Advanced Ethnobotany is organized as a "Portfolio" course. You are expected to complete a set of assignments that form a portfolio of your work. We expect this portfolio to last and even grow. This will happen as you deposit the final, clean products of the class assignments into your personal web site that will be connected to this course web site. You will likely add materials to this portfolio over time, such as work completed in other classes or jobs. Your portfolio is a critical evaluation tool in this course. It is likely that it will be used for other purposes such as evidence of your background and abilities as you apply for employment.
Work Schedule/Pace: You will work more or less at your own pace through the semester although there are some specific due dates for first drafts of each portfolio element. This is a hands-on course so working regularly each week on different tasks will lead to success. Note that you are likely to be working on a revision of one project while beginning another one.
Portfolio Elements: Each completed portfolio consist of the elements listed in the following table (and which are described below). These are discrete elements that you have created over the course of the semester. In some cases, you might have multiple examples of a particular element, such as several digital posters.
Since your portfolio will be available for public viewing, you should not put in items that are drafts for review. Wait until you have completed the revisions and post only your final version.
Detailed instructions and examples of past student work are available for all of the portfolio elements.
Ethical Issues/Dilemmas: This course heavily emphasizes consideration of ethics within science, society, and developing an understanding of ethics for decision making behavior in all aspects of life. In at least half of the meeting sessions an ethical issue will be presented and/or discussed. Each time it will be your task to quickly identify the core ethical issue, the stakeholders involved in the issue and to analyze the issue using at least two different methods (from several that will be taught) in order to determine risks/benefits for participants and researchers. You will also need to thoughtfully consider how to prevent (through training, planning, avoidance, etc.) or mitigate the issue. Finally, you will be provided with the scientific codes of ethics used by ethnobotanists, botanists and anthropologists and will be expected to apply these when addressing these issues. Together, all of the above, when done well, can be addressed in a nice, tight paragraph that can mostly be composed within class as we are chatting about the issue as a group. We want you to learn to think "on-the-fly" and this is part of how we will be pushing for that sort of thinking to develop. 5 points. (expected time to complete: 10 minutes (after training), mostly within class discussion sessions.)
Web Site: Create a web site using the instructions on the web site page. This web site will be a professional representation of your work in this course and will serve as a means for submission of the portfolio assignments listed on this page. 40 points. (expected time to complete: 2 hours plus weekly updates of 5 minutes)
Curriculum Vitae: Create a CV that introduces you to the other students. This should be creatively designed and generally in they style of an "academic CV." The CV should include your major, academic address, prior education, relevant courses completed at the University, employment and volunteer experience, publications or presentations that have been made including titles of papers written for courses, languages spoken and other skills, and other information felt to be important. Your CV should NOT include personal photographs, date of birth, age, place of birth, social security numbers, and other information that should not be released to the public. 40 points. (expected time to complete: 2 hours)
Demonstration of Leadership: The course is organized around a series of discussion topics. You are expected to lead one of these “in class” discussions. The topics are listed in the course schedule. As a discussion leader, you will work with the instructor to prepare appropriate materials. The discussion should be organized so that groups can be formed for discussions, some kind of learning activity, or other means of relating topics to the other students. Creativity is encouraged. The group activity may be based on the literature provided as a reading. A group activity should take about 20 minutes. You must lead at least one group activity in order to receive a B or higher grade. Group activity options are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Each group activity that is led is worth up to 40 points. (expected time to complete: 2 hours)
Digital Poster: Posters are creative visual presentations that address specific research methods, plant species, or cultural practices. Your poster must emphasize the scientific analysis of human cultural interactions with plants and plant environments. You will create your poster using Microsoft PowerPoint and are expected to already be generally familiar with the operation of this software. The content for your poster will come from a published scientific article. This article must be one that is approved in advance by the instructor. All posters will become part of the BOT 440 permanent web site. You must produce at least one digital poster in order to receive a B or higher grade. Each digital poster is worth up to 40 points. (expected time to complete: 3 hours)
Plant Voucher Specimens: A voucher specimen is a representative sample of a plant species that is used for identification and as supporting evidence of information learned during the research process. It is critical that voucher specimens are preserved correctly so that the information they hold is available for long periods of time. As a result, specimens are processed in standardized ways, deposited in internationally recognized herbaria, and referenced within publications as evidence of research. You should produce a set of five mounted and labeled specimens that will be deposited in the University of Hawaii herbarium. Digital photographs of each completed specimens and the accompanying data will be posted in your portfolio. The completed set of five specimens is worth up to 40 points. (expected time to complete: 4 hours)
Informed Consent Forms: Informed consent forms are used in any kind of research in which people are involved. This includes almost all modern ethnobotany research. Informed consent includes two key elements: provision of very clear information about the research to be conducted with the reasonable expectation of what the results will be, and a clear choice by any participant in the project to participate or not, and if not, to receive the same benefits as anyone who chooses to participate. You are expected to produce one example of an informed consent statement package for a project that you could theoretically complete. A written informed consent form of one to three pages is worth up to 40 points. (expected time to complete: 2 hours)
Research Hypotheses: Research hypotheses are the basis for all scientific work, including ethnobotany. Your project will identify one published ethnobotany research article that strongly builds upon a hypothesis. (The same publications may not be used for the method and hypothesis assignments.) You must indicate the hypothesis, how it was tested, and if it was found to be supported or not. A written summary of the research in two paragraphs (using a format to be assigned) is worth up to 40 points. (expected time to complete: 2 hours)
Questionnaires Addressing Hypotheses: Questionnaires are often used in ethnobotanical research as part of a strategy to learn about patterns of human interactions with plants. Questionnaires are particularly useful in providing quantitative data that can be analyzed. You should produce a questionnaire, based on hypotheses, that includes sections on demographics and research questions. There should not be more than 20 questions on a one or two page form. The questionnaire is worth up to 40 points. (expected time to complete: 2 hours)
Research Methods Addressing Hypotheses: Research methods that properly test hypotheses are the basis for scientific work, including ethnobotany. You need to identify one published ethnobotany research article that uses a clearly reproducible method to address an hypothesis. (The same publications may not be used for the method and hypothesis assignments.) Your report must indicate the hypothesis and elaborate on how the particular method was used to test it. A written summary of the research method in two to four pages is worth up to 60 points. (expected time to complete: 4 hours)
Investigative Research Project: An investigative report consists of an in-depth examination of an ethnobotanical situation or problem. You are expected to pose hypotheses, gather and use scientific data and facts, and demonstrate your understanding of plant biology. You must also tie in your findings and ideas with an accurate use of reference materials. Your project will be judged on its scientific merit as well as its clarity, organization, and creativity. It is expected that your report will consist of 10-15 pages of clearly written text documenting your work; data appendixes, figures, and tables may be included on additional pages. You must produce at least one investigative research project in order to receive a B or higher grade. Each investigative research project is worth up to 120 points. You may work together with another student on this project but the number of points earned will be divided equally between the two of you. (expected time to complete: 8 hours)