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Teaching the art and science of plant disease diagnosis: Training students with DIAGNOSIS for Crop Problems.
Terry M. Stewart
Institute of Natural Resources Massey University Palmerston North New Zealand t.stewart@massey.ac.nz
Stewart, T.M. 2004. Teaching the art and science of plant disease diagnosis: Training students with DIAGNOSIS for Crop Problems. The Plant Health Instructor. DOI:10.1094/PHI-T-2004-0426-01
INTRODUCTION
The ability to diagnose an abnormal plant condition is an important skill for the practicing plant pathologist. Those working in the area of plant pathology extension are often called upon to undertake this task in the course of their daily activities. Even lab-based plant pathologists should have an appreciation of the diagnostic process as they may also engage in it at some stage in their careers. Plant diagnosis is both an art and a science, and it requires considerable experience to become skilled at the task (2). How then, can students be best educated in this process? In the absence of the "the real thing", one way experience can be gained is to give students the opportunity to explore and analyse diagnostic "cases" or "scenarios." The use of case studies as learning tools in plant pathology has been reported by other authors (6). In educational terms, this facilitates "goal-based" or "problem-based" learning, an effective learning paradigm that has gained wide acceptance among educators (7). The article below describes the use and development of DIAGNOSIS for Crop Problems (DIAGNOSIS), a computer-based authoring tool and scenario presenter which facilitates training in plant disease diagnosis. Constructing training scenarios is also covered.
DIAGNOSTIC REASONING
Before describing the DIAGNOSIS training system, it is useful to spend time considering the diagnostic process itself. Although little work has been done on the process of diagnostic reasoning in plant pathology, this topic has been researched extensively in medicine, where clinical diagnosis is a necessary skill for any practitioner. The process of diagnostic reasoning follows the Select and Test Model (ST-Model) described in (Figure 1) (9). Although developed to explain clinical diagnosis in medicine, it can be applied to plant diagnosis. As we see from the model, upon the first observations of a disease, a diagnostician would take those observations and form hypotheses which may explain the causes behind the signs and symptoms. Such a process is known as abduction. Deduction is then used to narrow down the cause by seeking data which support these hypotheses. For example, if we know that crown rot of apples (Phythophthora cactorum) on a susceptible cultivar exhibits a basal rot or canker, and we suspect that the crop is affected by crown rot, then we can deduce that if we examine the base of the trees, we should see a canker! This deductive process may require the diagnostician to carry out a series of tasks or tests that will reveal more data. Sometimes, as a result of the tasks carried out during this deductive process, the observations may not match the hypothesis being investigated. If this is the case, new data may be sought, other hypotheses explored or new hypotheses created. The process by which hypotheses are rejected or strengthened is
through a particular type of induction. The term induction is most often used to refer to a process where observable facts are synthesized into generalizations or laws (Types I and II). However, during diagnosis, a particular type of induction (Type III) is used, which compares the assertions of the hypotheses in question, with the observable facts (5). For example, if many basal cankers are found in apples of a particular cultivar, and it is known that basal cankers are a feature of crown rot, a disease common in that same cultivar, then comparing these two statements strengthens the hypothesis that the condition in question is indeed a reflection of crown rot. The ST-model is one representation from a host of studies on diagnostic reasoning. Other researchers describe this process as forward reasoning (i.e. abduction) and backward reasoning (i.e. deductioninduction) (3). While the ST-model shows the general process of diagnostic reasoning, the heuristics used can differ between the expert and non-expert. Non-experts tend to use non-selective search and seek patterns which can be poor for formulating hypotheses. Experts on the other hand, recognise patterns and can generate hypotheses quickly, on the basis of just a few observations. Hence their use of forwardreasoning is high. Research suggests that only about seven hypotheses are active at one time during any diagnostic episode, constrained by the limited capacity of short-term memory (4). A recent review of clinical problem-solving and diagnostic decision-making in medicine has been published by Elsein and Schwarz, 2002 (1). How does knowing about the cognitive process which takes place during diagnosis assist with training plant pathology students to better identify and assess plant diseases? Knowing the process is important both in using, and developing, diagnostic teaching scenarios for students to explore. Realistic scenarios are required, and such scenarios should allow the students to undertake this diagnostic reasoning. Students, at the level of knowledge being taught, should have the opportunity to form hypotheses on the basis of the initial scenario information and explore them. This means the problems should not be too easy so that they are diagnosed immediately, nor should they be so difficult and beyond the student's subject knowledge (or their ability to find that knowledge) that they are unable to form any meaningful hypotheses at all.
field or environment containing this problem, usually accompanied by a grower who can supply information on management and the history of the crop. Then, by way of navigational links and icons, the student gathers observations about the plant and environment, checks equipment and asks questions of the grower. Students can collect objects such as plant parts, weeds and soil and take them to a laboratory for testing. Here they can make further observations, look up further information (such as weather data), try to extract the causal organisms and/or conduct a number of tests.
