ERIC EJ1135037: An On-Campus Botanical Tour to Promote Student Satisfaction and Learning in a University Level Biodiversity or General Biology Course

2017·3.2 MB·English

by  ERIC

education
sciences
Article
An On-Campus Botanical Tour to Promote Student
Satisfaction and Learning in a University Level
Biodiversity or General Biology Course
HarishH.Ratnayaka
DepartmentofBiology,XavierUniversityofLouisiana,1DrexelDrive,NewOrleans,LA70125,USA;
[email protected];Tel.:[phone]
AcademicEditor:EilaJeronen
Received:22November2016;Accepted:13January2017;Published:24January2017
Abstract: Outdoor, hands-onandexperientiallearning, asopposedtoinstruction-basedlearning
inclassroom,increasesstudentsatisfactionandmotivationleadingtoadeeperunderstandingof
thesubject. However,theuseofoutdoorexercisesinundergraduatebiologycoursesisdeclining
duetoavarietyofconstraints. Thus,thegoalofthispaperistodescribeaconvenient,no-costand
flexibleexerciseusinganon-campusbotanicaltourforstrengtheningspecificknowledgeareasof
major plant groups. Its assessment on conduct and coverage, and student-perceived and actual
knowledgegainisalsodescribed. Datapresentedderivedfromtraditionalbiologyundergraduatesin
sophomoreyearoverninefallandthreespringsemesters. Conductandcoveragewasassessedusing
a summative survey including open-ended questions administered to 198 students. A pre- and
post-exercise survey addressing 10 knowledge categories was administered to 139 students to
evaluatestudent-perceivedknowledgegain. Quizgradesfromtheon-campustourexercisewere
comparedwithaveragequizgradesfromtwoin-classplant-relatedlabsof234studentstoassess
actualknowledgegain. Eachstudentreportingontheconductandcoverageindicatedeitherone
oracombinationofoutcomesoftheexerciseaspositiveengagement,experientiallearning,orof
interest. Student-perceivedimprovementwasevidentinalltenknowledgecategorieswithagreater
improvementincategorieslearnedanewduringexercisecomparedtosubjectsreviewed.Quizgrades
fromtheexercisewere>11%greaterthanquizgradesfromthetwoin-classplant-relatedlabs. Active
learning with interest likely contributed to the increased perceived and actual knowledge gains.
Suggestionsforadoptionoftheexerciseindifferentsettingsarepresentedbasedonbothstudent
commentsandinstructor’sexperience.
Keywords: teaching biology outdoors; student engagement; experiential learning; plant
classification;biodiversity
1. Introduction
Student satisfaction, the favorability of students’ subjective evaluation of the experience and
outcomeofwhattheylearned[1],andmotivationarepositivelycorrelatedtoavarietyoflearning
measures [2]. However, finding a match between what makes students satisfied and motivated
and what needs to be covered in a specific biology course to meet program goals and standards
is a challenge. Such matches, if found, will increase student-driven learning, rather than passive
reception. Pleasurableexperienceswithouroutdoorsandresultingcuriosityareamongthereasons
whymanyofus,today’sbiologyteachers,chosetobebiologists. Thus,exercisesthatenabletoday’s
studentstounderstandstructure,functionandbenefitsofoutdoorworldmaystimulatetheircuriosity
as well, and help sustain their satisfaction and interest in biology. Merits and impacts of outdoor
teachinghavealsobeenwell-recognizedinavarietyofscopessuchascampingeducation[3],extension
Educ.Sci.2017,7,18;doi:10.3390/educsci7010018 www.mdpi.com/journal/education
Educ.Sci.2017,7,18 2of12
andenrichmentofcurriculum[4],andexperiential[5]andcollaborative[6]learning. Furthermore,
dedicated outdoor learning is found to increase enthusiasm and attendance, decrease behavioral
problems [7,8], and improve cognitive function and academic achievement [9]. However, a large
proportionoftheU.S.populationtodayhasabandonedthenaturalworldmainlyduetolackofearly
experiencewithnature[10],andthesametrendisexperiencedintheUK[11]. Avarietyoflimitations
includinglackofteacherpreparedness,limitedencouragementbyschools,differencesincurricular
prioritiesandinaccessibilitytofieldsitesinandaroundespeciallyurbanuniversities[12],time,costof
transport,risk[13],etc. underliethisdeclineinstudentexposuretotheoutdoors. Scott,Boyd,Scott
andColquhoungroupedthebarriersthatpreventoutdoorlearningintotwomaincategories,teacher
confidenceandschoolculture[14]. Futurebiologists,today’sbiologyundergraduatesinparticular,
needtheopportunitiestoexperienceoutdoorlearningthatimpartcuriosity,joyandenrichmentof
thesubject.
