An Integrated Approach to Enhance Critical Thinking Skills in a Landscape Construction Course

NACTA Journal, Jun 2005 by VanDerZanden, Ann Marie

Abstract

Recent research shows landscape installation is a fast growing and profitable segment of the horticulture industry. To meet this growing demand, the industry needs employees who have a skill set that integrates technical knowledge, practical application and creative problem solving. A landscape construction course that incorporates a variety of student-centered teaching methods including case studies, a small group project, and role playing exercises, was created to help students further their problem solving, decision making and critical thinking skills. By incorporating principles from Bloom's Taxonomy in the course, students moved from lower order to higher order thinking skills within a given exercise and across the topics taught during the semester.

Introduction

The landscape management segment of the horticulture industry continues to grow. In 2001 approximately 140,000 businesses in the United States reported providing landscaping services, and these companies employed more than 700,000 people (University of Georgia BOS/SBDC, 2001). The 2003 State of the Industry Report revealed 75% of 374 respondents expect to have more work in 2004 compared to 2003 (Landscape Management, 2003). Additionally, 25% of the respondents identified that landscape installation was the most profitable, and fastest growing, segment of their business. When asked about their biggest management challenges, the largest response (21%) was a concern about labor availability, followed by the ability to manage growth (18%) and concern about the ability to develop and train employees into supervisors and foremen (17%) (Landscape Management, 2003).

With the industry's growth in mind, it is important for colleges and universities to provide well-educated and trained students to fill this industry need. Henry et al. (2004) noted challenges associated with teaching landscape construction at a university, such as difficulty in finding academically trained professionals who also have practical work experience, the reality that a number of different approaches and materials can be used to complete a given project, and the materials expense associated with this type of class. Creating a landscape construction course appropriate for a four-year undergraduate program requires integration of technical knowledge, practical application and large-scale problem solving skills. Helping students develop a comprehensive skill set, including problem solving and critical thinking abilities, is essential to their future employment success. The purpose of this article is to describe three student-centered learning activities that were added to a course which was originally lecture centered. The author previously taught this landscape construction course at Oregon State University and is currently teaching it at Iowa State University.

Background

Enrollment in Landscape Construction (HORT 444, Iowa State University; HORT 358 Oregon State University) is limited to students of junior or senior standing, and the majority are horticulture students with either an emphasis in landscape/nursery or turfgrass (Table 1). The four-credit course at both universities has two weekly 50-minute 'lecture' sessions and a three-hour laboratory. Experiential learning is used in both settings. The 50-minute sessions combine experiential learning with some lecture, and the laboratory is an opportunity for students to further their technical skills in landscape construction. Overall course evaluations for the past four years have been high, averaging 3.78 on a scale of 1 to 4 (1=poor ;4=excellent).

Neither university lists this course as a 'capstone' course, yet it has many elements associated with such a course as described in detail in the literature (Zimmerman, 1991; Wagenaar, 1993; Zimmerman, 1997; and Andreasen, 2004). These elements include expected educational outcomes of: problem solving; decision making; critical thinking; and oral and written communications. The learning activities used to achieve educational outcomes include: case studies, small group work and small group projects, oral presentations, and intensive writing. Each of these learning activities centers around at least one level, if not multiple levels, of Bloom's Taxonomy (Bloom, et al, 1956).

Bloom's Taxonomy is a classification device, and to ascend through the taxonomy requires thinking that is more complex. As students move up the hierarchy, they move from activities that show knowledge, comprehension and application, to exercises which require them to analyze, synthesize and evaluate. The further up the hierarchy students move, the more critical thinking they do. Briefing students on what Bloom's Taxonomy is and how it will be integrated into the course at the beginning of the semester helps them understand how and why the various learning activities fit into the overall course objectives.

Instructional Strategies

To help students further their problem solving, decision making and critical thinking skills, a variety of teaching methods have been incorporated in the course. Many of the methods are related to student-centered learning and require the students to actively participate in their learning. Examples of three successful methods include: case studies; a small group project researching, writing and presenting a landscape bid; and role playing exercises. Examples of these three methods using landscape construction as the genre are described below.