Plenary Sessions at the 2012 UERN Conference

Meeting Students Where They Are: Adapting Natural Resource Education to Emerging Digital Landscapes

Zachary D. Cole — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 10:15:00 PDT

For students, connecting through text, email, chat, and social media has become an integral part of their daily lives. The near endless supply of digital media outlets and information sources has created a new landscape at the interface of the student-professor relationship; incorporating these emergent platforms into hybrid educational environments can enhance student engagement with course material while improving communication between and amongst classmates, including the instructor. This new hyper-connected reality, however, presents both challenges and opportunities in educating tomorrow’s natural resource leaders and professors must “meet students where they are” by communicating and teaching in relatable ways (i.e. through emergent digital platforms). Students are increasingly being called upon to provide the “digital voice” for employers as new professionals, acquiring these requisite skills is now an essential component to a satisfactory education in the field of natural resources that must be met through adapting traditional classroom approaches. This presentation outlines the creation and use of a hybrid digital learning environment and provides a road map to start integrating various platforms into the classroom. Integrating digital media into traditional classroom dynamics can be difficult, confusing, and scary but also rewarding and beneficial. As such, the discussion answers two pertinent questions: how can natural resource educators utilize digital outlets to enhance the learning process? And, how can natural resource educators modify course requirements and expectations to better develop contemporary skill requirements? Considerations of privacy, content, digital lifespan, and communication are explicitly touched upon along with a review of current trends in the use of social media and other digital outlets amongst students and, increasingly, a wide variety of natural resource stakeholders (i.e. managers, environmental organizations, locals).

Impact of Extraordinary Experiences on Teachers Science Identity

Michael P. Marlow et al. — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 10:45:00 PDT

Experiential science learning is all about personal close encounters with the content, processes, and emotions of science. It is a philosophy that emphasizes learning from direct first-person experience and a holistic perspective that includes the self-construction of knowledge as well as emotions, attitudes and beliefs that combine to form a learner’s “science identity.” The Experiential Science Education Research Collaborative (XSci) at the University of Colorado Denver provides extraordinary experiences, internship and professional opportunities in collaboration with a large number of community, academic and government partners. Activities include local, regional and international field studies, internships, conference group presentations and science identity research. Although many organizations offer such experiential learning opportunities, there is little in the literature about the value of science learning professional development approaches as lived experiences, how they are interpreted by educators, how meaning is made and communicated, how such experiences are integrated into the identities and practice of those who choose to participate in them, and the impact on student perceptions and outcomes. If a teacher goes to Africa and climbs Mount Kilimanjaro, how does it matter to them as professional educators? Does it impact their personal and/or professional identity and practice in ways that are meaningful to their students? If so, how is that meaning made? What is the role of a cohort in making such experiences valuable? What is the essence of these experiences that makes them extraordinary for the participants? The research agenda for XSci examines educators engaged in extraordinary professional development experiences in order to understand the processes that make them extraordinary and valuable as well as how they contribute to improved classroom practice and student outcomes. This approach considers the larger picture surrounding such experiences, including: the complete design process; pre-journey, journey, and post-journey components; and the formation of durable educator cohorts that extend into the future. The session will discuss the various components of this program, both real and virtual experiences, the use of documentary filmmaking in the research and how we link the range of experiences.

Conducting Mountain Lion Research: A Citizen Science Project

Barbara Patterson et al. — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 11:15:00 PDT

