Animal Ecology and Forestry
For
About
Learner Outcomes Assessment Portfolio
Student Learning Outcomes Measures for College Core Outcomes
Communications | Problem Solving/Critical Thinking | Ethics | Environmental Awareness | International/Multicultural Awareness
Communications
NREM Communications Outcome: Students will be able to communicate clearly and effectively with different types of audiences using appropriate oral, visual, electronic, and written techniques.
Students in any of the options in Animal Ecology or Forestry are required to take a minimum 9.5 credits in the area of Interpersonal and public communications skills consisting of English 104, English 105, Speech Communications 212, and Library 160. Beyond the minimum, each option within the two majors imposes additional requirements for courses that have been approved for various levels of communications intensive credit. Additional communication intensive credit required in each option is listed below.
Options in Animal Ecology
| Option | Additional Communications Credits* |
| Fisheries and Aquatic Sci. | 7.5 |
| Interpretation of Natural Resources | 7.9 |
| Pre-Vet Wildlife Care | 11.5 |
| Wildlife | 9.3 |
Options in Forestry
| Option | Additional Communications Credits* |
| Ecosystem Management | 12.5 |
| Interpretation of Natural Resources | 15.9 |
| Natural Resource Conservation and Restoration | 13 |
| Sustainable Materials | 8 |
| Urban and Community Forestry | 14.5 |
* Based on COA-approved embedded communication credits from all courses in the 2005-07 catalog.
Measurement of the Communications Outcome
For the 2005-2007 catalog, the primary measures of accomplishment of this learning outcome have been the various assessment techniques used within individual courses.
For students majoring in forestry, additional measures of communications competence come from the written and oral reports they prepare for a client outside the university. All forestry students are required to take Forestry 454 (Forestry Practicum). In this course, students work for a client outside the university to develop and present management alternatives related to the client's situation. During the course, students work with the course instructor, their client, and faculty mentors from outside the course to develop a written and oral report to be presented to the client. On two occasions during the semester, faculty mentors assess the quality and completeness of the oral report the students are preparing. Toward the end of the semester, students make their presentation to the client, most times at the client's place of business. The course instructor and faculty mentors are present at those presentations. The course instructor and the faculty mentors use a Grading Criteria for Oral Presentations and the clients use a Client's Evaluation of Oral Report to assess the effectiveness of the group's presentation. The course instructor also uses a Grading Criteria for Written Report and the Client uses a Client's Evaluation of Written Report to assess the quality of the written document prepared by the team. These reports are used, not only to assign individual grades for the course, but also to direct course future course modifications.
Course Modifications Based on Outcomes
As a result of recent assessment of communications outcomes for the forestry major, changes have been made to Forestry 203, Forestry 204, Forestry 205, and Forestry 454
To provide students with more practice in writing and revising portions of written management plans, students are now required to write a draft and revisions of two sections of their overall management report in Forestry 203. Those sections deal with adequacy of regeneration in the forest for which they are preparing a management plan, and with total harvest volumes available in the forest. The initial draft is reviewed by the instructor of 203 and returned to students with suggestions for revisions. The revised draft is then resubmitted for final grade. The revised drafts ultimately become part of the overall management plan presented in Forestry 205.
Changes have been made in Forestry 204 to provide students with more time to improve and revise both oral and written portions of their management plan, the magnitude of the management plan has been reduced and more emphasis has been placed on higher quality oral and written communications.
Forestry 205 has been modified to provide students with more time to develop their final oral presentation. Additional faculty-evaluated practice sessions have been incorporated into the course to provide students with more feedback on the quality of their presentations and to provide suggestions for improvement.
In Forestry 454, a Capstone Written Report Communication Rubric has been introduced to provide better guidance to students as they develop the final written report for their clients.
Problem Solving/Critical Thinking
Six of the ten general outcomes for Natural Resource Ecology and Management students relate to problem solving and critical thinking.
NREM Problem Solving/Critical Thinking Outcomes: Anticipate, analyze and evaluate natural resource issues and explain the ecological, economic, and social consequences of natural resource actions at various scales and over time.
Actively seek the input and perspectives of diverse stakeholders regarding natural resource problems and issues.
Assess, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information fairly and objectively.
Work effectively, both individually and with others, on complex, value-laden natural resource problems that require holistic problem solving approaches.
Formulate and evaluate alternative solutions to complex problems and recommend and defend best alternatives.
Recognize and interpret resource problems across spatial scales from local to global.
Problem solving/critical thinking skills are taught in a number of courses throughout each of the options in NREM. Courses recognized as teaching those skills have been reviewed and approved by the College of Agriculture Curriculum Committee. The table below shows the minimum number of credit hours of instruction that students receive in the different options in this area. Depending on selection of free and restricted electives, students typically exceed the numbers listed below.