Attheuniversitylevel,thisdeclineinteachingandlearningfieldbiologyanddilemmasassociated
withitarealsowell-recognized,particularlywithregardtoidentificationofplantsandanimals,which
isfundamentaltotheappreciationandunderstandingofnaturalhistoryandoursurroundings[15,16].
Itis,however,possibletoengagestudentsinaneffectiveoutdoorlearningexperienceonourcampus
premisesintheU.S.andelsewherewithouttravellinglongdistancestofieldsites,especiallyinthe
studyofplantdiversity. ThisarticledescribeshowwehaveaccomplishedthatatXavierUniversityof
Louisiana(XULA)locatedinthecityofNewOrleans,LA,USA,andprovidesexamplesofstrategies
andassessmentsusedwiththeexpectationthatbiologyinstructorselsewherewillmakenecessary
adjustmentstodevelopsimilarexercisesusingsuitablebotanicalstationsavailableontheircampuses.
XULAisamainlyminority-servinginstitutewithanationallyrenownedbiologypre-medprogram[17].
Despitethesuccessoftheprogram,onlyuptoathirdofthegraduatingclassentersmedicalschool
annually.GiventheunacceptablylowminorityrepresentationinbiologyPh.D.s,DoctorsofPhilosophy,
nationally [18], including in organismal biology [19], a large proportion of the minority biology
graduates not entering medical school from pre-med programs may also be an opportunity. This
outdoor exercise may also help enhance chances of their participation in non-medical biological
sciences at the postgraduate level. Objectively planned outdoor exercises can also help integrate
biologycoreconceptswitheventualcompetencies[20,21]whileaddingvaluetotheeverydayclassroom
experience[22]ofstudentsinanyundergraduatebiologyprogram,minority-servingorother.
Thus, the broad goal of this exercise was to develop a non-medical, no-cost and convenient
activitytohelpfulfilltheneedforoutdoorexposureofundergraduateBiologymajors. Thespecific
objectives of the exercise were: (a) to provide students with a hands-on experience and a deeper
understandingofhowthelocalbotanicalsofBryophytes,Pteridophytes,GymnospermsandAngiosperms
contributetotheexistenceofotherlifeformsintheirsurroundingsinanoutdoorsettingand(b)to
evaluatestudent-perceivedandactualknowledgegainfromtheexercisebysummativeassessments.
Conduct,assessmentandsuggestionsforimplementationoftheexercisearediscussed.
2. Methods
2.1. CourseContentandAccommodations
The Biodiversity course at XULA covers fundamentals of evolution, a survey of eukaryotic
kingdomsandprinciplesofecologytaughtinsequence. Asurveyofeukaryotickingdomscovers
cladogramstodiscussevolutionofmajorcladesandLinnaeantaxawiththeirmajorcharacteristics
andrepresentatives. Studentstakingthecourseareapproximately19-year-oldsophomorebiology
majors. By the time of taking this on-campus tour exercise as part of their lab, students were
familiar with the basics of plant systematics such as the cladogram showing four major plant
groups(nonvascularBryophytes,vascularseedlessPteridophytes,seednon-floweringGymnosperms,and
floweringAngiosperms),theirphylaandfewcommonnamesoftheirmajorrepresentatives.Theexercise
wasintroducedfollowingthetwoBiodiversitylabsinwhichstudentsuseacombinationofpreserved
Educ.Sci.2017,7,18 3of12
samples, microscopic slides and occasional potted live specimens of the four major plant groups
todrawpicturesandlabelstructures. Timefortheexercisewasfoundbyconsolidatingfourother
labperiodstofollowintothreelabswhichcoveredanimalsusingpreservedspecimensinclassand
areviewforthefinalexamwithoutreplacinganycontent. Biodiversitybeingthethirdbiologycore
courseinthesequence,fallsemesterhadahighernumberofclasssectionsandstudentspersection
than spring. This exercise has been conducted continuously for the past 11 years while the data
presentedinthispaperwerecollectedoveraperiodofsixyears.
