Crossword Puzzles as Teaching Tools in Introductory Soil Science.

Teaching today’s Introductory Soil Science students seems to require increasing active group-learning exercises.  One approach we attempted was the use of crossword puzzles to help students learn definitions, concepts, and soil taxonomy.  Short questionnaires indicated that the students felt the puzzles were helpful and that they preferred them to answering short-answer questions.  Based on our experiences, we will continue to develop puzzles as learning tools.