Monday, 7 November 2005
11

Evaluation of Field Skills in the Indiana Registry of Soil Scientists.

Donald P. Franzmeier, Agronomy Dept., Purdue Univ., 915 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47906-2054 and William D. Hosteter, Soil Consultant, 2094 E. 450 N., Frankfort, IN 46041.

Indiana soil science registration began in 2002. Most requirements are similar to those of ARCPACS, except that an examination on Indiana Soils and Field Skills is required for initial registration, and Indiana Registered Soil Scientists (RSS) must participate in evaluations of field skills at least once in every three-year registration cycle in what we call field continuing education unit (CEUf) sessions. RSS mostly do field evaluations of soil morphology and landscapes for onsite sewage disposal (septic) systems. Thus, their field skills are more important than how they answer multiple choice questions on written exams. Most RSS work individually or for small companies and few have built-in systems to evaluate performance such as are in place for government and university employees. With no periodic checks, the judgment of field soils scientists could drift. A CEUf session consists of three parts: 1) Soil texture estimates of 10 samples are compared with laboratory results. 2) Morphological features of two horizons are compared with the judgment of two experienced RSS. 3) Pedon properties such as slope, depth to limiting conditions, landscape position and similar characteristics are also judged by two RSS. When all participants in a session have completed the three parts, papers are collected and official answers are given at the site, which stimulates discussion. There are no passing grades. The mean and standard deviation for the total scores of all participants are calculated. Those with scores within plus or minus one sd of the average are told they are on track. Those above the upper limit are asked to help others. Those below the lower limit are advised to seek more training if they offer services to the public. Five sessions have been offered and were generally well received by participants. Examples of exams will be shown at the poster session.


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