2.2. WorksheetandMap
TentreespeciesincludingGymnospermsandAngiosperms,andfourotherbotanicalgroups,namely,
parasiticplants,lichens,epiphytesandherbaceousplants,whichincludedBryophytes,Pteridophytes
and Angiosperms in close vicinity on campus, were identified for the exercise. Trees were listed as
numberedstationsaccordingtotheplannedsequenceofvisitstothem,andthediscussiontopicswere
included in a note-taking column as shown in Table 1 to cover the specific objective (a). The four
non-treebotanicalgroupswerenumberedfollowingtentreesontheworksheetandwereplanned
to be covered between visits to the trees based on the proximity of the group to a visiting tree
station. A Google Earth map with the stations labeled was prepared (Figure 1) to accompany the
worksheet. Whilethesequenceofstationstovisitduringaclasstourwasdeterminedconsideringthe
blockadesonthepathduemainlytoconstructionactivitiesoncampus,themostrecenttoursstarted
atstation1andendedat11. Sincebotanicalgroups12and13wereonthetreenumber2,allthree
werecoveredtogetherwhilethebotanicalgroup14wascoveredbetweentrees,4and5(Figure1).
Intheworksheet,PhylumMagnoliophytameantthemostinclusiveplantphylum,allfloweringplants.
Economicbenefitsdiscussedincludedmainlythefoodforpeoplefromdifferenttreespecies,timber,
ornamentalorshadevalueinlandscaping,medicinalorotherindustrialuses,etc. Ecologicalbenefits
includedairandsoilqualityimprovedandsustainedbytrees;foodforanimalswithexamplessuchas
squirrels, other rodents and birds eating seeds, moth and butterfly caterpillars feeding on leaves;
shelterformanyanimalspecies;treeshostingepiphytesandlichens;poisonouscompoundsinsome
trees,etc. Morphologicalcharacteristicsincludedappearanceofthetreeinthewinter,itsstatureand
architecture,leafshapes(e.g.,deciduousorevergreen,relativesizetowhichthetreegrows,branching
patternsofthemaintrunkandpresenceofsimple/lobed/compoundleaves,etc.) andsimpleflower
morphology. Inthenon-treebotanicalgroups,nutritionalmeantnutritionalhabitsofthesegroups
ortheircomponentssuchasfungiandalgaeinthecaseoflichens. Aquizusedfortheassessment
ofactualknowledgegainwaspreparedbasedonthediscussionhadduringthetour,and,therefore,
thenotestobewrittenbystudentsintheworksheet. Forthepurposeofadoption,thedesignofthe
worksheet,thereforethemap,couldbechanged,consideringthespecificcourseobjectives,material
alreadycovered,typesoftreesandotherbotanicalgroupspresentonthegivencampuspremisesand
thelengthofthetimeavailablefortheexercise.
Table1.Formatoftheworksheetusedbystudentstotakenotesduringtheon-campustourexercise.
Numbers1–10=trees;11–14=otherbotanicalgroups.
BasicClassification(MajorGroup,Phylum—Class
inMagnoliophyta),EcologicalandEconomic
Tree/Botanical Benefits/Uses,Morphology(SeasonalAppearance,
CommonName BotanicalName
GroupNo. RelativeSizeandArchitecture,LeafShapes,Flower
Characteristics),NativeLandofTrees;Nutritional
HabitsofNon-TreeBotanicals,etc.
1 Baldcypress Taxodiumdistichum
2 Liveoak Quercusvirginiana
3 Crapemyrtle Lagerstroemiaindica
4 Sweetgum Liquidamberstyraciflua
5 Pear Pyruscommunis
6 Arborvitae Thujaoccidentalis
Educ.Sci.2017,7,18 4of12
Table1.Cont.
BasicClassification(MajorGroup,Phylum—Class
inMagnoliophyta),EcologicalandEconomic
Tree/Botanical Benefits/Uses,Morphology(SeasonalAppearance,
CommonName BotanicalName
GroupNo. RelativeSizeandArchitecture,LeafShapes,Flower
Characteristics),NativeLandofTrees;Nutritional
HabitsofNon-TreeBotanicals,etc.
7 Sagopalm Cycasrevoluta
8 Callerypear Pyruscalleryana
9 Pine Pinusspp.
10 Oleander Nariumoleander
11 ParasiticDodderplant Cuscutasp.
12 Lichens
Epiphytes(e.g.,resurrectionfern,
13
mosses,Spanishmoss)
Herbaceousplants(e.g.,clover,
dandelion,broadleavedplantain,
14
commonpurslane,spotted
spurge,nutsedge,grasses)
Educ. Sci. 2017, 7, 18 5 of 12

Figure 1. Google Earth map of the locations of trees (1 through 10) and other botanical groups
Figure 1. Google Earth map of the locations of trees (1 through 10) and other botanical groups
(11 through 14) used for the exercise. Numbers of trees and other botanical groups are the same as in
(11through14)usedfortheexercise.Numbersoftreesandotherbotanicalgroupsarethesameasin
the worksheet.
theworksheet.

