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Jeep Grand Cherokee under cottonwood tree:
URBAN FORESTRY ONLINE:
LITERATURE REVIEW
AND CASE STUDY
by
Jim Hubbell
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
of
MASTER OF SCIENCE
in
Forestry
Approved:
____________________ ____________________
Frederick Baker Dale Blahna
Major Professor Committee Member
____________________ ____________________
Mike Kuhns Byron R. Burnham Committee member Vice Provost and Dean
of Graduate Studies
UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY
Logan, Utah
2007
Copyright © Jim Hubbell 2007
All Rights Reserved
Abstract
Urban forestry online: Literature review and case study
by
Jim Hubbell, Master of Science
Utah State University, 2007
Major Professor: Dr Fredrick Baker
Department: Wildland Resources
This paper considered the question: Is teaching urban forestry online feasible and practical? The short answer is "Yes" but effective teaching online requires dedicated effort and knowledge of the principles of online education. There is no research literature specifically about online urban forestry education; this literature review is devoted to online education in general. Online teaching is more than just technology (although the technology is necessary and must be used effectively); online teaching is a social process that requires the active presence of an instructor. The principles that guide the development and presentation of an online class are discussed. The case study describes our experience and lessons learned while preparing and teaching the online urban forestry class at Utah State University. Students and faculty need to be trained how to learn and teach in the online environment before they can learn the material of the class. Effective online teaching takes as much effort and time as effective classroom teaching.
(72 pages)
Acknowledgments
This paper would not be possible without the constant support of my dearly beloved wife, Mary Ann. Her tireless devotion to making my life better, her constant concern for every aspect of my life and how I might improve, her thoughtful critiques of drafts of this document and her insight into Urban Forestry in general have made this paper possible.
Dr. Baker's kindness in taking me on as a graduate student, his patience with my learning speed, and diligent efforts to refine my writing are deeply appreciated. Others who have made this possible include but are not limited to:
Dr. Mike Kuhns
Dr. Craig Johnson
Dr. Dale Blahna
Ms. Loralie Cox
Mr. Jerry Goodspeed
All the students in the Urban Forestry class who have made comments and endured my efforts to learn this process.
Finally, I would like to thank my parents, Robert and Marjory Hubbell, who instilled a love of trees and forests in my early youth, prevented me from an early death as a logger, and encouraged me in this endeavor, including nagging and bribery as necessary to actually complete this degree process. My heartfelt thanks to all.
Contents Page
Abstract 3
Acknowledgments 4
Introduction 7
Literature Review 9
Education as a social process 11
Training instructors in online pedagogy 11
Technology training 13
Student learning and training students to learn 14
Instructional design 15
Student assessment 16
Faculty support 17
Copyright 19
Course assessment or evaluation 21
Accessibility 22
Educational infrastructure 23
Conclusions from the literature review 25
Case study of the urban forestry class 27
Introduction 27
Course Preparation 28
Course Content 29
Principles of effective practice 31
Discussion format 34
Course Management Software 35
Course Implementation as offered 35
Sample discussion 36
Sample assignment 38
Experiences with WebCT 39
Online survival skills 40
Student drop rates 42
Adaptations to initial course plans 42
Conclusions from the case study 43
Overall Conclusions 45
Literature Cited 47
Appendices 54
Appendix A. Sample Topic Module 55
Appendix B. Copy of article used for style guide 66
Appendix C. Publication checklist 71
List of Figures
Figure Page
1 Pruning a picture: activity for the Arborist Practices unit.........................39
2 pruning tools..............................................................................................57
3 line clearance pruning................................................................................58
4 severe line clearance..................................................................................58
5 topping examples.......................................................................................59
6 unbelievable tree topping example...................................... .....................60
7 pruning at the branch bark ridge................................................................60
8 woundwood growth pattern after pruning cuts..........................................61
9 crown reduction cut location......................................................................62
10 pruning a tree activity picture....................................................................63
11 herbie does herbicide.................................................................................64
Introduction
This paper attempts to answer the question of whether the internet is a practical tool for teaching urban forestry. I am unaware of any papers that specifically address teaching urban forestry online despite diligent searching. However, the literature of online education in general is fairly extensive. A search of the Digital Dissertations collection through the Utah State University (USU) library found 666 dissertations nationwide in the last 5 years on distance education. There are at least 40 journals publishing articles about online education (Lesley College 2004). Based on volume alone, the literature suggests an intense interest in teaching online throughout the educational industry. This review is not exhaustive because of the volume of information available.
As our society becomes more urbanized, there is an increasing need for foresters trained to manage forests and trees in urban settings, with a corresponding increase in the need for training classes and programs (Miller 1996). However, many otherwise interested students cannot attend existing face-to-face classes. The internet shows potential to overcome these scheduling difficulties, hence my interest in determining if the internet is an effective teaching tool or just a passing fad. I review the literature of online teaching and synthesize the principles that govern the development of an effective online class. I examine the use of these principles in the Urban Forestry class developed in the course of this project.
While there are subtle differences between online education (internet only, with rapid interaction between student and teacher) and distance education (TV, and mailed materials, and internet, characterized by slower interaction between student and teacher), both this paper and the literature use the terms synonymously. Also note, the scope of this paper is limited to issues of interest to individual instructors. I do not address issues of interest to administrators or students.
Literature Review
The literature review begins with a short discussion of what urban forestry is and why it is important to learn. Then, I discuss why instructors are necessary to make the learning process effective. Next, I investigate the principles that guide the design of successful classes. I discuss some major considerations in presenting online classes. I conclude the literature review by summarizing the principles and considerations that are essential to effective online education.
It is important to understand the concept of urban forestry before I discuss how to teach it online. Urban forestry is the planning for and management of urban greenspaces (Miller 1996). Urban greenspaces are characterized by their close association with people (Nowak et al. 2001). People need trees; trees must be managed to meet the needs of people in urban settings (Miller 1996, Hartig et al. 1987, Schroeder 1986, Talbott et al. 1978, Ulrich 1978) To meet these management needs, urban foresters develop programs, ordinances, and polices for managing community trees (Treiman and Gartner 2004). Community trees include all trees on public property; street trees, city park trees and trees in other publicly owned settings. Trees on private property are also part of the urban ecosystem and need to be included in management planning (Elmendorf et al. 2003). An urban forester understands all the elements of the urban ecosystem in which trees grow (Pickett et al. 1997, Machlis and Force, 1997, Smith 1983). While publicly funded urban foresters work primarily with public trees, they may also advise private homeowners who need help managing private trees. Where insects or diseases cross ownership boundaries, the urban forester finds ways to work effectively with all landowners.
Specific skills the urban forester needs include (Baker 2006, California Urban Forests Council 2007) but are not limited to:
Knowledge of how trees grow in the urban environment
Pests and diseases of urban trees and how to control them
Diagnosing tree health
Urban soils, irrigation and fertilization needs and practices
The urban environment and how it affects trees
Landscape planning
Arborist practices
Program planning and budgeting
Hazard tree analysis and mitigation
Tree appraisal and inventory
Tree ordinances
Selecting appropriate trees for specific sites
Knowledge and use of effective planting practices
Public relations, working with the public, public officials, and agencies
Effective communication with all stakeholders
Education as a social process
Education is a social process requiring interaction between students and instructors (Roarke et al. 2001). Sims et al. (2002) argue that online education is more than simply putting course schedules and readings online. Phipps and Merisotis (1999) conclude motivation and learning style of the student, skill of the instructor and design of the learning tasks are more important than technology in determining teaching effectiveness of the course. Unless the course takes advantage of the multi-media and interactive attributes of the internet to engage student learning, it "does not equate to online learning" (Sims et al. 2002). This reinforces the idea that good online teaching takes advantage of the unique capabilities of the Internet to facilitate rapid interaction between learners, and between learners and faculty, to build knowledge (Twigg 2003a).
One might think teaching online could be entirely unattended by the instructor, but without daily instructor presence, answering questions, responding to discussions and posing new questions, students may lose interest and either fall behind or drop out (Richardson and Swan 2003, Rourke et al. 2001, Gorham 1988). Instructors need to model social processes online by relating stories that occur outside of class, calling students by name, or using humor as appropriate to maintain student interest in the class (Rourke et al. 2001, Gorham 1988).
