Faculty Indicate Need for Instructional Multi-Media Resources for Use In Teaching Nursery Production

An online survey was conducted in Fall 2008 regarding the instruction of college level courses in Nursery Production.  Instructors at 103 land-grant universities were contacted, and 54 completed the survey (52% response rate).  Thirty schools indicated that they currently offer a course in Nursery Management/ Production with an average enrollment of 25 students.  Multimedia tools (video, web, etc.) were used at almost all schools, however, availability of multimedia tools for Nursery Production topics and the difficulty of integrating current resources into existing courses limited their use in classroom. Almost all respondents agreed that a set of instructional DVDs containing video footage of key aspects of nursery management/production would be helpful to provide or supplement instruction of some or all topics.  Additionally, it was indicated that DVDs would be most helpful if content was arranged by topic rather than by individual nursery.  Although half of respondents indicated that instructional DVDs couldn’t completely substitute for current field trips, most all agreed that DVDs could effectively substitute for field trips that they currently are not able to take and for aspects they are not able to observe in person.  One respondent indicated, and the authors agree, that field trips are better for providing overviews of nursery operations and allowing students to actually see what a nursery looks like rather than showing detailed images of all the individual aspects of nursery management/production.  Short video footage segments can easily be incorporated into classroom lectures and can provide close-up images of and instruction on specific components like fertilizer application, pruning, potting machines, etc. that may not be visible or accessible if simply touring parts of a nursery.  Cost, transportation logistics, time, and availability of nearby qualified nurseries were cited as the main issues associated with including field trips as part of the course.  Accessibility was the main obstacle to observing somewhat specialized topics such as bare-root harvesting/grading/storage, international issues, and innovation/mechanization.  Respondents were asked to identify nurseries they would visit if time, money, and resources were not limiting.  Many identified several major nursery operations which are some of the most important in terms of technology, scope of operations, and plant material but are often too far away to visit.  Additionally, most respondents, when asked which states they would like to visit, listed states covering a very broad geographic range, one which could not feasibly be covered by a single class.