Abstract:

The effectiveness of web-based teaching techniques in introductory soil science courses to promote students' understanding of abstract ideas and concepts behind soil physical phenomenon is an area of pedagogy that needs further evaluation as means of delivering instruction. To overcome this gap in knowledge, a mixed methods approach was used to evaluate the effects of the web-based computer applet Soil Temperature Changes with Depth and Time (treatment) and published soil temperature figures (control) on student acquisition, comprehension and retention of soil temperature course materials and student perceptions of assigned learning materials. A nonrandomized control group, pretest-posttest design was used to quantify changes in student knowledge after the completion of a soil temperature laboratory using the applet or figures during two semesters of a lower-level, undergraduate soil science course. Pretest-posttest results were inconsistent between semesters evaluated, with little to no significant difference between student scores by treatment. Nevertheless, during both semesters students who used the applets more strongly agreed (on a Likert-type scale) to liking their assigned instructional method and to wanting to use more of the instructional method in class. This suggests the soil temperature applet is potentially as good as or better than traditional teaching methods in promoting undergraduates' understanding of soil temperature phenomenon.

Keywords:

web-based teaching techniques, teaching methods, soils, soil temperature