Abstract Detail

Education and Outreach

Using Mystery to Encourage Active Learning.

To give students a greater appreciation and cultivate enthusiasm for plants in an introductory undergraduate Plant Biology course, students explore the botany of mystery plants. Starting the first week of the semester, students are given mystery seeds that they are required to germinate and grow for 12 -14 weeks in the greenhouse. Using the knowledge gained during the semester from the course, students determine what to examine, how to examine, what their observations mean, and the endpoint of their project. Students use these observations, to ultimately identify the mystery plant during the last two weeks of the project. Laboratory and field components of the course are structured and scaffolded so as to facilitate student progress on the mystery plant project throughout the semester. In addition to a more detailed paper that describes the botany of their plant, students showcase their findings in the form of a fun creative project that allows them to share their semester long findings with their peers. Creative projects in the past have taken the form of slam poetry, music of rap and popular songs set to botanical lyrics, children’s book, dramatic short video to name a few. My presentation will share how the Mystery Plant Project allows for greater student ownership and active learning and is yet another way to effectively generate excitement about plants.

1 - Biology Program, Loras College, 1450 Alta Vista Street, Dubuque, IA, 52001, United States

Keywords:
none specified

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: EO2, Education and Outreach I: Outreach & Pedagogy
Location: Virtual/Virtual
Date: Thursday, July 30th, 2020
Time: 10:45 AM
Number: EO2004
Abstract ID:785
Candidate for Awards:None