(a) (b)
Figure 2. Students writing notes for Live Oak tree (Quercus virginiana) (a). Observations and
discussions on moth eggs on oak leaves; seeds used as food by rodents; epiphytic lichens, mosses,
resurrection fern and Spanish moss on the bark allowed students to appreciate multiple ecological
benefits of the tree. A student writing notes using a flower picked from the pear tree (Pirus communis)
and checking if it is Monocot or Eudicot (b).
Educ. Sci. 2017, 7, 18 5 of 12
Educ.Sci.2017,7,18 5of12
2.3. BotanicalTour
Amocktourwastakenfirsttoapproximatelyestimateandadjustthetimeneededtowalktoeach
station,completethediscussionofthestation,andtakenotes(Table1). Thetourwasrestrictedtothe
coveragementionedintheworksheetconsideringthatthetotaltimeallocatedforthelabwas1hand
50min,andstudents(a)wouldspend~20mininclassfortakingashortquizfromthepreviouslab
andlisteningtoadirectivetotheconductoftheexercise;(b)wouldtakeapproximatelyanother20min
forwalkingbetweenstationsshowninFigure1;and(c)wouldbedismissed~10minbeforetheendof
thelabperiodallowingthemtogototheirnextclassfromthelaststationoftheexercise. Duringthe
in-classdirective,useofbothworksheetandthemapwerebriefedon. Studentswereaskedtousethe
mapduringthetourandagainlateriftheywantedtore-visitanystationandreviewthematerials
discussedduringthetour. Theywereremindedtostaytogetherasonegroupandbringtheworksheet
and something to keep under it as support while writing but not the book bags. Both during the
in-classdirectiveandwhileonthetour,studentswereencouragedtoobserve,touch,takepicturesand
Figure 1. Google Earth map of the locations of trees (1 through 10) and other botanical groups
askquestionsaboutthetreesandotherbotanicalgroupsthattheywouldvisitontour. Photographs
(11 through 14) used for the exercise. Numbers of trees and other botanical groups are the same as in
presented(Figure2)weretakenbystudents.
the worksheet.

(a) (b)
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Manodn occhoetcokrinEgu difi ciott is(b M).onocot or Eudicot (b).
2.4. QualitativeAssessment
Twosummativestudentsurveyswereconductedoveraperiodofsixyears(Table2). Survey1
wasadministeredtoeachstudentpre-andpost-exerciseinsixclasssectionsinfallandthreesections
inspringtodeterminestudent-perceivedimprovementin10knowledgeareascoveredbytheexercise.
Data collected from the second survey (Table 2) conducted in eight fall and three spring sections
served as student feedback on the conduct of the exercise. Rankings of survey 1 data were used
tocalculatethepercentagestudent-perceivedimprovementas,((post-exerciserating—pre-exercise
rating)/pre-exerciserating)×100. Survey2responseswereprocessedusingthepivottablefeatureon
MicrosoftExcel2010.
Educ.Sci.2017,7,18 6of12
Table2.Twosurveysadministeredtoassessthestudent-perceivedimprovementinspecificknowledge
areas(survey1,administeredpre-andpost-exercise)andtheconductoftheexercise(survey2).
Survey1.CircleOneNumberastheAnswerforEachQuestion. Name
Response(1=notknowledgeable;
Question
5=veryknowledgeable)
1 Howknowledgeableareyouofthefourmajorplantgroups? 1 2 3 4 5
Howknowledgeable/familiarareyouofthetreesinlocalparks,campusesorother
2 1 2 3 4 5
man-madelandscapes?
3 Howknowledgeableareyouoftheecologicalbenefits/contributionsofthelocaltrees? 1 2 3 4 5
4 Howknowledgeableareyouoftheeconomicbenefits/usesofthelocaltrees? 1 2 3 4 5
5 Areyouawareofthestatetreesofyourandneighboringstates? 1 2 3 4 5
6 Doyouknowthedifferentleafforms(morphologies)oflocaltrees? 1 2 3 4 5
7 Areyoufamiliar/knowledgeablewiththemajorGymnospermsinandaroundcampus? 1 2 3 4 5
8 AreyouknowledgeableoftherepresentativesofMonocotsandEudicotsinthelocallandscape? 1 2 3 4 5
9 Areyouknowledgeableofthevisiblesymbioticrelationshipsthatlocalplantsharbor? 1 2 3 4 5
10 Areyouknowledgeableofthenon-woody(herbaceous)plantsinthelocallandscape? 1 2 3 4 5
Survey2PleaseAnswertheFollowingQuestionsRegardingtheon-CampusTourLastWeek.
