W-1 Writing Floristic Treatments: A workshop for
Authors and Editors
8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Presenters: Nancy Morin, P. O. Box 333, Point Arena,
CA 95468; E-mail nancy.morin@nau.edu;
James Zarucchi and
Kay Yatskievych, Missouri Botanical Garden, P.O. Box 299, St. Louis,
MO 63166-0299
This workshop will sharpen authors' and editors skills in preparing
and writing treatments for major floristic projects. Included will
be considerations for consulting herbarium specimens, on how to organize
information for large taxa, on nomenclature and bibliography, and
on how to provide information for illustrators. Furthermore, the
entire editorial process (used by Flora of North America) as it affects
authors and editors will be covered, from initial submission through
composition. The workshop is open to all authors and editors of floristic
treatments, actual or prospective, even though the emphasis will
be on FNA approaches.
W-2 Strategies for Guiding Student Investigations
8:00 am - 10:00
am
Presenters: Claire Hemingway, The Botanical Society
of America, Box 299, St. Louis, Missouri, 63166 - chemingway@botany.org;
Beverly Brown, Dakota State University, College of Arts and Sciences,
Science Center, Madison, South Dakota, 57042;
Donna Hazelwood, Dakota State University, College of Arts and Sciences,
Science Center, Madison, South Dakota, 57042;
Valdine McLean, Pershing County High School, 1215 Franklin Ave., Lovelock,
Nevada, 89419;
Carol Packard, Sisters Middle School, Box 2099, Sisters, Oregon, 97759;
Rahmona Thompson, East Central University, Department of Biology,
1100 East 14th St, Ada, Oklahoma 74820;
Barbara Schulz, The National Academies, The Teacher Advisory Council,
500 Fifth Street, Washington, DC, 2001;
Marshall Sundberg, Emporia State University, Biological Sciences,
Box 4050, Emporia, Kansas, 66801;
Patrick Sweeney, University of Missouri-St. Louis, Biology Department,
One University Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri, 63121
A critical challenge in science education, from precollege to university,
is the need to enhance students and teachers' inquiry and investigation
experiences. The recent publication of America's Lab Report: Investigations
in High School Science emphasizes that most laboratory experiences
do not meet design principles that promote student understanding
of science content or process. Join K-16 educators to share strategies
to help students ask and answer better questions, develop scientific
reasoning skills, understand the nature of science, and learn science
content in context. We will present our experiences using the Scientific
Inquiry through Plants project as a framework to discuss common hurdles
and solutions for implementing inquiry approaches. The workshop will
also have hands-on explorations of student preconceptions, ways of
promoting scientific habits of mind, and guiding students in keeping
a research journal, designing, and interpreting experiments.
W-3 MorphBank: An Open Web Repository for Biological
Images
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Presenters: Austin Mast, Dept. of Biological Science
Florida State University Tallahassee, Florida 32306 Phone: 850 645
1500 Fax: 850
644 9829 - amast@bio.fsu.edu;
Fredrik Ronquist, Dept. of Computer Science and School of Computational
Science Florida State University Tallahassee, FL 32306;
David Gaitros, Dept. of Computer Science and School of Computational
Science Florida State University Tallahassee, FL 32306;
Greg Riccardi, College of Information Florida State University Tallahassee,
FL 32306 Phone: 850 644 2869 Fax: 850 644 0058
Many biological disciplines draw important conclusions from images.
These disciplines include comparative morphology, anatomy, and histology,
morphological phylogenetics, taxonomy, and paleobiology. However,
many of these images cannot be published due to page constraints
in journals, and thus they are not widely available. MorphBank is
for these images what GenBank is for genetic data - an easily accessed
storehouse with added functionality tailored to the disciplines using
the resource. This workshop will introduce participants to MorphBank,
particularly what the technology now offers to morphological phylogenetics
and the remote annotation of natural history specimens. Participants
will be guided through the MorphBank interface, including the submission
and annotation of images and the creation of access privileges for
collaborations at early stages. This is a great opportunity for potential
users to view and comment on the design of this emerging resource.
W-4 Developing a Hands-on Distance Education Laboratory
in Nonmajors General Biology
8:00 am - 12:00 pm
Presenters: James E. Mickle, Department of
Botany Box 7612 North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC 27695-7612,
Phone: (919) 515-9050 FAX: (919) 515-7519 james_mickle@ncsu.edu;
Patricia M. Aune - patty_aune@ncsu.edu
This workshop is based on a distance education nonmajors general biology
laboratory course that is hands-on and has few "virtual" (internet-based)
activities. Students are mailed kits that contain basic materials
and a manual to complete the activities, although some supplies must
be obtained by the student. Lab exercises emphasize biological principles
but are safe in a household setting. The workshop will demonstrate
some lab activities, discuss strategies for development of a distance
laboratory course, and provide materials and opportunities for discussion
toward development of lab units for your own situation.
