Isee Facilitates Learning in an Introductory Soil Science Course.

Isee allows anyone anywhere to access information about the soils, landscapes, and natural features of Indiana.  At Purdue University, we are using Isee with its easily accessible digital maps in our Introductory Soil Science course for teaching and learning complex spatial concepts of how soils are distributed across landscapes. [DS1] [GJG2]  Isee allows our students to see and understand spatial soil patterns in Indiana landscapes without spending years mapping soils in the field.  Isee is used along with soil monoliths, displays, and computer modules to enhance learning by our students about soil science as they conduct weekly units in our Soils Resource Center.  Isee is used during the week on Physical Properties of Soils so students can see the drainage patterns found in various landscapes.  In the Soil Formation week students can determine the soil parent material for any location in Indiana and, for those students who are from Indiana, to find the drainage and parent material on which their home is located.  They learn associations between topography, parent material, and drainage. In the week on Soil Classification and Survey students assess the various soil Orders across the State of Indiana.  For the week on Organic Soils and Organic Matter the students find where most of the organic soils are located within the state and relate soil organic matter content to drainage, parent material, native vegetation, and topography.  Prior to our first field trip, Isee provides a “bird’s eye” view of the parent materials, drainage classes, and the soil Orders they will see in the field and this preview greatly increases their understanding of the landscapes they observe.  Isee has been well received by the students and has enabled them to have an increased awareness of the variability and distribution of soils across many different landscapes.

 

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 [DS1]You may want to shorten this. About 40% of the abstract is this general introduction.

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