Integrating Soils into Non-Majors Courses: Challenges and Successes.

Engaging non-science students in science is often challenging; however, engaging them in soil science can often seem like a futile battle. Soils are highly abstract to most people, being the system that is “out-of-sight” and thus, “out-of-mind”. The average person views soil as “dirt” and has never considered it as a dynamic and complex system interconnected with Earth processes, critical for food production, water quality, climate regulation, and other ecosystem services. As a college earth and environmental science instructor teaching a range of courses (environmental science, physical geography, geology, wetland ecology and conservation), I have discovered that discussing the five soil forming factors provides a foundation of understanding regardless of the class. With a solid grounding in basic principles, applications can then be made to topics ranging from regional to global importance, such as water pollution, population growth, sustainability, and climate change. I find the key to engaging non-major students is through inquiry-based learning coupled with a healthy dose of active learning. Without a doubt, the most important thing is for students to get their hands dirty, literally; the education of soils needs to be less abstract and more hands-on. Additionally, the experience of being outside the constraints of a formal classroom is incredibly beneficial in engagement, as images of a two-dimensional space on a screen are only the tip of the iceberg in a three-dimensional world.