Erickson M G, Ranathunga S D, Wattiaux M A
Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI.
Transl Anim Sci. 2020 Nov 7;4(4):txaa202. doi: 10.1093/tas/txaa202. eCollection 2020 Oct.
The rapid pace of advancement in animal sciences is drastically changing conditions for undergraduate teaching and learning in the discipline. Shortly after the American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) centennial, we conducted a national survey of 90 faculty instructors from 49 academic institutions to assess their perceptions of emerging teaching topics. Participants rated 18 learning outcomes (LO) and 16 types of courses and experiences (CE) with respect to their importance and the adequacy of available offerings. This study presents the results of the survey along with a scoping review of animal sciences teaching and learning publications since 2008 ( = 71). Results indicated that discipline-specific competencies and core experiential learning remain central to animal sciences teaching and identified several distinct needs for research. Namely, we suggest that future research in animal sciences teaching and learning 1) develop animal-science-specific expertise on a greater variety of pedagogies, 2) validate improved methods for assessing transferable skills, 3) expand pedagogical knowledge of emerging topics (e.g., sustainability, data science, welfare science, social science), and 4) deepen and broaden animal sciences' teaching and learning identity through theory-building work and collaborations across instructors, disciplines, and institutions.
动物科学领域的快速发展正在极大地改变该学科本科教学与学习的状况。在美国动物科学学会（ASAS）成立一百周年后不久，我们对来自49所学术机构的90名教师进行了一项全国性调查，以评估他们对新兴教学主题的看法。参与者就18项学习成果（LO）和16种课程及体验类型（CE）的重要性以及现有课程的充足性进行了评分。本研究展示了调查结果，并对自2008年以来的动物科学教学与学习出版物进行了范围综述（ = 71）。结果表明，特定学科能力和核心体验式学习仍然是动物科学教学的核心，并确定了几个不同的研究需求。具体而言，我们建议未来在动物科学教学与学习方面的研究：1）在更多样化的教学方法上发展特定于动物科学的专业知识；2）验证评估可转移技能的改进方法；3）扩展对新兴主题（如可持续性、数据科学、福利科学、社会科学）的教学知识；4）通过理论构建工作以及教师、学科和机构之间的合作，深化和拓宽动物科学的教学与学习身份认同。