Giventhetimeallocatedtothelab,wasthecoverageofsubjectmaterial(e.g.,numberofitems
1
onthehandout)adequate?(pleasealsocomment,ifdesired).
2 Wasthetimeusedeffectively?(pleasealsocommentifdesired).
Didtheexercisehelpstrengthenyourknowledge/experienceoftheplantkingdom?
Pleasecircleone,
3
A.Yes,agreatdealB.Yes,tosomeextentC.Yes,onlymarginally
D.Noandreasonoutyouraboveanswerwithexamples,ifpossible,below.
Basedontheoverallexercise(educationally,logisticallyorinanyotheraspect),
4
pleaseindicatewhatworkedwell.
Basedontheoverallexercise(educationally,logisticallyorinanyotheraspect),
5
pleaseindicatewhatdidnotworkwell?Pleasesuggestimprovements,ifpossible?
2.5. QuantitativeAssessment
Studentgradesfromatenquestionpost-exercisequizwerecomparedwiththeaveragedgrades
oftwoquizzesfromotherplant-relatedlabsconductedin-classpreviouslytodeterminetheactual
knowledgegainineightfallandthreespringsections. Eachquizhadthesameformatwith10multiple
choice questions each with equal points. Since both quiz types were administered to the same
individualstudentsthemeancomparisonforquizgradeswasperformedwith“repeatedmeasure”
under“generallinearmodel”usingSPSSV.19.0.0.1[23,24].
3. Results
3.1. Student-PerceivedKnowledgeImprovement
Students reported that their knowledge improved in all 10 areas investigated. The lowest
improvement, 66%, wasreportedfortheknowledgeoffourmajorplantgroupswhilethehighest,
200%, for the knowledge of major local Gymnosperms (Figure 3). Four knowledge areas, namely:
(a) four major plant groups; (b) trees in local campuses and parks; (c) ecological benefits and
(d) economic benefits of trees had lower (111%) self-reported improvement, averaged across the
two semesters, than the other six knowledge areas. These six areas included: (a) state trees of
neighboringstates;(b)leafmorphologies;(c)localGymnosperms;(d)localAngiosperms(Monocotsand
Eudicots);(e)symbioticrelationshipsofplantswithotherorganisms;and(f)herbaceousplants,which
showed187%improvement. Students’self-reportedimprovementineachknowledgeareashowedno
differencebetweensemesters.
Educ. Sci. 2017, 7, 18 7 of 12
exactly”. The most frequent comment under the season/weather-related concerns was “flowers (or
Educ.Sci.2017,7,18 7of12
leaves) were not there” followed by “weather too hot”.

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3.3. Actual Knowledge Gain
3.2. Conduct
Performance on the quiz from the on-campus tour was 11.2 and 18.5% greater (p < 0.001),
Student engagement was evident by consistently observing, touching and picking parts of
resulting in 0.82 and 1.16 points higher grade out of 10, compared to the average performance on the
specimensvisited;frequentcommentingonwhattheysaw;questioningandnotetakingetc. (Figure2).
other two plant-related quizzes from the labs conducted in-class in fall and spring, respectively
Insurvey2,eachstudentreportedthatthecontentcoveredwasadequateandtimewasusedefficiently
(Figure 4, descriptive statistics in Table 4 and results of the mean comparison in Table 5). Although
(Table3). Largestproportionofstudents,≥50%,ineachsemester,responded“agreatdeal”whilenone
the quiz grade from the on-campus tour was 9.5% higher in fall than spring (p < 0.01), improvement
responded“no”tothequestion,“Didtheexercisehelpstrengthenknowledge/experienceoftheplant
in the grade by on-campus tour was the same in each semester (p = 0.14).
kingdom?”. Moreover,everystudenthadresponsestothequestion,“Whatworked?”. Moststudents
identifiedvisual,hands-onandexperientiallearningasthereasonwhytheexercisestrengthenedtheir
knowledgeoftheplantkingdomfollowedbytheinformationlearnedabouteachtreeorbotanical
group. Organizationofthetourandthecoverageofmaterialwerecitedmostfrequentlyas“what
worked” followed by studying or being outdoors. In each semester, at least 50% of the students
hadnoresponsestothequestion,“Whatdidn’twork—suggestimprovements”(Table3). Students
whorespondedtothisquestionmostfrequentlycitedworksheet-relatedconcerns. Morethan50%of
theworksheet-relatedconcernswereabout“toomuchinformationtowrite”followedby“anitem
was missing” and “sequence was not followed exactly”. The most frequent comment under the
season/weather-related concerns was “flowers (or leaves) were not there” followed by “weather
toohot”.
