24 Jul 2026
| 24 Jul 2026
Status: this preprint is open for discussion and under review for SOIL (SOIL).
Teaching soil as a system: interactivity, place, plural knowledge, and AI
Abstract.
Reasoning about soil as a coupled system is a central aim of graduate training in soil science. Soil science is now often taught within broader degrees, without the specialists who once made systems teaching natural. Curriculum compression and lacking interactivity have kept systems reasoning out of many programmes. Large language models, now accessible to students, have made that absence harder to ignore. Here, we set out the design principles for an undergraduate soil science unit built around four requirements: interactivity, place, plural knowledge, and AI discernment. Interactive models, repeated landscape comparisons, Indigenous and Two-Way knowledge, and AI interrogation operationalise these requirements. Assessment, designed from intended outcomes, integrates them into one capability: place-specific reasoning from evidence. We provide a worked example that other soil science programmes can adapt.
Competing interests: At least one of the (co-)authors is a member of the editorial board of SOIL.
Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this paper. While Copernicus Publications makes every effort to include appropriate place names, the final responsibility lies with the authors. Views expressed in the text are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.
The manuscript is well-written, based on recent experience and offers many insights. I especially like the mature discussion on strengths and weaknesses of AI and how is availability should change the way soil science is taught.
If space allows, it may be good to start at an earlier stage of 'curriculum design' rather then 'course design within established curriculum', as the current text appears to be. Curriculum design typically includes an analysis of the type of professional careers and jobs that are available/expected-to-become-attractive and what that means forÂ
Knowledge/understanding
Skills
Values
Your current text starts from existing Soil Science teaching traditions; it may help readers if the changes in soil science careers for example: In an expanding phase of agriculture soil mapping  and land suitability for targeted crops employed many graduates with a profile of fieldwork, soil classification, mapping and targeted soil analysis; 'reading a landscape' became intuition, validated theories of place the signs of success. Where intensification on existing agricultural lands became the focus, soil management, precision farming and quantified environmental impacts increased the need for 'system thinking' and 'process-based models'. In an era of climate change adaptation, regenerative agriculture and re-discovered circularity, the expectations once again shift.Â
For Indonesia a brief historical overview of topics along with a dramatic gender shift in soil science student bodies was provided in Hairiah, K. et al. 2022. Hundred fifty years of soil security research in Indonesia: Shifting topics, modes of research and gender balance. Soil Security, 6, p.100049. For other countries similar analyses may be available and could add further depth to your manuscript.Â