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.