3.3. ActualKnowledgeGain
Performanceonthequizfromtheon-campustourwas11.2and18.5%greater(p<0.001),resulting
in0.82and1.16pointshighergradeoutof10, comparedtotheaverageperformanceontheother
twoplant-relatedquizzesfromthelabsconductedin-classinfallandspring,respectively(Figure4,
descriptivestatisticsinTable4andresultsofthemeancomparisoninTable5). Althoughthequiz
gradefromtheon-campustourwas9.5%higherinfallthanspring(p<0.01),improvementinthe
gradebyon-campustourwasthesameineachsemester(p=0.14).
Educ.Sci.2017,7,18 8of12
Educ. Sci. 2017, 7, 18 8 of 12
Table3.Percentagestudentresponsesfordifferentcategoriescoveredinsurvey2.N=154and44forfallandspring,respectively.
Table 3. Percentage student responses for different categories covered in survey 2. N = 154 and 44 for fall and spring, respectively.
Coverage TimeUsed StrengthenedKnowledgeor WhatHelpedStrengthen WhatWorked
WhatDidn’tWork?SuggestImprovementstotheTour.
Semester AdequatCeo?verageE ffectTivimeley U?sed ExperiSetnrecnegothfetnheed PKlnaonwtlKedingegdoro m? KWnhoawt Hleedlpgeedo SrtrEexnpgethreienn ce? WDhautr Winogrkthede Tour?
What Didn’t Work? Suggest Improvements to the Tour.
Semester Adequate? Effectively? Experience of the Plant Kingdom? Knowledge or Experience? During the Tour?
Y N Y N YG YS YM N VH IT KL NA TO SO WS CW SD SW DH TW NA
Y N Y N YG YS YM N VH IT KL NA TO SO WS CW SD SW DH TW NA
Fall Fa1ll0 0 1000 01 00 100 0 0 5050 4242 88 00 661 1 3300 4 4 5 5 51 51 49 49 28 28 6 60.06 0.064 4 7 73 513 51
Spring Spri1n0g0 1000 01 00 100 0 0 5353 4747 00 00 664 4 3366 0 0 0 0 75 75 25 25 17 17 0 0 7 7 15 1511 110 500 50
Y—Yes;NY——NYoe;sY; GN——YNeso;a YgGre—atYdeesa la; YgSre—atY deseatol; sYoSm—eYexetse ntot ;sYoMm—e eYxetsemnta; rYgMin—allYy;eVs Hm—arVgiinsuaallly/;h VanHd—s-Voniseuxapl/ehraienndcse-;oInT —exIpneforiremnaceti;o InTo—nIenafochrmtraetei/onbo otann eicaaclhg trroeuep/b;oKtLan—icKanl owledge
onlocallagnroduscpa;p eK;LN—AK—nNowotleadvgaeil aobnle ;lToOca—l Tlaonudrsocragpaen; izNatAio—n/Ncootv earvaagiela;bSlOe;— TSOtu—dyTionugr/ boerignagnoizuattdiooonr/c;oWvSer—agWeo; rSkOsh—eeStt-uredlyatiendg;/bCeWin—g Coountdstorourc;t ioWnSw—oWrkoornkschaemetp-ruesl;aSteDd—; Student
distractions;SW—Season/weather-related;DH—Difficultyhearing;TW—Tiring/boringwalk.
CW—Construction work on campus; SD—Student distractions; SW—Season/weather-related; DH—Difficulty hearing; TW—Tiring/boring walk.

Figure 4. Student performance on the quiz from the on-campus tour exercise compared to the average performance on the two other quizzes from plant-related
Figure4.Studentperformanceonthequizfromtheon-campustourexercisecomparedtotheaverageperformanceonthetwootherquizzesfromplant-relatedlabs
labs conducted in the classroom. The asterisk above a bar indicates statistical significance compared with the other value in a semester (p < 0.001). N = 164 and 70 for
conductedintheclassroom.Theasteriskaboveabarindicatesstatisticalsignificancecomparedwiththeothervalueinasemester(p<0.001).N=164and70forfall
fall and spring, respectively. Error bars are SE.
andspring,respectively.ErrorbarsareSE.