Training instructors in online pedagogy
Teaching effectively at a distance, whether online or using other technologies, requires faculty to engage students in active learning rather than passive lecture note taking (Keeton 2004, Twigg 2003a). This frequently requires a major change in faculty mindset (Beaudoin 1990). Two social issues inhibit faculty when adapting to online education. One is the different role of the instructor as "guide on the side" rather than "sage on the stage", facilitating learning rather than "pouring knowledge into empty vessels" (King 1993). The other social issue is a general unfamiliarity with the technical environment of online teaching. Facing a computer screen and "talking" via discussion forums and e-mail instead of seeing actual faces is quite different (Schifter 2000). Online instructors need training to facilitate learning and coach students in problem solving rather than simply providing answers in the more familiar, but less effective, lecture style of instruction (Twigg 2003a).
Many resources are available to train instructors in effective online pedagogy. One of the frequently cited resources is Implementing the seven principles: Technology as Lever (Chickering and Ehrmann 1996). Briefly stated; these principles are to encourage contacts between students and faculty, promote reciprocity and cooperation among students, encourage active learning techniques, provide prompt feedback, emphasize time on task, promote high expectations, and respect diverse talents and ways of learning. Chickering and Ehrmann provide examples of implementing each of their principles. For example, the variety of communication tools available with the internet; E-mail, chat rooms, and asynchronous discussion forums can provide more interaction between students and faculty than contacts that are limited to class time and office hours. While most universities offer online or face-to-face workshops to improve faculty skills in the software skills needed for online teaching; fewer universities train faculty to facilitate and guide adult learners (Moore et al. 2005).
Another resource for training faculty is Low Threshold Applications & Activities (TLT Group 2006), a collection of ideas to help faculty learn easy to use software or techniques for teaching on the web. Low threshold activities (LTA) are applications or actions that take the student and instructor away from teacher-centered instruction and towards learner-centered instruction (Gilbert 2002). They are easy to implement using commonly available software and do not require major paradigm shifts on the part of either instructors or students. Each LTA costs little in time, effort or support to implement. The cumulative effect however is "positive long-term change" in the learning environment for both instructors and learners (TLT Group 2006). The LTAs are presented in a "how-to" format with explicit directions on how to do them. A few examples are: how to improve students' time on task, how to detect and prevent plagiarism using the Internet, and how to improve students' ability to properly cite resources in their papers. A number of additional LTAs describe techniques to help instructors reduce the effort of grading and lesson development tasks so they can devote more time to student interaction.
Technology training
While mentors and face-to-face workshops can effectively train faculty, university sponsored websites may play an important role. Every university website I visited in the course of researching this paper has some sort of online training to upgrade faculty skills in course development and presentation. See Guiding Principles for Faculty in Distance Learning (IHETS Guiding Principles, 2006), For Adult Educators at the California Distance Learning Project (California Distance Learning Project, 2006) or the Faculty Assistance Center for Teaching at USU (FACT 2006) for examples. Typical skills taught include; how to use WebCT, how to design a website, and how to detect and prevent online cheating (USU FACT 2006).
Student learning and training students to learn
Even though this paper focuses on teaching online, the goal of distance education is effective student learning (Beaudoin 1990). Students learn when they acquire new information, assimilate it in the context of their previous knowledge, and refine their understanding through online discussion with fellow students and the instructor (Schank 1995). Learning and communicating with others who have common interests forms a "community of learners" that is motivated to understand the topic of interest, look for solutions to common problems and find success in such understanding (Lobel et.al. 2002, Ragan 2000, Schank 1995). Students learn better by doing than by listening to someone talking about doing (Twigg 2003a, Schank 1995). Thus teaching online can be effective if the course engages the student in active learning, students receive prompt feedback on homework and tests, the course encourages student-to-student interaction, and emphasizes time on task (Chickering and Gamson 1987). This is true regardless of the technology used in the class. As Williams (2003) points out, careful attention to the design of the class is necessary to meet these requirements.
Students are more likely to succeed when they are actively engaged in learning the material (Halstead and Martin 2001, Hartmann 1995). Peltz (2003) and Hiltz (1997) suggest allowing students to select topics to read and discuss, letting them identify key concepts and develop exam questions to test mastery of the concept or skill and then answer each other's questions. Presumably more instructor guidance would be needed in the first part of the course, and less guidance would be needed as students become familiar with the field. Shang et al. (2001) suggest letting the students read, discuss, then do what they have learned, and then discuss again after some reflection. This process implements the principles of the experiential learning theory, where students undertake concrete experiences, reflect on them, assimilate the new knowledge into their previous fund of knowledge and then test the new knowledge with new experiences (Kolb et al. 2000). This process also takes advantage of the power of interaction with fellow students and instructors to more fully develop understanding and mastery of the subject (Lobel et.al. 2002).
Instructional design
Faculty should know who their (potential) students are, use course learning objectives to form the organizational framework of the course, design activities and assignments to allow students to work around other commitments and use active leaning techniques to promote student engagement in the material (IHETS Guiding Principles, 2006). Faculty must consider several issues when developing online courses. These topics include student learning assessment, student support services, faculty support, course accreditation, course evaluation, technical support for faculty and students, copyright and ownership accessibility, development cost, time, and educational infrastructure (IHETS Guiding Principles 2006, Section508.gov, 2006, Williams 2003, Twigg 2003a, Chisholm et al. 2000).
Student assessment
Ideally, student assessment measures progress compared to learning objectives and how much the student has progressed from their previous knowledge or skill level. Students should receive rapid and constructive feedback (IHETS 2007). In the online environment, students are evaluated (graded) using tests, discussion postings, and/or written assignments.
Tests can be the traditional kind, taken once at set times during the class, or they can be low-stakes quizzes (Twigg 2003a). Low-stakes quizzes can be administered before, during and after topic sections. Quizzes administered before beginning the topic establish what the student knows at that point. Quizzes taken during the topic reinforce student understanding and show the student where their knowledge is weak and needs extra work. Grades are recorded for quizzes taken after the topic (Twigg 2003a).
Along with tests and written assignments, discussion postings can be effective grading and learning tools. Discussion postings are more effective as learning tools if they include social, cognitive and teaching presence (Peltz 2003). Social presence in discussion postings is demonstrated by introducing personal comments into the discussion. Presenting personal experience, posting pictures to illustrate a point of interest, or mentioning events in your personal life as appropriate to let the rest of the class know there is a real person at the other end of the computer screen (Peltz 2003). Cognitive presence is demonstrated by introducing facts, ideas and theories into the discussion. This is more valuable when they come from outside the class readings and the student ties them into the topic under discussion (Peltz 2003). Teaching presence is demonstrated by such actions as steering the discussion in useful directions, making sure students understand the topic, detecting and dispelling misconceptions, bringing in additional information as needed, or helping resolve those vexing technical problems that always creep in (Peltz 2003). Only discussion postings that contain indications of social presence, cognitive presence, or teaching presence should receive points toward grades (Peltz 2003).
Student progress can be graded by observing their interactions with each other and with faculty (Benigno and Trentin 2000). However, interaction alone is insufficient for student evaluation (Picciano 2002). Some students "lurk" in the online discussions much as some students in face-to-face classes sit quietly in class discussions (Peltz 2004). Both of these quiet types of students study for tests and can do well on individual written assignments. Thus student grading should include more than an analysis of their discussion participation (Picciano 2002).
Faculty support
Faculty members and the institution must recognize that teaching Distance Education classes requires at least as much time as teaching face-to-face classes, possibly reducing the time available for research and publication that has been the primary route to tenure and promotion (Keeton 2004). The preparation time is the same or greater and the daily time commitment while the class is being conducted is also just as great. The class material must be researched, written and made available to students before the class begins. During the actual time the students take the class, the instructor's time is primarily occupied with student interaction and grading (Lee and Dziuban 2002, Schiffer 2000). Phipps and Merisotis (2000) note the first online class experience for the instructor should be limited to 15-25 students. As the instructor gains online teaching experience, more students can be added without undue strain. Administrators can help hesitant instructors by introducing them to successful online teachers who can act as mentors and by making workshops available that teach the required skills of graphic design, web development, programming and instructional design (Schiffer 2000).