Rocky Mountain Cat Conservancy, a Colorado-based conservation group dedicated to promoting wild cat conservation through research and community stewardship, seeks to mitigate human-mountain lion conflicts through an innovative community stewardship project that engages local students and volunteers in citizen science research. In addition to establishing a permanent, outdoor, wildlife-based curriculum at Front Range Community College - Larimer Campus, Communities, Cameras and Conservation establishes a connection to conservation through hands-on education where no such opportunity currently exists. It creates a new prospect for community members to engage in citizen science research and serve as conservation envoys by raising the level of awareness of the wildlife in their backyards. Front Range Community College, in collaboration with Rocky Mountain Cat Conservancy, has implemented an innovative research method that generates valuable, quantitative data, and enables full community engagement in understanding the movements and behaviors of our local mountain lion population. Students analyze the habitat and then install digital cameras, hike to the camera locations, retrieve the memory cards and download the information into a computer data program. They map the vegetation and record the biotic and abiotic factors affecting the land, including the human use of the area. After one year of data collection, students are able to map patterns of movement and compare these trends with existing data on mountain lions from other research. This has provided students, community residents, and park managers with information at a critical time as development continues to encroach on wildlife habitat, increasing urban wildlife contacts. All classes involved in this project work with the wildlife biologists on this project, giving them an opportunity to experience firsthand a career in natural resources management.

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Internships for Preparing Natural Resource Students

Rich Etchberger — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:15:00 PDT

Professional internships are a part of many wildlife degree programs. Some wildlife programs require internships while in others they are electives. Regardless of their place in a wildlife curriculum, internships are a valuable source of experience for undergraduate students. Internships are a form of experiential learning where students are exposed to decision-making and management processes. Since 1997, over 100 students in the wildlife science program at Utah State University - Uintah Basin (USU-UB) have participated in an internship program. This program has been funded with over $1 million through the Challenge Cost Share program between USU-UB and the Vernal Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). We were interested in how effectively this internship program was for preparing students to become natural resource managers. We searched the literature for characteristics that natural resource managers desired in their employees. We also interviewed natural resource managers about the characteristics they desired in new employees. We then developed a survey based on the results of the literature search and interviews. We administered the survey to former students who had served an internship. We evaluated the results of the survey to determine the ability of internships to prepare students for careers in natural resources management. We also asked students to provide qualitative comments about their experiences. Our results indicate that, based on a broad spectrum of abilities, students were much better prepared to manage natural resources after an internship than before. Students indicated that their internship experiences had profound impacts on their educations and lives. We advocate the use of internships as a way for students to expand their learning beyond the classroom.

Students to Empowered Professionals (STEP) Mentoring Program: A Case Study

Susan P. Rupp — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:35:00 PDT

Student-professional mentoring programs provide an experiential learning opportunity capable of broadening the intellectual content of instruction by integrating theory and practice, increasing student motivation through applied knowledge, and encouraging students to develop their skills as independent scholars (Millenbah and Millspaugh 2003). In the spring of 2008, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences at South Dakota State University offered a new course at the request of South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks entitled “Applied Habitat Management” (WL400). This experiential learning course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to develop a wildlife habitat management plan in a small group setting for local landowners. The “Student To Empowered Professionals (STEP)” mentoring program was created to aid the instructor with the course as well as provide students with additional expertise and professional resources during the course of the semester. Unexpected benefits of the STEP program have included development of professional communication and social skills; increased exposure of students to various branches and professionals in the field of natural resources; opportunities for professional networking, exposure, and potential job placement; and opportunities for professionals to “give back to their profession” by mentoring a student. Limitations of the program based on surveys of both students and professional mentors have indicated that students need an incentive to make the program work, geographic distance between mentors and students can be problematic, and initial administration of the program was time consuming for the instructor. However, 94% of students and 100% of mentors involved in the program would recommend keeping it as a tool in the classroom. Future goals for the program are to find ways (financial or otherwise) to encourage employers to grant employees “release time” for continued participation in the STEP program, re-evaluate which metrics to use to gauge the success of the STEP program in order to obtain future funding/publications, and explore ways to make it into a national program in the wildlife and fisheries sciences.

Coordinating Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism Internships - Lessons Learned

Paul Layden — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:55:00 PDT

The Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism major at Colorado State University has required internships of all undergraduate students for over 25 years. We will discuss what has been learned over 15 years of coordinating internships, including challenges in providing a high-quality, field-based service learning component for a large number of students, and best practices from host organizations in providing multi-faceted, professional, learning-driven work experiences for students.

