Study motivations, learning approaches and nature relatedness of first-year on campus and online agriculture students

Abstract

Attrition rates from science courses, especially when studying online (distance) can be high, so courses need to be engaging and build on the wider range of background knowledge and experience of students. Adapting the Get Set for Success quiz developed across five Australian institutions for engineering, the non-cognitive factors such as approaches to learning and motivations for study was applied in this study (Burton et al., 2014). Threshold Learning Outcome for Agriculture 1.2, includes an understanding of sustainable use of natural resources, so the Nature Relatedness (NR) Scale (Nisbet et al., 2009) was added to the survey. Through survey feedback this project aimed to encourage students to reflect on their learning approaches, motivation for study and ecologically sustainable behaviour.