Educ.Sci.2017,7,18 9of12
Table4.DescriptivestatisticsforthequizcomparisonshowninFigure4.
Fall Spring
Semester/DescriptiveStatistic
On-CampusQuiz OtherPlantQuizes On-CampusQuiz OtherPlantQuizes
Mean 8.11 7.30 7.40 6.24
Median 8.25 7.50 8.00 6.25
Mode 10.00 7.50 9.00 6.00
StandardError 0.13 0.14 0.22 0.19
Kurtosis 0.21 −0.57 −0.10 0.14
Maximum 10.00 10.00 10.00 9.00
Minimum 3.00 2.50 3.00 2.00
Range 7.00 7.50 7.00 7.00
SampleVariance 2.88 3.07 3.29 2.65
Skewness −0.85 −0.43 −0.62 −0.61
StandardDeviation 1.70 1.75 1.81 1.63
Count 164 164 70 70
Table5.ResultsofthegenerallinearmodelusedforthequizcomparisonshowninFigure4.
Semester Source SumofSquares DegreesofFreedom MeanSquare F Significance
Intercept 19,472.54 1 19,472.54 4079.76 0.000
Fall
Error 777.99 163 4.77
Intercept 6514.46 1 6514.46 1445.16 0.000
Spring
Error 311.04 69 4.51
3.4. DiscussionandEducationalImplications
Assessmentshowedthattheexerciseenhancedbothstudent-perceivedknowledgeandactual
knowledge gain. Student-perceived improvement of knowledge, while not an effective measure
of knowledge gain [25], is indicative of student satisfaction, which is a predictor of quality of
learning outcome [26]. Interestingly, students felt that the on-campus tour exercise strengthened
theirknowledgesubstantially(111%improvement)eveninthesubjectareasthathadalreadybeen
coveredinpreviousindoorlabsandlecture,suchasthesubjectsaddressedinthefirstfourquestions
ofsurvey1. Unsurprisingly,studentsreckonedthattheexercisemoremarkedlystrengthened(187%
improvement)theirknowledgeofthesubjectsthattheywerenotdirectlytaughtpriortotheexercise,
thesubjectsaddressedinquestionsfivethroughtenofsurvey1. Thus,thisoutdoorexerciseshows
promise for increasing student satisfaction in both reviewed and newly introduced subject areas.
Studentsatisfactionandengagementwerealsoevidencedbytheresultspresentedunderconduct.
Forinstance,everystudenthadfavorablecommentsabouteitheroutdoorexperientiallearningortour
organization/coverageunder“whathelpedstrengthenknowledge/experience”and“whatworked”,
whilethelargestproportionofstudentshadnoresponseto“whatdidn’twork,suggestimprovements”
even when asked to “suggest improvements”. Furthermore, frequent questioning, sharing ideas
freelyamongpeers, followingdirectionsincludingnote-takingandstayingtogetherasonegroup
observedduringthetourtestifiedtotherelaxedengagementofstudentsintheexercise. Increased
note-takingandverifyingwithmeifthenoteswerecorrect,andmorefrequentgroupdiscussionamong
studentscomparedtoin-classlabswasalsoevident. Studentsthemselvesidentified“opportunities
for group discussion” as part of “what worked” in survey 2. Research shows that learning in a
groupsettingtransformsthelearningexperiencefromcompetitivetocollaborative,makesstudents
engaged who otherwise might not become actively engaged [27], and improves grades in STEM
fields[28]. Inthisexercise,students’awarenessthattheinformationcoveredduringthetourwasnot
availablefromthelabmanualortextbookmayalsohavecontributedtotheirdeeperengagement.
Thus, one main outcome of the exercise was the student satisfaction, which translated into their
engagementwithwhattheyhandledeventuallyinstigatingeffectiveexperientiallearning. Dedicated
exposuretothelocaloutdoorsalsoencouragesstudentstomaptheirbioregionandunderstandthe
ecologicalandsocioeconomicbenefitsoftheworld[29]. Students’experiencesthat(a)initiateinterest
inbiology-at-workoutdoors;(b)motivatethemtoaskquestionsand(c)engagethemwiththematerial
Educ.Sci.2017,7,18 10of12
theyworkwith,mayalsostrengthentheirwilltoseekundergraduateresearchopportunities,whichis
theturningpointformanytopursuecareersinresearch[30,31]. Subsequently,acareerinresearchis
perceivedbymoststudentstobeassociatedwithhighjobsatisfactionandsocialstatus[32].