Formalizing Internship Experiences for Wildlife and Fisheries Undergraduates at Mississippi State University

Sam Riffell et al. — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:15:00 PDT

Our department recognizes internships as a form of experiential learning that helps students integrate knowledge and practice, build professional networks and clarify career goals. We have pursued formal internship agreements with state and federal agencies (e.g., Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks, US Fish & Wildlife Service, USDA APHIS Wildlife Services, Weyerhaeuser Company) to benefit our students and help agencies build pools of prospective employees. Students in our curriculum may earn up to 3 credit hours for internship as a professional elective, but it is not currently required. As a faculty, we have debated what types of professional experience qualify as a true internship (e.g., paid vs. non-paid, agency vs. university, etc.). We currently approve a broad range of professional experiences as internships following criteria established by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. To receive internship credit, the opportunity must not “simply be work that a regular employee would routinely perform,” and there must be “clearly defined learning objectives” or professional development activities that are approved by the internship coordinator. Assessment of internees indicates that students feel they learn about agencies, increase their technical knowledge and increase their employability. Three of 7 internees last year received job offers directly out of the internship experience. Still, internees perceive technical expertise as the greatest benefit from internships. We will discuss plans to change this perception which include increasing formal internship agreements, changing student perceptions, better promoting internships to undergraduate students and soliciting input from employers regarding necessary skills our graduates need.

Dynamic Internship Programs: Comparison Between Two Universities

Mark C. Wallace — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:35:00 PDT

Internship and experiential learning programs are compared between The University of Rhode Island (URI), Department of Natural Resources Science (1992-1996), and Texas Tech University (TTU), Department of Natural Resources Management (1997-current) through the periods in which I was associated with them. I review and compare the kinds of administrative support and faculty involvement, the numbers of students and kinds of opportunities provided in each program. Programs differed markedly: URI had invested faculty and support; whereas, TTU ‘encouraged’ students to participate. While data reported here does not account for differences due to regional or decadal influences, I illustrate that most differences occurred because of different faculty incentives, curricular emphases, and departmental objectives. I then conducted a survey and report on responses about the importance of these experiences from students who have been out of each of these school programs for > 10 years. Most students who participated in internships or experiential hands-on learning during their academic career said it was very important. Percentages of students who went on to be successful in a natural resource career was higher at URI. More of those graduates emphasized that the reason they made their career in the related natural resources fields was because of their internship or experiential experience while in school.

Process to Develop Rewarding Natural Resources Internships

Michael F. Butkus — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:55:00 PDT

A successful natural resources internship experience is a result of good planning, execution, and follow-up. The internship can be beneficial to the student involved, the employing entity, and the sponsoring university or college. This presentation will focus on a process designed to produce rewarding internship experiences for students in natural resources disciplines. The College of Natural Resources (CNR) at Utah State University is made up of three departments: Department of Environment and Society with majors in Environmental Studies, Human Geography, Geography Teaching, and Recreation Resources Management. Department of Watershed Sciences with majors in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Physical Geography, and Watershed and Earth Systems. Department of Wildland Resources with majors in Conservation and Restoration Ecology, Forestry, Rangeland Resources, and Wildlife Science. Each of these disciplines lends itself to producing a valuable, hands-on learning, internship experience. Actual internship opportunities in several of these disciplines will be used to illustrate the process developed in the CNR. The process involves developing objectives for the internship experience based on, for example, the job description provided by the employer, deciding on the number of university credit hours to be awarded for the internship, the monitoring system to be used to ensure the students is doing the work agreed upon or changes in the duties do fit the internship expectations, and deciding upon the product of the internship.

Student Diversity in the NAU School of Forestry: Recruitment and Retention Efforts

James Allen — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:00:00 PDT