3.2.4. Development of Professional Skills
Example 1 – Initial and reply discussion board posts (Appendix
B.7): The initial and reply discussion board posts activity was used in
an Environmental Law course at the introductory undergraduate level.
This activity was developed as a lecture summary activity to provide
students with the opportunity to apply environmental laws to their
professional life and practice communication skills. Students were
provided web links to administrative code posted in a state town hall
forum as required by public notice executive orders. Next, students were
asked to write an initial discussion board post in which they formulated
their opinion on three sections of the Administrative Code that were
listed; two Administrative Code sections were chosen by the instructor
and one was chosen by each student. Two days after the initial post was
due, students were required to post a reply to any one classmate’s
initial post. For the reply post, students were asked to explain if they
agreed or disagreed with their classmate and why. This activity could be
modified for any course (i.e., introductory or upper undergraduate or
graduate levels) where the learning objective is to develop professional
opinions and practice communication skills.
Example 2 – Field notebook (Appendix B.8): The field notebook
activity has been used at the introductory and upper undergraduate
levels. Creating and maintaining a field notebook supports the
development of multiple, broadly transferrable professional skills,
including (1) accurate record keeping, (2) information management, (3)
data collection, (4) observation and description, (5) connecting direct
experience with broader theories, models, and hypotheses, (6)
identifying questions, and (7) self-directed inquiry. Students are
required to keep detailed field notebooks to record field observations
and standardized data in real time using a model format based on
exemplary styles (e.g., Remsen, 1977; Herman, 1986; Montgomerie, 2018).
Students submit notes periodically during the course to provide the
instructor with an opportunity to provide feedback, coaching for
improvement, and prompts to direct future observations. The field
notebook is used to assess learning and development as well as
participation and engagement. Field notebooks are recognized as a
high-impact learning activity and are commonly assigned in field-based
courses within the natural sciences (Farnsworth et al., 2014). This
activity could be modified for any course (e.g., geology, wildlife
management, marine ecology) where the learning objective is to practice
and develop professional skills centered on observation and description,
record-keeping, and contextualizing direct experience.