W-5 Using the Original and Newly ImprovedVersions
of C-Fern® in Inquiry-based Teaching
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Presenters: Les Hickok, Biochemistry,
Cell and Molecular Biology M407 Walters Life Sciences University
of Tennessee, Knoxville
TN 37996 phone
and fax: 865-974-6215 - lhickok@utk.edu
C-Fern®, a derived strain of the tropical fern Ceratopteris, is
a simple and rapidly developing organism that is adaptable to teaching
a wide range of biological principles. All stages of sexual reproduction
following meiosis take place within a two-week period. During this
time, single-celled spores give rise to multicellular male and hermaphrodite
gametophytes that produce large numbers of actively swimming sperm.
Visualizations of sperm (including chemotaxis), fertilization, and
embryo development can be made at 20X or higher. This allows for basic
developmental and genetic principles to be introduced to students in
a powerful and visual manner. The presence of distinct gametophyte
sexual types encourages active student investigations into the basic
controls of sexual differentiation. Low expense and easy maintenance,
along with rapid development, permit C-Fern to be used successfully
under constraints commonly encountered in the classroom/laboratory.
For both teaching and student research purposes, focusing on early
stages of gametophyte development allows many experiments to be completed
in a very short time. A newly derived strain of C-Fern® that develops
from spore-to-spore in under 65 days will be introduced at this workshop.
Successful sporophyte culture of this strain can be readily accomplished
in 16 oz. plastic bottles, allowing students to become fully engaged
with the entire life cycle over an 8-10 week period. Participants will
be provided with and will work with cultures of all stages of the life
cycle.
W-6 Preparing Figure Files for Publication
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Presenters: Jeff Monson, Art Department,
Allen Press (publisher of American Journal of Botany);
Beth E. Hazen, Production Editor, American Journal of Botany; E-mail: behazen@willowsend.net
Jeff Monson, supervisor of Allen Press's Art Department,
will introduce participants to the basics of preparing figures for
print
publications
using Photoshop.
Participants
may bring their own laptops and Photoshop and submit questions in advance
to Beth (behazen@willowsend.net) or bring questions and figure files
to the workshop.
Topics will include
•
Basic graphic types: vector vs. raster (pixel); when to use them
•
Most common problems, with real examples: resolution, file format,
image compression, image mode, fonts
•
Photoshop basics: image mode, resolution and resizing, making composites,
labeling
•
Question and answer: submit questions or files in advance (until 5
days before the meeting starts) or at the session
W-7 Integrating Digital Imaging
Into the Laboratory Curriculum
8:00
pm - 5:00 pm
Presenters: Bruce W. Robart, Department of Biology
University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Johnstown, PA 15904 - robart@pitt.edu;
Pamela Diggle, Department of Biology University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
Johnstown, PA 15904;
Kim Ziance, Department of Biology University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
Johnstown, PA 15904;
Bruce K. Kirchoff, Department of Biology University of North Carolina
P.O. Box 26170 Greensboro, NC 27402-6170
During traditional flora, morphology, anatomy and general biology laboratories,
observed materials are documented with hand-drawn images that are
often very poor representations of the actual materials or if rendered
more exactly, are tedious to obtain. While serious students may take
the added time to properly document these materials, many others
adopt a "see and flee" attitude. Digital images of biological
materials, on the other hand, can be easily obtained by a variety
of means: digital cameras, digital microscopes, and flatbed scanners.
Our laboratory sessions are designed so that students collect and
properly label images of available materials to illustrate their
laboratory manuals and document their answers to laboratory exercises.
We have discovered that not only do students synthesize what they
have learned from textbook and lecture, the process of obtaining
these images also actively engages students in the learning process
through cooperative learning with each other and the instructor.
The sense of accomplishment in this creative act generates positive
feedback that further motivates students in the learning process.
Students can also use images to share on websites or as study guides
for quizzes and lab practicals. In this half day workshop we will
showcase various student projects, demonstrate how to obtain digital
images (computers and digital imaging devices will be available for
use), and illustrate other uses of digital images such as video capture
and 3-D rendering of serial sections. During this workshop, participants
will also be encouraged to develop and share their own laboratory
exercises that incorporate this technology.