Options in Animal Ecology
| Option | Additional Environmental Credits* |
| Fisheries and Aquatic Sci. | 2.5 |
| Interpretation of Natural Resources | 1.5 |
| Pre-Vet Wildlife Care | 3 |
| Wildlife | 4.5 |
Options in Forestry
| Option | Additional Environmental Credits* |
| Ecosystem Management | 8.5 |
| Interpretation of Natural Resources | 8 |
| Natural Resource Conservation and Restoration | 8 |
| Sustainable Materials | 5.5 |
| Urban and Community Forestry | 8.5 |
* Based on COA-approved embedded Problem Solving/Critical Thinking credits.
Measurement of Problem Solving/Critical Thinking Outcomes
For the 2005-2007 catalog, the primary measures of accomplishment of this learning outcome have been the various assessment techniques used within individual courses. During the summers of 2004, 2005, and spring of 2006, surveys of past graduates and employers were conducted to gain indirect assessment of how well the objectives related to this area have been accomplished in the past.
Ethics
NREM Ethics Outcome: Develop, explain and evaluate their own beliefs, values and behavior in relation to professional and societal standards of ethics.
The main source of ethics instruction in each of the options in NREM comes from a college-level requirement for a minimum of 3 credits of course work from an approved list of ethics courses. Students are free to select from that list to fulfill the requirement as long as the number of approved credits totals three or more.
Because those courses are taught outside the department, there has been no outcomes assessment conducted in this area by the department in the past. However, during the summers of 2004, 2005, and spring of 2006, surveys of past graduates and employers were conducted to gain indirect assessment of how well the ten general objectives have been accomplished in the past. Included in that assessment is the ethics outcome listed above.
Environmental Awareness
Three of the ten general outcomes for Natural Resource Ecology and Management students relate to environmental awareness.
NREM Environmental Awareness Outcomes: Anticipate, analyze and evaluate natural resource issues and explain the ecological, economic, and social consequences of natural resource actions at various scales and over time.
Recognize and interpret resource problems across spatial scales from local to global.
Appreciate cultural diversity and understand the impact of the global distribution of people and wealth on natural resource use and valuation.
Environmental awareness is taught in a number of courses throughout each of the options in NREM. Courses recognized as teaching those skills have been reviewed and approved by the College of Agriculture Curriculum Committee. The table below shows the minimum number of credit hours of instruction that students receive in the different options in this area. Depending on selection of free and restricted electives, many students exceed the numbers listed below.
Options in Animal Ecology
| Option | Additional Environmental Credits* |
| Fisheries and Aquatic Sci. | 8.5 |
| Interpretation of Natural Resources | 7 |
| Pre-Vet Wildlife Care | 6.5 |
| Wildlife | 6.5 |
Options in Forestry
| Option | Additional Environmental Credits* |
| Ecosystem Management | 17 |
| Interpretation of Natural Resources | 11.5 |
| Natural Resource Conservation and Restoration | 16.5 |
| Sustainable Materials | 8.5 |
| Urban and Community Forestry | 12.5 |
* Based on COA-approved embedded Environmental Awareness credits.
Measurement of Environmental Awareness Outcomes
For the 2005-2007 catalog, the primary measures of accomplishment of this learning outcome have been the various assessment techniques used within individual courses. During the summer of 2004 and 2005, surveys of past graduates and employers were conducted to gain indirect assessment of how well the objectives related to this area have been accomplished in the past.
International/Multicultural Awareness
Two of the ten general outcomes for Natural Resource Ecology and Management students relate to international/multicultural awareness.
NREM International/Multicultural Awareness Outcomes: Appreciate cultural diversity and understand the impact of the global distribution of people and wealth on natural resource use and valuation.
Actively seek the input and perspectives of diverse stakeholders regarding natural resource problems and issues.
The main source of instruction in this area for each of the options in NREM comes from a university-level requirement for a minimum of 3 credits of course work dealing with international perspectives and 3 credits of course work dealing with multicultural awareness. Students are free to select from the lists of university approved courses to fulfill the requirement as long as the number of approved credits totals three or more in each category. Additionally, students are encouraged to take advantage of international experiences as their time and resources permit. Numerous opportunities exist for students to obtain international experience through programs offered by Study Abroad Center. In 2005, NREM faculty hosted trips to China and Costa Rica. In 2006, students could participate in trips to Brazil, South Korea, and China on trips hosted by NREM faculty.
Because on-campus international and multicultural courses are taught outside the department, there has been no outcomes assessment conducted in this area by the department in the past. However, during the summers of 2004, 2005, and spring of 2006, surveys of past graduates and employers were conducted to gain indirect assessment of how well the ten general objectives have been accomplished in the past. Included in that assessment are the international/multicultural awareness outcomes listed above.
