April 21, 2023

A First Year Experience Team-Based Interdisciplinary Research ProjectA First Year Experience Team-Based Interdisciplinary Research Project

Renee Eaton, Margaret Merrill, Cindy Wood, Eric Kaufman

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CALS First Year SeminarCALS First Year Seminar

• 210 students in• Agriculture and Extension Education• Animal and Poultry Sciences• Crop & Soil Environmental Science• Food Science and Technology• Human Nutrition, Foods & Exercise• Life Science Undecided

• 200 first year students, 10 transfer students

Group ProjectGroup Project• 29 groups• Most groups had 7-9 students• Transfer students were

grouped together; 2 groups of 4-6 students.

• Each group had at least 3 different majors/departments represented.

• Each group was assigned a peer leader.

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How can we meet our goals?How can we meet our goals?

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There’s A Heifer In Your Tank! University of AlbertaThere’s A Heifer In Your Tank! University of Alberta

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2050

Formulating QuestionsFormulating Questions

For Example….For Example….

Does agriculture contribute (positively or negatively) to water quality?

How does agriculture contribute to water quality?

Does animal waste from confined animal feeding operations have an environmental impact?

What role do animal wastes have in the environment?

Selected TopicsSelected Topics• Why is there now greater concern about how food is

grown/raised than there was 20 years ago?• What are the impacts from organic farming?• Why is chicken cheaper than beef?• Should you exercise outside during rush hour?• A steer’s not a steak and a hog’s not all cops. What do we

get from animals besides meat?• Tobacco & cotton helped shape Virginia. What is their status

today?• Is “Eat Local” more sustainable?• How have automakers changed design to accommodate

“meals on wheels”- literally eating in the car?• Why are Farmers Markets suddenly so popular?• Why are earthworms so important?• Why are pigs used for human research?• What role do animal wastes have in the environment?• How does agriculture contribute to water quality?

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Project DesignProject Design

• Group Introduction

• The First Essay

• Group Responsibility Worksheet

• Annotated Bibliography

• 25-Word Summary

• The Final Essay

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Why is there now greater concern about how food is grown/raised than there was 20 years ago?

Why is there now greater concern about how food is grown/raised than there was 20 years ago?

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Demand

Knowledge / Education

Sustainability / Environmental Impact

Nutrition

Safety

Health

Movement

Regulation

Technology

Media

Social Pressure

Economy

Genetic Engineering

Goal AchievementGoal Achievement

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What we learned:What we learned:• Provide additional time in class for

group work, especially at the beginning.

• Assignment must be targeted to specific learning objectives.• Locating sources• Evaluate for relevance• Evaluate for reliability• Citations• Ethical Issues• Incorporating sources into an assignment• Relevance to class / other classes

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Practice PointsPractice Points• Identify goal(s) of project.

• Identify the deliverables.

• How do the goals relate to student needs / student learning objectives?

• What are potential common topics?

• How are the topics relevant to each individual discipline?

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Design your project!Design your project!• What should students learn?

• What will students do to learn these things?

• How will you know what they have learned?

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Possible Common TopicsPossible Common Topics

• Obesity

• Climate Change

• Energy

• Environment

• Increasing Lifespan

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Project CollaboratorsProject Collaborators• Eric Kaufman, Agriculture & Extension Education

• Cindy Wood, Animal Poultry Science

• Ann Dunnington, Animal Poultry Science

• Ozzie Abaye, Crop & Soil Environmental Science

• Bill Eigel, Food Science & Technology

• Alex Niemiera, Horticulture

• Renee Eaton, Human Nutrition, Foods & Exercise

• Susan Sumner, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences

• Margaret Merrill, University Libraries

• Rebecca Miller, University Libraries

• Kiri Goldbeck-DeBose, University Libraries

• Jamie Penven, Residence Life

• Barb Weimerskirch, Center for Academic Enrichment and Excellence

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