Figure 2 Once students feel they have enough information to make a diagnosis, they enter this into the computer along with a justification and recommendation. Students can then be told the answer and be given immediate feedback or (more commonly) the student input is later extracted by their instructor, printed out and graded. In the case of the latter, feedback is appended to their input text. Feedback takes the form of the diagnosis, a correct interpretation of the significant observations, the common investigative pathway an experienced diagnostician would have taken and a model recommendation to the grower. Some feedback is customised depending on whether or not students carried out particular tasks. Many of the tasks in DIAGNOSIS, such as laboratory tests, have a price tag associated with them. If instructors wish it, students can be given a budget before the exercise and asked not to exceed it. This gives some incentive for the students to limit themselves to tasks and tests appropriate to the likely problem rather than trying all the menu options. It mirrors the real world, where such procedures do indeed cost real money. Scenarios, then, are the "data" used by the DIAGNOSIS program. The software provides a "Builder" tool for instructors so that scenarios can be constructed or altered as desired (Figure 3). A scenario "Player" program then presents the problems to students. Constructing scenarios is discussed more fully later in this paper.
Figure 3 Version 3 of DIAGNOSIS uses modern Windows technology and NT/2000/XP conventions. It considerably enhances the DIAGNOSIS experience over previous versions by allowing the creation of customized icons and interfaces (Figures 2 and 3). It also allows instructors to embed, or hyperlink to, reference information either on the hard disk or the Internet. This feature enables instructors to provide not only the problem, but also information on the significance of what the student is considering at the time. In this way, its usefulness
as a problem-based scenario engine is considerably enhanced. Also, scenarios can now be written in any language, making the tool more accessible to instructors and students throughout the world. With the previous versions of DIAGNOSIS, students were not aware of the significance of observations until the debriefing at the end. In the current version, there is the option to provide feedback as they explore the scenario.
An evaluation was carried out in 2002 and 2003 on DIAGNOSIS for Crop Problems version 3 with a combined total of 14 students enrolled in the Plant Pathology class in consecutive years. Table 1 is a result of a questionnaire that students completed after working through two DIAGNOSIS scenarios. The results show a positive response to the exercises. Table 1 - DIAGNOSIS for Crop Problem 2002-2003 student survey (1 = strongly agree, 5= strongly disagree) Statement I enjoyed these exercises. The interface was intuitive and easy to use. These exercises helped me improve my knowledge of the diagnostic process. I would have learned more from just covering diagnostic examples given in formal lectures rather than using the software. I would have learned more from just being given diagnostic examples in written form to read about at home rather than using the software. I found the typed creators solution feedback comments on the returned script helpful. I prefer to go through a scenario with one other, rather than myself Note: sample size = 14 Student surveys were always qualitative as there were usually no more than 10 or so students in the class at any one time. This made obtaining statistically significant data difficult. However, the comments provided by students led to improvements in the software. Mean 1.4 1.6 1.6 4.3 4.4 1.7 2.5 Std Dev 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.7 1.2
CONCLUSION
Teaching the diagnostic process is an important but often overlooked aspect of the plant pathology curriculum. For this component, DIAGNOSIS has aided the move from an information-based style of teaching to a problem-based one. However, like all teaching technologies, it is how it is used that matters (8). The value of DIAGNOSIS as an educational experience is not the Builder and the Player software, useful though these are. The real value of DIAGNOSIS is in the quality of the scenarios and how the exercises are used within a course. The software is a useful tool, but it will always require good teachers and good scenarios to realize its full potential.
REFERENCES
(1) Elstein, A.S. and Schwarz, A. 2002. Clinical problem-solving and diagnostic decision making. Selective review of the cognitive literature. Brit. Med. J. 321: 729-732. (2)Grogan R.G. 1981. The science and art of pest and disease diagnosis. Annu. Rev. Phytopathol. 19: 333351. (3)Hunt, E. 1989. Cognitive science: definition, status and questions. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 40: 603-629. (4)Kassier, J.P. 1989. Diagnostic reasoning. Ann. Intern. Med. 110: 893-900.
(5)Magnani L. 1997. Basic science reasoning and clinical reasoning intertwined: Epistemological analysis and consequences for medical education. Adv. Health Sci. Educ. 2: 115-130. (6) Mathre D.E. and Grey, W.E. 2002. Naughty peat: a case study in plant pathology, with emphasis on Koch's postulates and disease etiology. The Plant Health Instructor. DOI: 10.1094/PHI-T-2002-0301-01. (7)Schank, R., Fano, A., Bell, B., and Jona, M. 1993. The design of goal-based scenarios. J. Learning Sci. 3:305-345. (8)Schumann, G. 2003. Innovations in teaching plant pathology. Annu. Rev. Phytopathol. 41: 377-398. (9)Stefanelli, M., and Ramoni, M. 1991. Epistemological constraints on medical knowledge-based systems, in: D.A. Evans, V.L. Patel Eds. , Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Advanced Models of Cognition for Medical Training and Practice, ll Ciocco, Barga, Italy, June 19-22, Springer-Verlag, pp. 3-20, Published in cooperation with NATO Scientific Affairs Division. (10)Stewart T.M. 1992. Diagnosis. A Microcomputer-based teaching-aid: Plant Dis. 76:644-647. (11)Stewart T.M., Duncan, S., and Rankin, L. 1992. Plant Diagnosis - "Detective work" via HyperCard. Abstracts from Pacific University Conference '92. Kyoto, Japan: 96-97. (12)Stewart T.M., Blackshaw, B.P.,Duncan, S., Dale, M.L., Zalucki, M.P., and Norton, G.A. 1995. Diagnosis: a novel, multimedia, computer-based approach to training crop protection practitioners. Crop Prot. 14:241246. (13)Stewart, T., Kemp, R., Bartrum, P. 2001. Computerised Problem Based Scenarios in Practice - A Decade of DIAGNOSIS. IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies, Madison, USA. pp. 153-156.http://www.diagnosis.co.nz/
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