ISHS Acta Horticulturae 641: XXVI International Horticultural Congress: The Knowledge Business: Horticulture Education and Knowledge Transfer
A WEBCT-BASED DISTANCE LEARNING COURSE TO TEACH WATER AND NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT PLANNERS FOR THE NURSERY AND GREENHOUSE INDUSTRIES |
| Authors: | J.D. Lea-Cox, D.S. Ross, E.N. Varley, K.M.. Teffeau |
| Keywords: | distance education, nutrient management, water management |
| Abstract:
In response to a legislative and environmental mandate, an interdisciplinary faculty team at the University of Maryland developed an interactive, WebCT-based course entitled “Water and Nutrient Management Planning for the Nursery and Greenhouse Industry”. This course utilizes the rich educational potential of the web to provide a learning experience for resident students, together with widely dispersed nursery and greenhouse professionals. This course was designed for online delivery with little or no face-to-face interaction, for credit and non-credit (certification) purposes. By using a problem-based learning approach and with guidance from the faculty, learners analyze, synthesize and evaluate information to enable them to create and implement site-specific water and nutrient management plans for individual nursery and greenhouse operations. During the four semesters this course has been offered, teams of students, growers, and consultants have written 31 plans as case-studies, with 85 students in five states and Ontario successfully completing the course. The role of the faculty was to facilitate independent learning and collaborative inquiry. The faculty team made key design decisions, using a range of collaborative tools and pedagogical methods to develop and deliver this award-winning course, to enable the learning process and make the technology transparent to the learner. | |
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