The California Distance Learning Project provides links to about 15 websites that provide professional development help. These links help in such areas as technical skills needed, student and class assessment, examples of good class design, research in online teaching and learning and related skills and knowledge useful to the online instructor (California Distance Learning Project, 2006). The Distance Learning Project also has a tutorial for teachers of adults based on lessons learned since 1995. Topics covered in this tutorial include an introduction to distance learning, a history of distance leaning, course design considerations, planning and administration of distance learning courses, evaluation of distance learning courses and a special section discussing online distance learning classes.
The USU Faculty Assistance Center for Teaching (FACT) center provides tips on a variety of subjects including website design templates, handouts for students on preventing plagiarism and cheating, information about copyright laws and how to write a learner centered syllabus. They have a section of best practices where instructors can find help on using discussions as a more effective learning tool, how to begin the class so students are interested from the start of the semester, how to use PowerPoint effectively and how to use the library more effectively in learning assignments (FACT 2006).
Copyright
Copyright issues must be considered in developing any course (Crews 2003). Congress enacted the "Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act," commonly known as the "TEACH Act, on October 4, 2002 to address the needs of distance education while protecting the rights of original authors. Copyright extends protection to the original author until 70 years after his or her death (Crews 2003). All creative work is automatically covered by copyright regardless of the medium used or any registration or lack of it with a copyright office. One of the few exceptions to the rule that authors retain exclusive rights to their work is the category of "fair use."
"Fair use" is a term not defined specifically in law but it does have some guidelines that help users and courts judge specific cases. The copyright law of 1976 and the TEACH Act allow use of copyrighted material for "teaching (including multiple copies for classroom needs), scholarship or research"(Crews 2003, Copyright.gov 2006). Four factors guide decisions about what constitutes fair use: the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount and substantialness of the portion used in relation to the total work, and the effect of the use on the potential market of the work (Copyright.gov 2006).
Under the guidelines of fair use and the specific provisions of the TEACH Act, faculty can generally use copyrighted works in courses limited to enrolled students and for direct educational activities at non-profit educational institutions, accredited by the appropriate agency. Non-educational uses such as using copyrighted material to advertise a course or program to the public, even by a non-profit school, are not permitted by the TEACH Act (Crews 2003). Use of copyrighted material by for-profit educational institutions is not covered by the TEACH act; these institutions must seek permission for any use of copyrighted material. The source of all copyrighted work used needs to be cited sufficiently in the class material so anyone using the work can refer back to the original source or author of all work used (Crews 2003). Generally, linking to a web page from your class site is permissible because the copyright owner retains control of the original material, while copying another person's work into your web page removes such control and is not permissible (FairUse.Standford.edu 2006, USU FACT Copyright 2006). Copyright clearance can be a barrier to implementation of courses in part because of the subjective nature of "fair use" and in part because obtaining permission from the copyright holder can be very time consuming (USU FACT Copyright 2006, Baker 2006).
Faculty must know their institutions' policy on course material ownership because, while faculty generally retain ownership of their class material, with the increasing trend of institutions to develop and market online courses, the institution may require ownership rights remain with the institution (Williams 2003). In general, faculty at USU retain ownership of their course materials except where the materials were developed with substantial use of institutional resources (USU OCW Copyright 2006).
Course assessment or evaluation
Cuseo (2001) suggests that without knowing why you are conducting the assessment, what your assessment purpose is, when, how, where, and by whom the data should be collected, there is little purpose in doing an assessment. A formative assessment is done to improve an existing class while a summative assessment is done to measure the results or impact of the class (Cuseo 2001). The outcomes to be assessed must be identified. Does the instructor need to know how well the class met student needs or does the institution need information to justify retention of the class? These issues should guide development of the data collection and analysis process.
Achtemeier et al. (2003) state that, because the seven principles of Chickering and Ehermann are so widely cited in the education research literature, the principles form a logical basis for assessing course performance and student learning. Survey instruments should specifically ask students: if they were given timely feedback on graded assignments, if they were encouraged to express themselves, how much time they spent on task and if that time was sufficient to succeed in the class, if their diverse ways of learning were respected, how navigable the class web pages were, etc. (Achtemeier et al. 2003). Benigno and Trentin (2000) suggest that students evaluate the educational approach adopted in the course, how well the materials used advance student understanding, the organizational aspects of course activities, logistics of the class, technical aspects related to the use of the internet and the suggested technologies, and the performance of both tutors and area experts in their various roles as moderators, facilitators, activity leaders, trainers, etc. The specific questions used to evaluate the course needs to be developed with the special needs of the online environment in mind and the survey instrument needs to be evaluated each year to ensure "responses provide accurate, reliable and useful feedback" (Achtemeier et al. 2003).
Accessibility
All courses should be accessible to anyone who wants to take them. This mandate for accessibility comes from Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that requires Federal agencies to make "their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities" (Section508.gov 2006). The law was needed to ensure that everyone, including those with difficulty using computers, could access government information including courses offered by schools receiving federal funds (Section508.gov 2006). Core Techniques for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 provides industry standards for making websites accessible for anyone with Internet access (Chisholm et al. 2000). Since every element of a course website must be accessible, they suggest using universal design principles from the beginning of course development.
Universal design principles refer to constructing your building or your website from the beginning to be as accessible as possible for the greatest number of potential users. For instance, people now construct all buildings in the United States with wider, automatic doors to provide access for people with limited mobility. Ramps or elevators supplement steps and stairs. Once inside, Braille signs help those with impaired vision to use an ATM, find the restroom or know what floor they are on.
Likewise, web pages are best designed to conform to accessibility standards. Proper design can make the pages available to people with impaired vision or poor muscle control. Web browsers are available to read the content of the page aloud for visually impaired users. These vocalizing browsers function best when the web page is formatted using cascading style sheets instead of tables or other outdated formatting techniques. Pages built without understanding how the screen reader interprets the page can be nearly useless to the blind user (Webaim.org 2007).
Determining if a web page is accessible is straightforward. Simply go to Bobby (http://webxact.watchfire.com/) or Webaim (http://www.webaim.org/), enter the URL of the web page in question, then read the report generated in a few minutes.
Educational infrastructure
The institution should coordinate the online educational infrastructure (course access, hardware and software requirements, library access) throughout the campus culture. Students must learn how to use an educational system before they can learn the content delivered by the system, so if instructors use the same web page design for every course, students need not learn a new format for each new course (Twigg 2003a). An example of consistent course design is the USU OpenCourseWare web pages at http://ocw.usu.edu/Index/ECIndex_view. Using the same software and same basic layout of the classes allows student to become familiar with learning environment and it saves time and money for the instructor.
Using automated course management systems to handle assessment also reduces time and cost. WebCT, and other course management programs, while not cheap, can generate tests from a pool of questions developed by the instructor, administer it, grade and record results automatically for True/False, Multiple Choice and Short Answer tests if the instructor uses this form of assessment (Twigg 2003a).
An essential part of the educational infrastructure for online students is access to libraries. Libraries need to be available to distance education students just as they are for on-campus students (IHETS student support 2006). All the universities I have examined online have their library catalogs and some of their collections available in this format. Typically, only some journals are accessible in full-text. Reference materials do not circulate but reference librarians are available to help with research needs and can be contacted by email or phone if the student cannot visit the library in person (USU Libraries 2006).
Conclusions from the literature review
The literature primarily consists of reports from teachers who have successfully used the internet to teach. I suspect teachers do not report failures unless those failures lead to later success. While there is extensive research in the field of online education, Phipps and Merisotis (1999) concluded much of the research regarding online education is scientifically flawed. They found many studies lacked controls to allow investigation of cause and effect, students were not randomly assigned to controls or tests, and students were not stratified by learning styles. However, these studies can be valuable because they report on the efforts of a great number of instructors learning to use the internet to teach; we can learn from their experience what works and what does not.
Teaching online can be effective if the course takes advantage of the multi-media and interactive attributes of the internet to engage student learning and instructors model social processes online to maintain student interest in the class. The course must be designed to encourage contacts between students and faculty, to promote reciprocity and cooperation among students, to encourage and use active learning techniques, to provide prompt feedback, to emphasize time on task, to promote high expectations, and to respect diverse talents and ways of learning. This is no different than other methods of teaching. Indeed the basic principles of Chickering and Ehrmann that govern the development of effective online classes are the same principles that govern face-to-face classes.
Effective online teaching is learner-centered with instructors acting as facilitators of learning rather than sources of knowledge. The key to effective online teaching is what the students learn. They are more likely to succeed when they are actively engaged in the material.
Effective course design must include the technological infrastructure of the course, and student support as well as course content and learning evaluation. Faculty must learn how to teach in the online environment. Copyright regulations governing online materials must be followed. Online courses must be evaluated for effectiveness in meeting course and institution objectives as well as student needs.
Online courses need to meet standards for accessibility by all potential students. Conformance to accepted standards is best built into the course from the very beginning of the development process.
Case study of the urban forestry class
Introduction
Dr. Fred Baker taught an urban forestry class at Utah State University (USU) in the early 1990s in the traditional face-to-face setting. This class was offered at the Logan campus but most of the students who attended came from more than 60 miles away. Changing commitments forced Dr. Baker to stop teaching the class; however the need for trained urban foresters remained.
As the internet matured as a teaching tool (see literature review for a discussion of requirements for an effective online class), Dr. Baker seized the opportunity to offer the Urban Forestry class while working around other schedule constraints. The Utah State regents provided funding and active class development began in August 2001. The class, WILD 5650 Urban Forestry, was first offered to students in Spring semester 2002. It has been offered eight times since then (generally Spring semester) to a total of 75 students.
About half of our students are non-traditional or mid-career professionals seeking continuing education. A few of the traditional students are at the USU Logan campus but can only fit an online class into their schedule, most of the rest of the traditional students are at distant locations, working on horticulture degrees. One student moved out of state for job reasons and needed 3 credits to graduate. Our class was just what she needed.
We budgeted $10,000 to develop the class, the largest percentage of which was for salaries for the instructional designer and myself as the topic researcher/writer. Smaller amounts were budgeted for a computer for myself and software (Dreamweaver and Coldfusion) to write the html pages to present the material in WebCT.
Not all class development costs were directly covered by the budgeted amount. Dr. Baker's salary, office space for the three of us, some of the computers used, and WebCT were all supplied by either the university or already existed in Dr. Baker's lab.
In the original proposal for the class, we thought just the two of us could develop and present the class. I would write the web pages from Dr. Baker's original class notes and post the pages online inside WebCT. By the time the class development was funded, Dr. Baker understood writing course material and building web pages were two radically different tasks, which required radically different skill sets. Krystal Kearl, an instructional designer, was hired to build the web pages and develop exercises to enhance learning. I used the lecture notes provided by Dr. Baker from his previous edition of the class as the basis of my research on each topic. The USU FACT Center provided much needed technical help training me in the use of WebCT, Dreamweaver and other facets of course management.
Course Preparation
In preparing the class for delivery, we had to consider not only the content to be taught but also how we would present it and how we would test students to ensure learning. The list of topics within the field of urban forestry was pared down to those we felt appropriate to students just beginning a study of this profession. We then selected an instructional design appropriate to each topic to enhance presentation and take advantage of the interactive nature of the internet. We then developed a grading scheme to assess student learning based on their written work and their discussion participation. USU provided the WebCT software to manage the class.
Course Content
Time, logistical, and expertise constraints limit us to 18 topics in this class. These topics are:
Urban Environment—how people and development affect tree growth
Public Relations—why and how to involve the public in creating and maintaining a vibrant urban forestry program
Fertilization—soil tests, chlorosis, timing and methods to correct nutrient deficiencies in soil
Irrigation—how to provide trees with water when and where they need it
Insect and Disease Management— understand and manage the damage caused by insects and diseases
Diagnosing Tree Health—how to diagnose tree problems before attempting remedies
Stress and Abiotic Factors—how lack of nutrients, mechanical and/or pollution damage, soil compaction and a host of other abiotic factors affect tree health
Urban Wildlife—how to design the urban landscape to provide habitat for desirable animals
Arborist Practices—modern pruning techniques, safety, tools used and the appropriate use of herbicides in urban forests
Hazardous Trees—factors that lead to tree failure and the legal obligations of the urban forester to manage hazards
Litigation—common legal issues urban foresters face, the definitions of negligence and how to prevent legal problems by establishing a hazard management program
Tree Ordinances—why cities need tree ordinances and some examples based on local needs
Tree Inventory—how to collect tree and landscape data needed to support management decisions
Selecting Trees—how to select trees species that will thrive in specific urban sites and how to select healthy specimens for planting
Tree Appraisal—how to determine monetary values of trees
Planning—how to develop a long-term plan to guide urban forest management
Financing a UF program—how to develop budgets and funding sources
Programs—how to consider citizen wishes, hazard management, existing conditions and desired future conditions in developing an urban forestry program
We devote one week to most units, but in a 15 week semester we must cover two topics in some weeks.
I used Dr. Baker's old class notes as the framework for research to update and write the topic sections. An instructional designer then adapted the written material to html pages for presentation and developed learning activities to further deepen student understanding of the concepts in the class.
Instructional Design
We used two major principles to guide the instructional design. First we tried to incorporated the seven principles of effective practice articulated by Chickering and Gamson (1987) into every facet of the class. Second, we used discussion to reinforce learning and to provide a basis for grading. Arising from the discussion format, students start and end the class together; it is not an open entry-open exit class.
Each unit has readings to introduce the student to the topic, activities to deepen understanding and a discussion forum each student must participate in to complete the topic. See appendix A for a sample unit. While participation in the discussion forums is mandatory for every topic, students choose which one of the available activities to do each week. Over the semester, students will do 14 of the 18 available activities. This keeps the work load to a reasonable amount for both students and instructors.
Principles of effective practice
We implemented the seven principles of Chickering and Gamson in a variety of ways, depending on how appropriate each principle is to a particular situation or course context. Let me explain how we implement each principle.
Frequent contact between students and faculty is facilitated by participation in the discussion forums by at least one of the instructors and by answering all emails promptly. We outline in the introductory unit of the class that “prompt response” means an answer within 24 hours so students don't sit waiting for an instant response.
We don't specifically implement reciprocity and cooperation between students. Using groups is the most common way to do this but our class size has been too small to form groups. However, we do use the discussion forum extensively to share ideas, both student-to-student and between students and instructor.
Active learning techniques involve the student doing exercises, reflecting on those activities and writing about them (Bonwell 2000, Sophocles 5th c. B. C.) Every topic requires the student to do something, whether it is a soil analysis, a disease control simulation or developing a budget. The students then discuss their results in the appropriate forum with moderation and comments from the instructor. For example, the Arborist Practices unit discussion requires students to find and photograph a poorly pruned tree. They include the photograph in their initial postings and we talk about what was done and how to implement proper pruning standards when working on each tree. This discussion frequently turns into an “ugliest tree” contest as students strive to find particularly striking examples of poor pruning practice.
Prompt feedback is essential for students who are venturing into new fields but it can be challenging to implement. One the one hand, we as instructors need to quickly respond to the students' work with constructive comments to boost student self-esteem and validate their good work. On the other hand, commenting too quickly in the discussion forum can put a "cap" on the discussion if the other students perceive "the expert teacher" has said the final word. This can be difficult if you are using a "guide" style of teaching because students are conditioned to regard the teacher as the "authority"; too rapid a response from the authority figure tends to stop further discussion (Ganley 2006). Prompt feedback is also essential to keep students motivated. Sometimes I limit my initial comments to "Good job, what's next?" I hope this sort of short comment is positive yet allows the other students to feel like they can still contribute to the conversation. Other times I respond privately in an e-mail to student postings. This allows prompt feedback without risk of ending the discussion.
The time students spend reflecting on their activities, and then writing about them is time spent on task and well worth the student's effort (Ganley 2006, Keeton 2004). Elbow (1994) finds students learn the most when they write the most. We bribe the students to engage in reflective writing by making their participation in the discussion forum worth 1/3 of their grade. We provide the discussion exercises to have students write on their experience. They think they are earning a grade, we know they are learning more than they imagined.
High expectations are communicated by giving the students real problems to solve or analyze (Keeton 2004). We use real examples of problems and situations for the students to work with. One of our most popular exercises (already discussed above) is asking the students to find butchered trees to photograph and post. Sadly, they never fail to find truly ugly examples. We also use current stories about local tree controversies to get students to consider the different points of view brought to each situation by different stakeholders.
Showing respect for diverse talents and ways of learning of students means accepting more than one path to a good answer. We assign students problems but do not detail the exact steps required to arrive at a solution. We emphasize they are required to explain their answers in the light of principles taught in the class. For example, students can "correctly" prune the tree in Figure 1 (page 39)and mitigate the hazards by moving the sidewalk (expensive but feasible if the tree has high value), moving the picnic table (easy and cheap) and/or by removing some of the branches. Ganley (2006) suggests that teachers model the behavior they want the students to show; in this case, we work through sample problems, and direct the students to content, get them started on inquiry into the field of study and let them continue with self-directed learning.
Discussion format
We chose to grade students using discussion postings rather than testing for several reasons. First, due to the relative anonymity of the online environment, instructors cannot be sure who is actually typing test answers. Discussion postings are more "chatty" and provide information about the student as well as their understanding of the topic. The instructor can form an accurate estimate of student understanding and be confident it is the student writing answers. Second, writing about the topic allows the student time to think reflectively about it and clarifies their understanding. This reflective time on task is key to increased understanding (Meyer 2003). Third, discussions also help bond students into a common community of interest. They work harder at understanding the topic when they are working together on a common goal. Successful discussions require all the students to be on the same topic at the same time, hence the requirement for students to begin and end the class together. Lastly, discussion also accommodates multiple viewpoints and allow students to share them in a much less formal and threatening environment.
Course Management Software
The course is managed with WebCT, a software package which administers learning materials and controls access to it. Students must register with USU and pay tuition and fees before being allowed into the class site. WebCT provides tools to organize lesson material, homework submission, and tests; it provides discussion forums, e-mail and chat rooms to facilitate communication between students and instructors. Page layout, lesson material access, assignment submission, due dates, student access to test results are all controlled by the instructor but administered by WebCT. With the requirement to log in to the system to access the class, spam e-mail and viruses are non-existent.
Instructional tools for automated exams allow scheduling them for specific times or after students have completed specific modules of the class. Tests and homework can be graded automatically depending on format. Homework submission can be regulated, with the instructor setting deadlines. Homework submissions are not likely to be lost if the student and the instructor follow the WebCT procedures exactly. Grades are kept private but available to the instructor and the student. WebCT tracks times and pages viewed for each student, allowing the instructor to monitor class usage. USU provides the WebCT software and training on its use to faculty and students.
Course Implementation as offered
No educational plan, no matter how well thought out survives its first contact with students. Some of our ideas worked well, others had to be modified. This section of the case study details our experiences in presenting the class. I first describe how the discussions and activities worked, then some of our experiences with WebCT, and then discuss changes we had to make to the course. I finish this section with some conclusions and recommendations for course improvement.
Sample discussion
This section describes a sample discussion, the questions we ask the students to start the discussion, our responses, what makes a good student posting, what makes a weak student posting, and what we do to improve student responses.
We introduce each topic with a relatively long web page of reading for the student. Students then discuss the topic, asking questions of each other and us and sharing their insights of the topic. The discussion on each topic takes place during a limited time because students learn more when they are all on the same topic. Grades are based on how much students demonstrate understanding of the topic, and if the students indicate a connection between the topic section and their personal experience. The discussion grade constitutes 1/3 of the total class grade.
The general instructions for all discussion topics are:
"Participate in the topic unit discussion. The following questions may stimulate comments or ideas, but please contribute any meaningful ideas whether or not they are related to the questions below.
These examples of discussion posting come from the Arborist Practices topic. The discussion questions the students were asked to address was:
"What can an urban forester do when local utilities use harmful practices such as topping trees under utility lines or tunneling utility lines through tree roots? What practices should you promote to them, what benefits exist for the utility company by adopting your prescribed practices?”
A sample response from a student to this question was:
"Education is the key, as always. Utility workers don't get paid to make a tree look good they get paid to clear the lines. A mandatory class on how to prune would help the situation. An urban forester could teach the class once a year. They would have the knowledge, but it would be up to them to use it. They could have just as much fun cleaning and properly trimming a tree as they could topping a tree. The flip side to that is educating the homeowner. What trees will actually be small enough to grow under power lines. How to do that, I really don't know. I wish I could go home to Idaho and take a picture of my Grandpas trees. He could work for a utility company! There are topped trees, and branches that are a foot or more from the crotch. I guess it is not just utility workers who prune badly."
When students make comments such as the above one which suggests utility companies do not follow modern pruning standards, I correct such misinformation.
We need to moderate the discussions if/when students veer off-topic. While the digression might be interesting to a limited set of the class, it tends to irritate those not directly involved and thus reduces the quality of the educational experience for the rest of the class.
I think redesigning the discussion instructions to require more cognitive and teaching presence as described by Peltz (2003) would also improve the quality of student learning and promote the high expectations Chickering and Ehrmann find useful.
The following is a weak posting:
"Mother nature is very good at pruning but really doesn't care much about what is on the ground when she prunes. (cars and people) I agree that education is the key. It would be very hard to change the way companies prune the trees but the more education they have the more likely they will be to see their errors."
This posting is full of opinions and assertions but has no evidence either from the readings or from sources outside the class to support them.
The following is an example of a good posting.
"One of the problems I have noticed with cities is that the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. For example when I was city forester I had a problem with the street departments cutting out roots when they fixed the side walks. We had some large ash trees that were lifting up the side walks in a part of town. Instead of checking with us they removed the old side walk removed the roots a foot below and two feet away from the side walk. This left two feet of root system from the trunk. The new side walk was put in and the job was finished with out us even knowing about what had happened. Then a month later a utility company dug on the other side of the tree in the street cutting the roots on that side. We found out about the problem when we had a wind storm and one of the trees blew over. We were lucky that no real property damage occurred and that no one was hurt. We had to remove the others trees for safety reasons. It is hard to get others to care about trees. The power dept. only cares about power, Water dept. only about water, and so on. The politics of it all can get real ugly. When you try to force people to conform they fight it. When you take a passive approach by education and helping them they will over look it. It really had to be a happy medium and pick your battles."
This posting mentions principles discussed in the topic readings and relates them to real-life examples (by no coincidence at all, I picked an example from a student who had been a working urban forester before going into private practice).
The grading scheme for discussions needs to identify at the beginning of the class what will earn points towards a grade. Currently we award 10 points for any participation at all. A better scheme would be to award initial participation 3 points, opinions and unsupported assertions worth an additional 1 point but to earn full credit, evidence needs to be presented to support the ideas, opinions and assertions.
Sample assignment
This section describes a typical assignment from the sample topic in the appendix to illustrate how we use assignments to clarify concepts in the class.
The activity for the Arborist Practices unit asks students to prune the above picture (figure 1). The students need to identify the hazards present in the picture and tell how they would fix them. One of the strengths of this activity is that there are several "correct" answers but the students only get rewarded for correctly justifying their answer.
Most students prune some of the branches, especially the low-hanging branches and some of the crossing ones. They also comment that judging exactly which branches to prune is difficult to determine with the two dimensional picture. I agree with them and tell them to do their best. Less frequently, students will move the table and benches to eliminate the hazard to people. No student yet has opted to move the sidewalk.
Experiences with WebCT
While we use WebCT and and appreciate the many time-saving feature of this class management software, the software is not completely problem free. I describe the problems we have encountered and how we work around them.
Navigation in WebCT is not intuitive, students and faculty must be trained in using the class site. Homework submissions must be submitted exactly as WebCT expects or they will be lost. The email and discussion tools are easy to use but lack some of the abilities of dedicated programs such as the ability to easily insert images into documents. For example, students must attach a graphics file to an email if they want to submit pictures. They must browse to find the file on their local computer, open it in the WebCT interface and remember to click an unobtrusive button to actually attach the file. WebCT gives no clue when it is transferring data to and from the server. Students and instructors need a great deal of patience waiting for tasks to finish before clicking on something else. Otherwise, the system will fail to complete the task and frustration builds. Some students send homework and questions to my regular email account because of their frustration with the WebCT system.
Online survival skills
Students are generally unfamiliar with our online learning environment so we must provide some explanations and instruction before they can start learning urban forestry. We sometimes need to provide help just logging in to the class. Students will contact us via phone or regular email if they cannot access the class (USU provides instructor contact information when students register for the class). After students access the class, the first section outlines initial expectations. We explicitly tell students in the Introduction exactly what they are expected to do each week of the course.
"This course is highly interactive and your participation in weekly discussions, activities, and assignments, will facilitate cooperative learning. You are expected to keep up with the group and to study and discuss the assigned weekly topics. Please begin your coursework early in the week as that will provide for informed and interesting discussions (and you will get more out of the class).
It may be helpful to outline a typical week. By Tuesday, I expect you will have read the material for the section, reflected on it, compared what we tell you with your experiences in life, and post your initial thoughts on the subject. This posting will typically run for more than one paragraph but not pages and pages. Later in the week, you will read the postings of all the students and respond by Friday. The instructors will check in more often and respond as well. Please, feel free to include questions and your own experiences that relate to the topic.
You will be graded on both the quality and the quantity of your contributions to the class.
At all times, however, keep in mind that we are here to learn, and learning is most effective if it is enjoyable. We are all here because of an interest in urban forestry; our challenge is to learn as much as we can about urban forestry, not just from this web site and the instructors, but from each other. We hope you will be comfortable using the discussion forum to exchange ideas and ask questions of the instructors and each other. If you want to talk about topics not directly related to the current topic, please use one of the private chat rooms or email others directly.
We have had problems in the past with extensive off-topic chatting that can be distracting to the learning process. It is sort of like whispering in class while others are trying to pay attention."
While these instructions model the teacher as an authority figure, rather than facilitator or guide, we find such explicit instruction is required at the beginning of the class to train students for success.
I learned rapidly students needed a backup method of contacting the instructors in the event of computer or class access problems. The Introduction unit of the urban forestry course lists office locations, mailing addresses, alternate e-mail addresses, and phone numbers for the instructors in the class. I include my cell phone for 24-hour access and tell the students they are welcome to call anytime. I had some concern in the beginning about potential abuse but in the 5 years of the class, there has been none; 4 or 5 times, such availability has helped students who have lost their login information, had other computer problems, or just needed to ask questions of a live person. For these reasons, I plead with students to print the introductory page as the first thing they do in the class.
Student drop rates
Online survival includes knowing when to drop out. “Going to class” by sitting in front of a computer screen, never seeing other students or the instructor face-to-face is difficult. Adapting to the less structured but still demanding time schedule and fitting college work into the rest of their life's schedule all present challenges not easy to overcome. Once students start the class and discover exactly what it entails, about one third drop out. This is in line with averages reported in the literature (Diaz 2002).
Adaptations to initial course plans
Each of the 18 topics has an assignment associated with it. But requiring a written assignment or activity for each topic was too much work for the students. We now allow students the option to choose which of the two assignments to do in each week that has more than one assignment available. They do 14 of the 18 available assignments.
We intended to have guest experts in specific fields to moderate the discussion in their field of expertise. This proved to be too much detail work for the inexperienced TA, and too confusing to students who suddenly had to respond to an unknown person.
We wanted simulations for several units but only have one for the Disease section. We discovered that, while simulations can be effective teaching tools which allow students to visualize plant growth concepts, they require extensive programming skills that are beyond our present resources.
Conclusions from the case study
I have been asked “Is the class worth doing”? I assume this is because we have just a few students each time and the class takes a significant amount of time to teach and maintain each day. The answer is “yes, it is worth doing.” We do need more advertising around the country to attract more students to make it more worthwhile. Most of our students seem to think the class is worth their time, we have some who don't like the method of presentation and would prefer to take it in a face-to-face setting but are willing to put up with the internet version to be able to learn about urban forestry.
Some of the principles of effective practice of Chickering and Gamson provide excellent guidance for interaction between student and instructor. Prompt response to emails, daily participation in the discussion forums, providing feedback that does not stifle discussion, and accepting novel solutions (if they meet lesson objectives) to class assignments all seem to help students learn and enjoy the class.
Grading based on our instructional design seems to work well. By the time the class is completed, the students have produced a sufficient body of work to make grading them a straightforward process. The few students who have needed to take an incomplete grade to be finished later never do as well as students who complete the course in the scheduled time. Their discussion postings do not show the same level of understanding as students who manage to keep up in the class. This is true even with students who had been doing well but had some life crisis that forced them the take time off from the class.
Some of the topic sections need to rewritten to make the assignments easier for the students to understand what is expected. The appraisal section in particular needs to be reorganized to make clear to the student which is the practice exercise and which is the activity to hand in for a grade.
The 18 topics we cover in the class do not have a common thread connecting them. One week we are teaching soil properties and the next, we are exploring public relations. The assignments and discussions would be better teaching tools if they revolve around a unifying theme. We should unite the topics by using them to develop a complete urban forestry program for a hypothetical community. The hypothetical community could be Shigoville, a community that has no UF program now but does have some enthusiastic citizens (class students). The students could build a UF program for their community using their own neighborhoods for examples and lab work.
All hyperlinks needed to be checked every time before the class is taught to be sure they are current. External links have a nasty habit of changing when we are not looking and frustrate both students and instructors.
Overall Conclusions
Both the literature examined for this paper and our experience suggest the internet can be an effective teaching tool. Significant effort is required to develop and present an online class but the results are worthwhile. Effective classes require dedicated support from the institution as well as faculty willing to venture into this relatively new field of pedagogy. It is definitely not a venture for technophobes.
Knowing what I know now, how would I improve the class and its learning outcomes? I would:
? Develop a checklist to guide the development of each topic page for teaching effectiveness and accessibility. See the checklists already developed at http://www.webaim.org/standards/508/checklist and http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/full-checklist.html
? Check each web page for accessibility and correct all problems.
? Develop a student-completed evaluation form for each topic and for the class as a whole. Make this evaluation form available as an anonymous survey instrument administered through WebCT. I would also improve student evaluation to better demonstrate knowledge gains.
? Allow more time to write each topic section. The original time budget allowed one week for one person to write each section, develop the HTML, find and insert images and compose each page in Dreamweaver. These tasks actually took a graduate student assistant, an instructional designer and the instructor two or more weeks for each section.
? Learn the gentle art of facilitating discussions to guide the learners. It is harder to guide students through a topic than simply lecture to them because adult learners tend to explore a topic in ways the instructor may not have planned on (Peltz 2004, Ganley 2006). The results of student directed learning are worth the effort as long as the students are working on course goals and objectives.
? Implement the discussion-grading rubric detailed by Peltz after a detailed explanation as part of the Introduction section.
? Experiment with creating a blog for each student to use for his or her writing in the class. Each blog would then have an RSS feed to my news aggregator to gather all their submissions for reading and grading.
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Appendices
Appendix A. Sample Topic Module
Arborist Practices
Arborists engage in many practices including fertilization, irrigation, pest management, pruning, and even herbicide use. This section details two arborist practices that have not yet been addressed in this course: namely pruning, and herbicide use.
Pruning
Pruning is the purposeful removal of plant parts. The term pruning is preferred to less precise terms like trimming. The following information describes why, when, and how to prune branches from urban trees. It describes where to make pruning cuts to avoid stubs and flush-cuts, and describes why wound dressings should not be used. It refers mainly to the pruning of branches on ornamental trees; it does not include specific information on the pruning of fruit trees for fruit production, shearing or other intensive crown shaping practices, or root pruning.
Why Prune?
Reasons for pruning urban trees generally fit into three closely-related categories: health, hazard, and form. Rarely should healthy, non-hazardous branches on a tree with good form (and clear of any utility, traffic, or other problems) be pruned.
Health
Pruning for tree health includes removal of insect or disease infested branches, broken or dead branches, crowded branches, and branches or portions of trunks with included bark. The practice of pruning to "open-up" a tree's crown to encourage light penetration or air movement is generally not needed.
Hazard
Pruning to reduce hazard to people or property includes the removal of dead and decaying branches; branches that interfere with sight lines or travel along streets, driveways, or sidewalks; branches that rub against structures; thorny or spiny branches that might cause injury; and pruning for utility line clearance. Healthy, strong, properly attached branches that overhang a building do not usually pose an unreasonable safety risk and do not necessarily need to be removed.
Form
Pruning for tree form or shape involves removal of certain branches and leaving others to direct growth toward and away from certain areas. Pollarding, crown raising, and topiary all are examples of pruning for form.
When to Prune
Time of Year
Pruning can be done at any time of year with special care and knowledge, but certain times are better than others. Pruning is best done in winter or early spring before buds swell when tree energy reserves are high and the tree is dormant. Though certain trees, such as birches, maples, and walnuts, may exude sap or "bleed" when pruned at this time of year, this is not a problem and stops within a few days. During the spring growth period bark is tender and easily damaged and pruning must be done very carefully. In fall pruning wounds may be more easily infected with decay microorganisms. Though summer pruning can be done, considerable dieback may occur at the edges of summer pruning wounds, possibly due to drying of the living tissues at wound edges. Quickly wrapping such wounds with white plastic sheeting may reduce this dieback.
Time of Life
At planting time only prune branches that are dead, broken, or that have insect or disease problems. Otherwise, prune early in a branch or tree's life to avoid pruning large branches or letting serious problems develop. For maintenance pruning on established trees try to prune branches before they exceed 2 inches in diameter.
Pruning Severity
Avoid pruning off more than 20 to 25% of a tree's leaf area in any year. Pruning stresses trees because pruning wound repair requires energy from food while pruning removes leaves that make food and wood that stores food. Younger and more vigorous trees can stand heavier pruning than mature or stressed trees. If heavy pruning is unavoidable, remove branches over two or more years to reduce stress.
Pruning Techniques
Pruning Tools
Sharp, well-maintained tools make cleaner cuts and are safer than dull tools. Use shear-type hand pruners for small twigs (sometimes called bypass pruners; anvil-type pruners cause slightly more injury than shear-type), loppers for small branches, and pruning saws for branches up to 3 or 4 inches in diameter. Good pruning saws have thin curved blades and teeth that are angled back to cut mainly as you pull rather than push.
Chainsaws should only be used for large branch removal. Bow saws are not suitable for pruning because the blade tends to wander and the handle tends to get in the way. Sterilization of tool blades between cuts (with alcohol or bleach) often is recommended to avoid spreading disease, but researchers have shown that more extensive sterilization techniques may be necessary to control the spread of some diseases.
Safety
Urban foresters commonly manage other employees and thus must not only be concerned for their own safety, but also for the safety of all the people who perform maintenance in the urban forest. It is essential that managers provide good safety training for employees on topics such as equipment and handling skills, protective clothing, removing large branches, cutting down entire trees, and (of vital importance) working around utility wires. Almost half of the deaths that occur in the tree care industry are caused by electrocution, most of which could have been prevented by proper training.
Legally employers are required to provide safety training:
“Employers shall instruct their employees in the proper use of all equipment provided for them and shall require that safe working practices be observed. A job briefing, work procedure, and assignment shall be worked out carefully before any tree job is begun.” - The American National Standard Z-133.1-1988
For both safety and liability reasons, pruning and other potentially dangerous activities should preferably be conducted by an insured, well-trained professional arborist (preferably certified by the International Society of Arboriculture) or by a professional forester.
Pruning near Utility lines
Pruning near utility lines should only be done by certified line clearance professionals and in coordination with the local utility company. Please read the publication on Utility arboriculture produced by the USDA Forest Service.
Trees planted below utility lines should at maturity be lower than the lines and larger trees should be planted away from the lines. Pruning techniques such as V-trimming or side-pruning are more aesthetically pleasing, better for the tree, and require less maintenance (in the long run) than topping trees. It is best to select species for planting under utility lines that will be less than 25 feet tall at maturity.
A training and certification program developed by the National Arborist Association called the Electrical Hazards Awareness Program (EHAP) could be used to promote safety around utility lines. The training consists of training videos and home-study booklets, in addition to the satisfactory completion of a rope and saddle aerial rescue and the completion of a Red Cross (or equivalent) CPR program.
Discussion: Harmful practices
Participate in the arborist practices discussion. The following questions may stimulate comments or ideas, but please contribute any meaningful ideas whether or not they are related to the questions below.
What can an urban forester do when local utilities use harmful practices such as topping trees under utility lines or tunneling utility lines through tree roots? What practices should you promote to them, what benefits exist for the utility company by adopting your prescribed practices?
Everywhere you look, you can find a topped or mutilated tree. Take a picture of the worst one you can find and e-mail it. We can discuss what was done and what could have been done better.
Topping
Trees should never be topped. Topping or rounding-over is the removal of branches without regard to where other branches attach, usually leaving stubs. Topping is done to gain clearance from an obstruction or to reduce a tree's height or crown spread. Sometimes cuts are made where a branch is attached, but the remaining branch is too small or weak to assume dominance.
Quick regrowth, combined with decay in the stubs, leads to poor tree health and potential hazards. Unfortunately, there is no long-term way to keep a tree small and healthy if it is naturally large, which is why tree characteristics should be matched to location characteristics prior to planting. Not to mention the fact that topping looks terrible. The following are excerpts from an article that was published on May 4, 1989 in a local newspaper with the title "(City) project leaves trees branchless." Only excerpts are provided so as not to ridicule the city or people involved, who have hopefully learned better techniques since then.
An Unbelievable Topping Example
"Despite a massive tree-topping project that stripped mature shade trees along North State Street of almost all of their branches and limbs, many residents living along the highway seem pleased with the project."
"But experts say the green ash trees will be permanently weakened and damaged by the pruning project."
"Public Works Director (name removed) said the trees are 20-25 years old and were 'totally out of control' before the topping project. The trees were creating a traffic hazard along North State, he said, and never had been trimmed."
"But (name removed) of the (some state) Highway Department, said the trees were carefully pruned in 1971."
The public works director also said, "In two or three years they will look as pretty as they did before. This is really not a big deal for the City."
A homeowner on the street said, "There certainly won't be any shade from the trees this summer. If I had been in charge of the project, they wouldn't have been cut back nearly as much as they were."
An Alternative to Topping: Directional Pruning
Directional pruning is the removal of branches with natural target cuts to guide growth away from certain locations. It is commonly used to keep branches out of utility lines without topping, but it is useful in many other circumstances. Just start at the tip of the branch to be removed and follow it back to where it meets another healthy branch that can remain on the tree and that is large enough to assume dominance (at least 1/3 the diameter of the branch to be removed). Remove unwanted branches with natural target cuts as described below.
Where to Cut: Natural Target Pruning
Good pruning involves removing as much of the branch as possible without leaving a stub or flush cutting. Good pruning cuts are called natural target cuts by arborists, who use two targets on the tree to show them where to make the cut. These targets are the branch bark ridge (BBR) and the branch collar. The BBR is an area of excess bark that accumulates where two branches meet. It extends down the branch or trunk on either side of the branch crotch. The branch collar is (typically) a swollen, wrinkled area at the branch base where branch and trunk (or branch and branch) tissues come together.
A natural target cut leaves the BBR and branch collar on the tree without leaving a stub. Such a cut passes just outside the BBR on top and usually slants out and down, leaving a bump but no stub (from A to B on figure 1). Sometimes the swollen branch collar extends all the way around the branch base and the resulting cut is more vertical. Though the "targets" usually are easy to see on most broad-leaved trees, some trees like sycamore constantly lose bark and don't accumulate a BBR. Conifers also may not accumulate a typical BBR. In both cases, just cut outside any swollen or wrinkled branch collar.
Wound Closure
Natural target cuts start to seal over quickly and woundwood, sometimes called callus, forms at the wound edges (callus forms first and becomes woundwood as it matures and becomes woody). Woundwood usually forms in a continuous ring around a natural target cut, eventually sealing over the wound as it grows together. Gaps in the woundwood at the top and/or bottom indicate flush-cuts, cuts that were made too close to the stem (see figure 4). Though such wounds may eventually seal, they have a greater chance for dieback, decay, and crack formation than natural target cuts. The term "seal," rather than "heal," is used to describe tree wound closure, since the wound still exists inside the tree even after it no longer shows on the outside.
Pruning Dead Branches
Shortly after a branch dies a swollen ring of woundwood starts to form around its base. A branch protection zone also forms in the wood at the branch base. This zone contains chemicals that help the tree resist microbial attack. Cut off dead branches just outside the live woundwood without leaving a stub (see broad-leaved diagram above). Promptly remove large dead branches since they pose significant hazards.
Pruning Large Branches and Narrow Angles
Remove large branches with a three step cut: an undercut one-third of the way up through the branch one or two feet out from the trunk (to prevent bark stripping), a top cut directly into or slightly outside of the undercut to remove most of the branch weight, and a final natural target cut that removes the stub. Final cuts can be made from the bottom up to the crotch (B to A in figure 2) if the branch angle is tight and tools won't fit in the crotch.
Pruning Leaders or Co-dominant Stems
Pruning to remove a leader or main stem sometimes is called crown reduction. A leader can be pruned off where another branch is attached if the remaining branch is healthy and vigorous and at least 1/3 the diameter of the leader to be removed (so a 6" leader could be removed at a 2" branch). Also, no more than about one-quarter of the foliage should be removed from the branch that is being shortened. The final pruning cut should be on the other side of the BBR sloping out and down with the bottom of the cut straight across from the bottom of the BBR. As before, the BBR remains on the tree and no stub is formed. CO-dominant stems (stems nearly equal in size) are pruned similarly.
Included Bark
Sometimes the bark where two branches meet turns in instead of out, forming a seam of included bark inside the tree instead of a BBR. Areas of included bark often die and become decayed. These areas are naturally weaker than branch attachments with normal BBRs. Included bark is especially common on certain species or cultivators, like Bradford pear and littleleaf European linden, but can be found on any tree. It also is more common where branches attach to one another at a very narrow angle, but can occur with wide attachment angles.
Avoid purchasing trees with included bark. Don't prune off all branches with included bark (on some trees nothing would be left), but watch for signs of dieback or cracks extending down from the crotch below the bark seam. Remove a branch that has included bark by cutting from the open crotch down and out (or cut up to the crotch). This actually leaves a small stub on or in the tree, but cutting farther down may cause serious trunk wounds.
Wound Care
Pruning wounds and other tree wounds should be left open to the air, with no covering or dressing (see exception below). Though various paints, shellacs, and tar-like materials are available for treating wounds, none have been shown to slow or prevent decay or promote wound healing or sealing. In fact, research has shown that such dressings can actually promote decay by keeping the wound protected and moist — perfect conditions for the growth of decay microorganisms.
An exception is the use of white polyethylene sheeting to wrap wounds made in summer when conditions are hot and dry, or when pruning elms and oaks (wound dressing or paint will discourage the insects that carry the Dutch elm disease and oak wilt fungi). Wrapping wounds with such sheeting (preferably within minutes of pruning) results in less dieback and better healing than with unwrapped wounds. Wrapping can be held on the tree with tape and can be removed in two or three weeks.
In the past it was common practice to shape or scribe wounds to promote healing; however, scribing simply makes wounds larger and is not needed. Wounds from natural target pruning usually heal well on their own. Always remove any loose bark or pieces of wood that stick out from a wound.
Texas A&M Extension provides extensive information in the website Follow Proper Pruning Techniques at http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/pruning/pruning.html
Activity: Pruning a Picture
Complete one of the following activities.
Examine the pruning activity picture (figure 4). Identify which branches to prune and why. Indicate where to make each pruning cut. Either modify the picture to illustrate the pruning, or use a text description of the picture to explain what you would do.
Take a picture of a poorly pruned tree and a properly pruned tree (either during the pruning or after the fact). Explain how the first tree was improperly pruned and what pruning should have taken place and explain the correct process that was followed in pruning the second tree.
E-mail or snail mail the assignment to the TA. (note if you use regular mail please e-mail the TA that it is coming that way).
Herbicide Use
Herbicides are used in the urban forest to control undesired vegetation on both a small and a large scale. The decision to use herbicides in the urban forest should be made only after several factors are considered including safety, environmental impact, and public opinion.
While herbicides can reduce competition from herbaceous weeds so that newly planted trees are given a boost in survival or early growth, when carelessly applied, they damage non-target trees and vegetation. Common lawn herbicides, which are sometimes combined with a fertilizer to form a "weed and feed", can be damaging and even deadly to trees. Trees are especially susceptible after heavy rains, or when the tree is stressed from other conditions such as recent transplanting or insect infestations. Spray drift from herbicides applied near trees is another common source of unintended damage from herbicides.
Leaf curl and distortion are the most common symptoms of herbicide injury. Higher concentrations of herbicide (for instance if applied directly under the tree canopy) can cause serious defoliation or even tree death.
Recovery from minor herbicide damage can be promoted through watering and fertilization, but for the most part it will just take time for injured trees to recover.
The overall manner in which an herbicide affects a plant at the tissue or cellular level is available from the Purdue University Herbicide Mode-of-Action summary.
Discussion: Herbicide Resistance
Participate in the arborist practices discussion. The following questions may stimulate comments or ideas, but please contribute any meaningful ideas whether or not they are related to the questions below.
Could plant resistance to herbicides actually be used in a good way?
Check out this article to see some innovative research into herbicide resistance.
How could herbicide resistance be useful for urban foresters?
References and Resources
How to Prune trees guide by the US Department of Agriculture.
Adapted from the brochure Homeowner's Guide for Beautiful, Safe, and Healthy Trees from the USDA-Forest Service Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/newtown_square/publications/brochures/pdfs/for_homeowners/guide_homeowners.pdf (accessed 8/3/2007)
Tree Care a journal produced by the National Arborist Association ( now the Tree Care Industry Association), has semi-technical articles written for the working tree care person. http://128.241.193.252/Public/pubs_tci_magazine.htm. (accessed 8/3/2007).
Ryan, H. D. P. III. 1991. Safety in the urban forest. Women in Natural Resources 12(3):29-32.
For an extensive bibliography of hazard tree management,literature, see http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/spf/fhp/hazard/biblio.htm (accessed 8/3/2007).
Appendix B. Copy of article used for style guide
note: this article will be replaced with the
actual journal when submitted to avoid any problems
with copyrighted material. This article shows
the use of citations from the internet
as well as more traditional sources.
Journal of Arboriculture 31(4): July 2005 157
©2005 International Society of Arboriculture
Tree Appraisal: Chronology of North American Industry Guidance
by Scott Cullen
available at
http://joa.isa-arbor.com/request.asp?JournalID=1&ArticleID=192&Type=1
accessed 9/23/2007
Appendix C. Publication checklist
The complete guide is at
http://www.usu.edu/gradsch/thesis-diss-info/Publicationguide.pdf
The final copy of a thesis or dissertation cannot be read and approved until it has been defended and the title page has been signed by all committee members. However, the thesis coordinator will, if a student requests, review the earlier draft submitted concurrently to committee members.
Before submitting any copy of a graduate paper, students should check the style and format components listed below and make any necessary corrections.
___ Page numbers are correctly placed and accurate: Check against Contents, List of Tables, List of Figures, and instructions in USU Publication Guide.
___ Format of title page and other preliminary pages is consistent with USU requirements: Check against instructions and examples in USU Publication Guide.
___ Margins on all pages meet the following requirements: left, 1 1/2 inches; right and bottom, 1 inch; and to the top of the page number, 1 inch. (HINT: Top margin for text is next available line. Also, settings on word processors are not always reliable and photocopying often changes margins. Check submitted copy by hand.)
___ Spacing of text and headings meets USU requirements (triple space before and after centered headings and before side headings).
___ Levels of subheadings are consistent with a department-approved style guide (chapter and major section headings must be centered and fully capitalized in accordance with USU requirements) and descend in the same sequence in all chapters or sections.
___ Format of table titles is consistent with the department-approved style guide; wording, punctuation, and capitalization match the List of Tables. NOTE: Table titles are placed above the table.
___ Format of figure captions is consistent with the department-approved style guide; wording, punctuation, and capitalization match the List of Figures. NOTE: Figure captions are placed below the figure.
___ Format of all references in the text, notes, and reference list or bibliography is consistent with instructions or examples in the department-approved style guide.
If a reference list, rather than bibliography, has been used, check the following:
___ All references cited in the text are included in the reference list.
___ All references listed in the reference list are cited in the text.
___ Authors’ names and the years of publication in text citations match those in the reference list.
___ Permission-to-use letters have been included for all coauthors who are NOT on the title page.
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