Introductory courses like fundamentals of turfgrass culture often cover a broad range of topics in a very general way during regular classroom meetings. Since most students will likely own and/or maintain a lawn, the practical aspects (e.g. the actual appearance and feel of major turfgrass species, lawn mower selection, reading and interpreting fertilizer/pesticide labels and properly calculating product needs) of course content deserve further clarification. This is especially important if our current goal is to minimize potential environmental contamination derived from rapidly expanding turfgrass areas. To facilitate this extra learning without adding a laboratory or recitation section we introduced practical topics in a self-paced learning resource center environment. Each week students completed an assignment related to the course content on the corresponding semester syllabus. These additional assignments were well received by the students, > 90 % said they should be continued the next year for incoming students. Additionally the majority (> 85 %) reported that these assignments helped them better understand and apply the information presented in the classroom.