Teaching Trees: Revisions to an Inquiry-Based, Service-Learning Field Lab Broaden Student Learning and Better Align With Learning Outcomes

Abstract

Most introductory courses in environmental science are large, lecture-style general education classes. North Carolina State University’s ES 100 is no exception, enrolling between 200 and 300 students and holding class meetings in the campus cinema. A key underlying learning objective, however, is to teach students that science is the pathway to discovery. In 2018, I involved my class in a hands-on service-learning project measuring trees on campus. After encountering logistical issues, I engaged students to evaluate and improve our methods. With the help of sustainability and instructional technology grants and expertise, I developed innovative teaching tools and data collection methods to create an enhanced field lab to collect long-term data on more than 100 campus trees. Between 2018 and 2019, students’ reflection responses shifted from focusing on processes, like data collection, to more concept- and discovery-themed ideas about urban trees and their health. Further revisions to the project between 2019 and 2020—which mainly included having students use the Tree Benefit Calculator—helped students focus more broadly on the ecosystem services that urban trees provide.

Keywords:

• Inquiry-based
• Service-learning
• Ecology, Urban forestry
• Learning outcomes

Acknowledgments

I was inspired and encouraged to create this project through the NC State Th!nk program, which focused on teaching critical and creative thinking skills and was led by Dr. Sue Carson. Additionally, a later Th!nk Researcher community, led by Dr. Maria Gallardo-Williams, supported me through the IRB process and taught me about teaching scholarship. Thanks to Dr. Michael Just (part of the Dr. Steve Franks lab) for helping launch this project by providing an on-campus tree data set and helping set up the context for the lab. Thanks to Sarah Ketchem and Jeff Del Pinal of the university’s Grounds Services Department, who supported my Sustainability Fund grant proposal and helped me identify better tree health metrics for winter assessment. I greatly appreciate my DELTA collaborators Cathy Dunnagan and David Tredwell for their help in developing the instructional tools that greatly improved data collection. Undergraduate students Giacomo Fagan, Kate Hefner, Sam Blumenfeld, and Elijah Bradshaw helped with tree tagging and maintenance. Finally, ES 100 classes in 2018, 2019, and 2020 were instrumental in enabling me to revise this project to improve the overall student experience. My colleagues Dr. Ryan Emanuel and Dr. Katie Barnhill-Dilling used the field lab in their ES 100 sections. Helpful feedback from three anonymous reviewers at the Journal of College Science Teaching greatly improved the manuscript. The NC State DELTA Critical Path Grant and the NC State Sustainability Grant provided funding for the development of the instructional technologies as well as the permanent tree tags. This project received Exempt Status through IRB Protocol 20460 on January 31, 2020.