The “Soil Skills” Pedagogical Approach Conjugated With Soil Judging Contests
The inherent complexity of soil and its interactions with Earth’s diverse spheres, including the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere within the ecosphere, and anthroposphere, requires that soil science specialists and students develop not only a profound understanding of soil science, bu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Spanish Journal of Soil Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontierspartnerships.org/articles/10.3389/sjss.2023.12081/full |
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| author | Said Al-Ismaily Anvar Kacimov Ahmed Al-Mayhai Ahmed Al-Mayhai Hamed Al-Busaidi Daniel Blackburn Afrah Al-Shukaili Ali Al-Maktoumi Ali Al-Maktoumi |
| author_facet | Said Al-Ismaily Anvar Kacimov Ahmed Al-Mayhai Ahmed Al-Mayhai Hamed Al-Busaidi Daniel Blackburn Afrah Al-Shukaili Ali Al-Maktoumi Ali Al-Maktoumi |
| author_sort | Said Al-Ismaily |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The inherent complexity of soil and its interactions with Earth’s diverse spheres, including the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere within the ecosphere, and anthroposphere, requires that soil science specialists and students develop not only a profound understanding of soil science, but also the ability to collaborate across various disciplines to address these complex challenges. Equipping students with the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes to tackle the intricate and dynamic issues of the 21st century, spanning soil science, water sciences, hydropedology, geology, agronomy, geotechnical engineering, sedimentation, waste management, recycling, and environmental management, is of paramount importance. In response, innovative pedagogical approaches that integrate classroom learning from diverse soil science courses with practical skills and field-based competencies are needed. This paper suggests merging our own “Soil Skills” (SSK) pedagogical method with the “Soil Judging Contest” (SJC), a teaching approach supported by the American Society of Agronomy and the Soil Science Society of America since 1961. This integration aims to enhance the holistic, harmonized, interdisciplinary, and enthusiastic nature of soil science education. Both the SSK and SJC approaches received positive feedback from students and demonstrated significant improvements in academic performance. Our study begins with an in-depth exploration of the SSK contest, followed by an overview of the pertinent aspects of the SJC. Subsequently, we offer a comparative analysis of the complementarity of these two approaches. Finally, in the concluding remarks, we summarize the strengths of the implemented SSK and outline prospective applications. Our findings underscore the unique advantages of combining SSK and SJC approaches in delivering comprehensive, problem-based, and practical field-learning experiences. This combination approach closely aligns with applied scenarios that demand multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity perspectives, preparing students for their future professional careers, and enabling the practical application of their soil science knowledge in real-world contexts. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-206aa4263f9244b689308ca31e47d9ed |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2253-6574 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Spanish Journal of Soil Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-206aa4263f9244b689308ca31e47d9ed2025-08-20T02:23:31ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Spanish Journal of Soil Science2253-65742023-11-011310.3389/sjss.2023.1208112081The “Soil Skills” Pedagogical Approach Conjugated With Soil Judging ContestsSaid Al-Ismaily0Anvar Kacimov1Ahmed Al-Mayhai2Ahmed Al-Mayhai3Hamed Al-Busaidi4Daniel Blackburn5Afrah Al-Shukaili6Ali Al-Maktoumi7Ali Al-Maktoumi8Department of Soils, Water and Agricultural Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, OmanDepartment of Soils, Water and Agricultural Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, OmanDepartment of Soils, Water and Agricultural Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, OmanDepartment of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, NetherlandsDepartment of Soils, Water and Agricultural Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, OmanDepartment of Soils, Water and Agricultural Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, OmanDepartment of Soils, Water and Agricultural Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, OmanDepartment of Soils, Water and Agricultural Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, OmanWater Research Center, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, OmanThe inherent complexity of soil and its interactions with Earth’s diverse spheres, including the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere within the ecosphere, and anthroposphere, requires that soil science specialists and students develop not only a profound understanding of soil science, but also the ability to collaborate across various disciplines to address these complex challenges. Equipping students with the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes to tackle the intricate and dynamic issues of the 21st century, spanning soil science, water sciences, hydropedology, geology, agronomy, geotechnical engineering, sedimentation, waste management, recycling, and environmental management, is of paramount importance. In response, innovative pedagogical approaches that integrate classroom learning from diverse soil science courses with practical skills and field-based competencies are needed. This paper suggests merging our own “Soil Skills” (SSK) pedagogical method with the “Soil Judging Contest” (SJC), a teaching approach supported by the American Society of Agronomy and the Soil Science Society of America since 1961. This integration aims to enhance the holistic, harmonized, interdisciplinary, and enthusiastic nature of soil science education. Both the SSK and SJC approaches received positive feedback from students and demonstrated significant improvements in academic performance. Our study begins with an in-depth exploration of the SSK contest, followed by an overview of the pertinent aspects of the SJC. Subsequently, we offer a comparative analysis of the complementarity of these two approaches. Finally, in the concluding remarks, we summarize the strengths of the implemented SSK and outline prospective applications. Our findings underscore the unique advantages of combining SSK and SJC approaches in delivering comprehensive, problem-based, and practical field-learning experiences. This combination approach closely aligns with applied scenarios that demand multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity perspectives, preparing students for their future professional careers, and enabling the practical application of their soil science knowledge in real-world contexts.https://www.frontierspartnerships.org/articles/10.3389/sjss.2023.12081/fullsoil scienceinquiry-based learningscaffolding in course levelsteaching and learningpedagogical practices |
| spellingShingle | Said Al-Ismaily Anvar Kacimov Ahmed Al-Mayhai Ahmed Al-Mayhai Hamed Al-Busaidi Daniel Blackburn Afrah Al-Shukaili Ali Al-Maktoumi Ali Al-Maktoumi The “Soil Skills” Pedagogical Approach Conjugated With Soil Judging Contests Spanish Journal of Soil Science soil science inquiry-based learning scaffolding in course levels teaching and learning pedagogical practices |
| title | The “Soil Skills” Pedagogical Approach Conjugated With Soil Judging Contests |
| title_full | The “Soil Skills” Pedagogical Approach Conjugated With Soil Judging Contests |
| title_fullStr | The “Soil Skills” Pedagogical Approach Conjugated With Soil Judging Contests |
| title_full_unstemmed | The “Soil Skills” Pedagogical Approach Conjugated With Soil Judging Contests |
| title_short | The “Soil Skills” Pedagogical Approach Conjugated With Soil Judging Contests |
| title_sort | soil skills pedagogical approach conjugated with soil judging contests |
| topic | soil science inquiry-based learning scaffolding in course levels teaching and learning pedagogical practices |
| url | https://www.frontierspartnerships.org/articles/10.3389/sjss.2023.12081/full |
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