W-8 Techniques of Digital Image Enhancement
for Teaching and Research
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Presenters: Ryan McMillen, Andrew Blackwell and Joel
A. Long - Southern Illinois University - dumbremindr@aol.com;
Images serve as a universal medium for communicating complex patterns
and concepts in the sciences. With the advent of computers and superior
imaging capabilities, the potential for these technologies to advance
science is immeasurable. Therefore, knowledge of image enhancing
software is an ever more valuable skill. Biological photographs and
images captured from a variety of microscopes are often dull because
hues and levels not been corrected (e.g., tones, brightness and contrast).
Through a process of maximizing contrast and adjusting/ adding color,
images may be enhanced substantially, thereby elevating quality in
any biological teaching and research endeavor. Also, color-enhanced
images from research tools such as scanning electron microscopes
can provide attractive, informative and innovative learning resources.
This workshop is designed to introduce and familiarize participants
with the versatility of Adobe Photoshop® in image correction.
The workshop will be divided into two 90-minute sessions covering
basic and advanced techniques. The first session will focus on the
topics of resolution, image size, cropping, adjusting levels and
scanning procedures. The second session will focus on colorization
of electron micrographs.
W-9 Becoming a GBIF Provider: Why and How
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Presenters: Mary Barkworth, Intermountain Herbarium
Utah State University 5305 Old Main Hill Logan, Utah 84322-5305 - mary@biolog.usu.edu
The goal of the Global Biodiversity Information facility (GBIF) is
to provide free access to specimens records in the world's natural
history collections. This will facilitate many analyses that currently
require an enormous investment of time. Becoming a data provider
offers several benefits for herbaria. The workshop will provide an
overview of these benefits, instruction on how to become a data provider,
and a demonstration of the ways in which GBIF can already be of use..
Participants are encouraged to come with information about their
herbarium database but this is not essential. Representatives of
herbaria that do not yet have a specimen database are also welcome.
W-10 Scientific Inquiry through Plants: Developing
New Inquiry Units
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Presenters: Claire Hemingway, The Botanical Society
of America, Box 299, St. Louis, Missouri, 63166 - chemingway@botany.org;
Marshall Sundberg, Emporia State University, Biological Sciences, Box
4050, Emporia, Kansas, 66801
Valdine McLean, Pershing County High School,
1215 Franklin Ave., Lovelock,
Nevada, 89419;
Susan Singer, Carleton College, Department of Biology, 1 North College
Street, Northfield, MN 55057;
Chris Martine, University of Connecticut, Graduate Program in Ecology & Evolutionary
Biology, 75 North Eagleville Rd., U-3043, Storrs, CT, 06269-3043;
David Spooner, University of Wisconsin, Department of Horticulture,
1575 Linden Drive, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706-1590;
Beverly Brown, Nazareth College of Rochester, Biology Department, 4245
East Avenue, Rochester, New York 14618;
Suzanne Koptur, Biological Sciences, Florida International University,
11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, Florida 33199;
The Scientific Inquiry through Plants project, led by the Botanical
Society of America, is in its second year of connecting teachers,
students, and plant science mentors. Students participating thus
far have strengthened their inquiry skills primarily in investigations
of seed germination. A new photosynthesis unit is in field testing.
This half-day workshop provides an opportunity for K-16 educators
to collaborate on new inquiry activities. Following a brief introduction
on content criteria (activities will be inquiry based, allow for
open-ended questioning by students middle school through college,
and involve low-cost materials), the workshop will break into small
thematic groups. Marsh Sundberg and Valdine McLean will lead a photosynthesis
focus group. Susan Singer and Carla Streng will lead a genetics focus
group. Chris Martine and David Spooner will lead an Economic Botany
Section focus group. Beverly Brown and Suzanne Koptur will lead a
pollination and biodiversity focus group. If you have an idea for
a new inquiry activity, or an extension to an existing activity,
join us to create exciting new ways for students to experience the
adventure of doing real plant science.
W-11 Scientific
Writing and Editing
Presenter: Beth E. Hazen, Production Editor, American
Journal of Botany; E-mail: behazen@willowsend.net
Learn to:
•
Correct common problems with grammar, punctuation, style, word usage,
tables and figures
•
Use commas correctly
•
Recognize indicators that signal problems
•
Write more concisely, eliminate unnecessary words
•
Write complete, succinct captions for tables and figures
Workshop presented by Beth Hazen, manuscript editor
for 10+ years, specializes in editing for non-native English writers. Pertinent
areas of grammar, punctuation, terminology and word usage, and style
will
be discussed,
with an emphasis
on examples from manuscripts
submitted for publication. Participants will receive a reference handbook,
writing and editing for plant scientists, written by Beth, which expands
on workshop topics. Questions for coverage in the workshop may be e-mailed
to Beth (behazen@willowsend.net) until five days before the meetings
start. Sample paragraphs for onsite editing may be sent until 2 weeks
before the meeting.
