AMES, IA—Dr. Ann Marie VanDerZanden is preparing students in her
horticulture classes for challenging careers by boosting their
critical thinking capacity. "Horticulture graduates entering the
field of landscape design and installation must be able to
integrate technical skills with practical applications. This
requires higher-order thinking skills such as analysis and
synthesis", VanDerZanden explained. The Iowa State University
professor designed a curriculum that integrates reflective
writing into a landscape design course and discovered that
students' quiz scores increased significantly after they
completed the writing exercises. Landscape design and
installation is a fast-growing and profitable segment of the
horticulture industry. As the profession becomes more
sophisticated, the demand for employees who can integrate
technical knowledge with practical application increases.
"Providing opportunities for students to develop these skills is
an essential part of their undergraduate education", said
VanDerZ