Experience in Teaching a Distance Agronomy Soil-Plant Graduate Course.

The number of students taught at a distance presumably will continue to increase in the future. Since 1998, the Department of Agronomy at ISU has offered a Master of Science degree entirely at a distance. New courses were developed for the program, knowing the contents would be taught outside the traditional classroom. One course developed was Agron 512: Soil-Plant Environment. The course covers soil properties and their impact on soil/plant relationships, which includes the rooting environment, soil structure, aeration, moisture, nutrients, and tillage practices. The author helped to develop lessons, and he has taught the course for 11 years. A typical lesson structure will be presented. Also, the components of course grading will be discussed, to include points coming from a discussion board, lesson reflections, assignments, bonus topics, examinations, and a PowerPoint presentation. The author will share his experiences (both positive and negative) in teaching this course at a distance.