Using Canvas‐based quizzes to improve integrative reasoning and efficiency in collegiate soil judging

Abstract

Soil judging contests are an opportunity for undergraduate students to develop and apply soil science skills by describing soil profiles in the field followed by interpretation and classification of the observed morphology. We developed a series of Canvas quizzes to facilitate repeated exposure to taxonomic concepts that students completed before the contest using R and existing pedon lab data. As a result, students could classify and interpret the data without having to complete a morphological description. Following the soil judging contest, the participating students completed a 5 point Likert‐scale survey. Survey data demonstrated that the quizzes enhanced contest preparation efforts, specifically regarding skill development (4.6 0.5) and conceptual integration (4.2 0.6). Furthermore, student responses highlighted that the modules reinforced foundational knowledge and enabled skill transfer to unfamiliar soil profiles (4.1 1.0). Despite a limited survey sample size, the findings suggest that the quizzes complement field‐based teaching efforts. A key strength is the reproducibility of the rule‐based framework implemented here, though the technical skills required may not be introductory. Future work could introduce a database of validated pedons, as well as a standardized workflow adoptable by those with limited programming experience.