Knowledgegainshownbyhigherquizgradesfromtheon-campustourexercisecomparedtothe
twoin-classlabsthatmainlyusedpreservedspecimensmayresultfromtheincreasedunderstanding
andremembranceofthemateriallearnedasaresultofhands-on,experientialandengagedlearning
that happened with a greater satisfaction during the on-campus tour. With the exception of basic
taxonomy, much of the material covered during the on-campus tour exercise was not covered in
previousplantlabsorthelecture. Forinstance,ecologicalandeconomicuses,statetreesofadjacent
states, herbaceous plants, leaf morphologies, poisonous trees, native lands, botanical names, etc.
learned during the on-campus tour as opposed to the overall cladogram, names of taxa and the
commonnamesoffewrepresentativesofthosetaxalearnedinthepreviouslabsorlecture. Moreover,
the quiz from the on-campus tour did not include any question directly related to the previously
coveredmaterials. Therefore,thehigherquizgradefromtheon-campustourexerciseismostlikely
duetotheattributesofoutdoorexperientiallearningratherthanduetotheknowledgefrommaterials
coveredalready. TheBiodiversitycourseinthefallsemesteriscomprisedmostlyofstudentsdirectly
progressingfrompreviousbiologycorecourses,GeneralBiology1and2(regularsequence)compared
tothespring,whichtendstoenrollasizeablenumberofstudentsrepeatingthecourseortransferring
fromadifferentprogram(offsequence).Interestingly,althoughthisdifferencebetweenthetwocohorts
wasmanifestedasagreaterquizgradeinfallthanspring,theon-campustourexerciseimpartedthe
samedegreeofimprovementinknowledgegainineithercohort.
Assessments by the surveys and the quiz testified that the students acknowledged and
experienced the influence of the exercise on their learning of multiple areas of the main subject,
thestudyofplantsinBiodiversity. Forinstance,discussiononsocialrecognitionoftreesbywayof
namingstatetrees,experiencingthefundamentalbiologicalprinciplessuchassymbiosis,becoming
awareoflocalrepresentativesofmajorplantgroups,knowingthatherbaceousplantsareimmediately
importantasmostofthehumanfood,beingabletorecognizetreesbynamesusingmorphological
characteristics, etc. were either reported as knowledge/skill areas that were highly improved or
commentedasreasonswhytheexercisewasinteresting. Thus,thefindingsofthisstudyshowthat
giventheproperexposureandguide,studentscanbemotivatedtoappreciateoutdoorexperience,
acoremeaningofbiology. Suchplannedguidanceisincreasinglysignificanttodaydueto(a)poor
representationoforganismaldiversityincurrentbiologycurricula[33];(b)inadequatebasicsystematics
skillsofbiologystudents[15,16];(c)studentperceptionthatbiologycurriculaaredetachedfromtheir
livesandinterests[34]and(d)generalpublicperceptionthatmodernbiologystudentsaredistracted
fromthenature. Theopportunityforstudentstoapplywhattheylearninclasstothelocaloutdoor
environment,andtoworkinteractivelyasateammayalsohelpthemdevelopimprovedstudyhabits.
4. Conclusions
Assessmentofthison-campustourexerciseshowedthatit(a)instigatedstudentsatisfactionand
engagement in learning plant-related biodiversity of the local environment; and (b) enhanced the
knowledgeofselectedsubjectareasofthecurriculumthatcanbeconnectedtooutdoors. Findings
testifiedthat,giventheopportunity,studentswillinglyengageinandapplywhattheyexperiencein
theoutdoorworldcontrarytothegeneralperceptionthattoday’sbiologystudentsareinadequately
interestedintheoutdoorenvironment. Teachingoutdoorswasusefulforbothreviewandintroduction
ofnewmaterialnotwithstandingtheinherentdifferencesinacademicperformanceofstudentcohorts
of different semesters. Thus, an on-campus tour exercise is both an academically effective and
apracticallyconvenientalternativewhenorganizedfieldtripswiththeclassarenotpossible.
Acknowledgments: The author thanks Peter Martinat, the coordinator of the Biodiversity course at Xavier
UniversityofLouisiana,forgrantingpermissiontoincorporatethisexerciseintothecourse,andstudentswho
participatedinthestudy.