Student Perspectives on a New Biomass Production Module for Fundamentals of Biorenewable Resources

Abstract

In 2007, a USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant funded the creation of a Virtual Education Center (VEC) for Biorenewable Resources at three partner land-grant institutions. Three new courses are taught through the VEC, each using multiple instructors and exchanges of video lectures between sites. The most heavily subscribed of these is a graduate survey type course entitled Fundamentals of Biorenewable Resources. In this paper, we report on student survey results for the biomass production module, which covered the production of corn, soybean, hay and forage, and short rotation woody crops, as well as biotechnology basics. The survey was administered using WebCT and SurveyMonkey in spring 2010. The survey instrument gathered student perspectives on the module content and delivery, and student learning. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed.