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Postsecondary institutions are currently developing and applying innovative curricula to meet the future demand for land managers and planners with a solid knowledge of soil science. The objective of this study was to describe and evaluate the University of British Columbia (UBC) Farm problem-based learning (PBL) case study within the upper level, undergraduate/ graduate Sustainable Soil Management course. The UBC Farm case led to compilation of a student-generated data set that dates back to 2004 and allowed students to work in collaboration with the UBC Farm managers and staff. Preliminary student feedback indicated that the UBC Farm case was effective at presenting the impacts of agricultural management practices on soil chemical properties and overall soil quality concepts. In addition, students found the hands-on activities of soil sampling, data interpretation, and working in collaboration with the farm staff to be stimulating. Having the opportunity to involve students in data collection each year allows instructors to build depth into the case, to ask more complex questions, and to cooperate with the farm manager in focusing on specific issues of relevance to the farm that change over time. This educational approach could serve as a framework for using PBL within postsecondary soil science curriculum in ways that support both student learning and natural resource management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased disengagement of the current generation of postsecondary students (sometimes referred as "net generation") from traditional instruction coupled with on-going popularity of games and mobile technologies have prompted interest in game-based learning in education. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate the viability of a mobile game-based learning quest, based on the Questogo platform (website and mobile app) in an undergraduate Forest Ecology course offered at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver. The disturbance ecology (DE) quest was designed as a selfstudy activity that supports field-based laboratory sections of the course. The quest included instructional, location-based, and question- and answer-type of tasks that tested students' knowledge of forest and disturbance ecology in an outdoor setting. After completing the DE quest, students provided feedback via an online survey. The majority of students found the DE quest to be a useful self-study tool, with 81% of respondents indicating that they were able to successfully engage with the mobile game-based learning technology. Sixty-six percent of the students would like to also see quests incorporated into other courses and 28% would like to have additional quests in the Forest Ecology course. This study provides a framework for incorporating mobile game-based learning into outdoor learning activities that offer students an engaging self-study educational experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]