Biology 5460
Fall 2011

Student Led Debates
Utah Veg. Project
Utah Veg. Online Manual
Climate Project
Grading and Exams
Course Policies
Objectives & Texts
Past Course Evaluations
WebCT


Class Meeting Schedule

10:45 am - 12:05 pm
Tuesday and Thursday
320 AEB

Mark Blonquist

Instructor
(801) 585-5671
mark.blonquist@utah.edu

Jinny McGavien

Coordinator
(801) 581-6414
jinny.mcgavien@utah.edu

Suzy Khachaturyan

Teaching Assistant
suzy.khachaturyan@gmail.com


Printable Syllabus

Grading Breakdown

 Students are requested to participate in one of many debate group discussions, which focus on issues of broad interest to the general public and related to plant ecology. These discussions will take place during class for about a 20-minute period at the end of class. Please see the debate schedule for a list of group discussion topics. Each discussion debate will consist of pro and con students (1 student each) on a particular topic.

To prepare for these discussions, groups will want to review recent literature (scientific articles, magazine articles, newspaper articles, etc.). Your assignment will be to lead a lively and informative debate style discussion on this topic between the pro-con groups for a total of 16 minutes. Powerpoint presentations are encouraged. There is a specific presentation format: each group is given exactly 4 minutes to present their case. After the inital round, then students will be given up to 4 additional minutes to respond and further develop their position. We will then open the discussion to questions from the class audience, with each pro-con group responding to the question (as appropriate).
Biology 5460 - Plant Ecology