This week we will be getting to know each other, sharing some of our experiences from working in SE Asia, and providing an overview of what will be learned in this semester. Our primary objective as a class is to become prepared with appropriate knowledge and developed resources so that when biodiversity researchers working in SE Asia are encountered you will be able to engage them in intelligent discussions about their research and be able to integrate what they relate into the overall structure of biocultural diversity and conservation research in the Mekong Region and SE Asia.
Learning Objectives: After participation in class and completion of assignments for this week you will be able to:
- State the unique skills and backgrounds of each other participant in the course so that we may all work together to achieve the course primary objective.
- Recognize relationships between quantitative and qualitative data and be able to work with interpretive ranges of information classifications. You will be able to classify a variety of systems and ranges for measuring and evaluating regional physical and biological parameters.
- Add information into the course web site that will be viewed and used by yourself and other class participants in order to be prepared to ask meaningful questions about biocultural diversity and conservation within the Mekong Region and SE Asia in general.
- Explain how grades for the course are to be earned, what assignments will be expected within the course, and how the set of assignments will be preparing you to think about conservation in the Mekong Region.
- Define a range of vocabulary conservation terms that will be used often within this course, such as "sustainability," "habitat fragmentation," and "diversity index."
- Summarize the evolutionary history of SE Asian biodiversity with a basic understanding of the role of geology/topography and weather patterns/climate in shaping the diversity of biomes, ecosystems and species found in the region.
- Each student will need to find one measured and evaluated physical (non-biological, non-cultural, non-political) data source and write 2-4 sentences about how it is used. This should be posted in the course assignment page listed to the left. Submit before the end of the week.
- Students work as a group to divide the following tasks into a fair distribution:
- Provide at least three definitions for "sustainability," "habitat fragmentation," and "diversity index" with complete citations for sources of each definition from the literature.
- Provide a one paragraph summary of the geological history of SE Asia that includes important dates with complete citations for sources from the literature.
- Provide a one paragraph summary of annual weather patterns in SE Asia that includes important seasonal variations with complete citations for sources from the literature.
- For the next class find and read one published research article on an aspect of the gross evolutionary history of biodiversity within SE Asia. Be prepared to give a very brief summary (2-5 minutes) of what was learned from the article.
Discussion Outlines:
- Instructor, student, and other participant introductions
- Discussion of individual and course learning objectives
- Presentation of course learning system and objectives
- Web site walk though and expectations of use
- Pre- and Post- Spring Break Course activities
- Grades, weekly assignments and final exam
- Google addresses
- Flickr, Panaramio, etc.to build resource materials
- Workroom
- Review weekly assignment cycle
- Discussion of measurement classification systems and first assignment (1a above)
- Map of SE Asia, using GIS, etc.
- Discussion of course "teaching philosophy" and how this is expected to result in individual and group learning.
- Individual presentations of information learned from articles that have been read about physical geography of SE Asia
- Group discussion of what has been learned
- Group discussion of what might be missing yet important to know about the region
- Group discussion and decision about how to fill in missing information
- Modification, if needed, of subsequent assignments for finding readings