Student Originated Studies: Pacific Northwest Plant Identification

This 100% online, full summer session SOS (student-originated study) is designed for advanced botany students who would like to gain skills in plant identification using dichotomous keys Through lectures and active-learning group workshops students will learn about the classification and diversity of plant families with an emphasis on flowering plants native to the Pacific Northwest. Virtual plant identification labs will serve as a foundation for students to work through dichotomous keys to identify an unknown plant and for students to develop fluency in plant identification terminology. By the end of the quarter students will have the skills to identity 20 plant families by sight.

Students will have the option to enroll in up to 4 additional credits (so 8 total) to deepen their explorations of plants, field ecology and/or plant conservation). Students may choose to work independently or develop small group projects (remotely) to learn field skills in vegetation monitoring and florisitics (an in-depth study of a plant community in a given habitat or area) or to study specific topics including plant conservation, restoration and management, or a study of a specific habitat or plant species of interest. This portion of the program will also include asynchronous seminar discussions based in the primary literature, and weekly meetings as a group with faculty to problem solve and support group members' project work. The exact content of the shared portion will be determined during the first class meeting.

To successfully participate in this program, students will need a computer and reliable high-speed internet. Examples of remote technology that will be used include Zoom, Canvas, YouTube and iNaturalist. Students can expect a blend of 8-16 hours a week of asynchronous and 4 hours a week of synchronous work using Zoom and Canvas.