” (SJC), a teaching approach supported by the American Society of Agronomy and the Soil Science Society of America since 1961. This integration aims to enhance the holistic, harmonized, interdisciplinary, and enthusiastic nature of soil science education. Both the SSK and SJC approaches received positive feedback from students and demonstrated significant improvements in academic performance. Our study begins with an in-depth exploration of the SSK contest, followed by an overview of the pertinent aspects of the SJC. Subsequently, we offer a comparative analysis of the complementarity of these two approaches. Finally, in the concluding remarks, we summarize the strengths of the implemented SSK and outline prospective applications. Our findings underscore the unique advantages of combining SSK and SJC approaches in delivering comprehensive, problem-based, and practical field-learning experiences. This combination approach closely aligns with applied scenarios that demand multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity perspectives, preparing students for their future professional careers, and enabling the practical application of their soil science knowledge in real-world contexts.
KW - inquiry-based learning
KW - pedagogical practices
KW - scaffolding in course levels
KW - soil science
KW - teaching and learning
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85179310427&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/sjss.2023.12081
DO - 10.3389/sjss.2023.12081
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85179310427
SN - 2253-6574
VL - 13
JO - Spanish Journal of Soil Science
JF - Spanish Journal of Soil Science
M1 - 12081
ER -