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BIODIVERSITY
OF KENYA
BOT/GEO 496/596
Tentative 2011
Course
Description
Course Prerequisites
Course Requirements and Evaluation
Pre-Trip Meetings
Research Project
Field Notebook
Post-Trip Meetings
Instructor:
Dr. K.E. Medley, Professor, Department of Geography, Affiliate Department
of Botany 219-A Shideler Hall, 529-1558, medleyke@muohio.edu
Course Description: This course is designed
for students who want to learn about: 1) the natural history and ecology
of tropical ecosystems in Kenya; 2) the indigenous cultures and human
relationships with Kenyan environments; and 3) conservation issues from
interdisciplinary perspectives. Biodiversity is a term used to identify
the richness of earth's environments, from the genetics of species populations
to the array of land-cover types across a regional landscape. We will
try to capture both a basic and applied understanding of biodiversity
in Kenya through field observations, interactions with field experts (researchers,
guides, and local people), group discussions, and outside readings. The
course includes pre-trip seminars that introduce basic concepts in Kenya's
ecology and some conservation issues, a two-week intensive field experience
in Kenya, and follow-up discussions and project presentations.
Course
Prerequisites: The
course expects basic training in the biological sciences that may be obtained
through BMZ 115/116 or a related course, and requires permission of the
instructor. It is expected that students will have broad interests that
include biology/ecology, studies of human-environment relationships, and
the conservation of natural resources .
Course Requirements and Evaluation:
The final grade for this course will be determined by your attendance
at all pre- and post-trip meetings, participation in field activities
and discussions, a research project, and a field notebook. Below I provide
guidelines and show the percentage contributions for specific requirements.
Expectations are necessarily different for undergraduate and graduate
students, but will be formally addressed in the evaluation of the research
projects. Graduate students will be expected to complete a more extensive
literature review for their paper.
Pre-Trip
Meetings- 10% course grade.
At least four meetings are scheduled prior to our departure for Kenya.
The purpose of the first meeting will be organizational, addressing travel
logistics and requirements for the course. Two sessions will focus on
ecology, conservation issues, and topics for research in Kenya, and the
last meeting(s) will provide an introduction to Kenyans with some basic
training in Swahili.
Field Notebook- 50% (undergraduate) 40%
(graduate) . Throughout the field trip, you are to keep field notes
of all observations, comments from guides, and lectures provided by the
research staff. These should become a part of a field notebook that includes
daily sections:
a) Descriptive
Observations: a summary of what you saw- animals, vegetation, human-environment
relationships..
b) Record
of Biodiversity: a species listing that should include detailed descriptions
(use the provided guidebooks) of 3-5 new species each day;
c) Comparative
Summaries: a paragraph (+) that compares the current day/site/observations
with those during one or more prior days/sites.
You are
expected to compile all your field notes, species records and essays collected during the course into a single, typed, and integrated documentation of the course. The journal should effectively communicate your new learning, reflections, and experiences during the course. The journals are especially nice when you can add pictures. The journal should serve as a main reference for the final project paper, and you should cite it directly in the text for that paper.
Research
Project- 30% (undergraduate) 40% (graduate).
Identify a research topic that will effectively link literature inquiry
(outside references) with field observations and discussions on the biodiversity
of Kenya. Use the trip itinerary and reading packet as a guideto topics--it
should be clear that we will address a wide range of issues: the ecology
of savanna vegetation, ethnobotany, animal behavior, endangered species
conservation, grazing ecology, human relationships with natural resources,
conservation issues in a developing country... Keep the topic potentially
broad and flexible at first, so that it can gain focus and depth through
the field experience. Consider three crucial steps in the preparation
of this research project:
1.
Project Proposals (Friday before the last pre-trip meeting)- Write a brief
prospectus (2-3 pages) of your project that defines the research problem/question,
shows how it matches possible experiences described on the trip itinerary,
and places it in the context of related research. The statement should
make references to (i.e., cite) some of the literature--you need to do
some reading in order to develop the problem and context. It should also
include a starting bibliography. Project statements
will be uploaded onto the blackboard site (10% project grade);
2.
Pre-Trip and In-Field Discussion- Be prepared to present a brief summary
of your project for group discussion (10%);
3.
Final Paper (Due at the start of Fall Semester 2011)- Friday of the first
week)- A written research paper is due after thecompletion of the Kenya
trip. The paper should meet four objectives: clearly define the problem/research
question, present a well-developed review of the literature, provide support
from field observations, and discuss important connections between the
literature and the field experience. The paper must have these components,
though you are free to determine their relative importance and organization
in the final paper (80%).
**Papers
are expected to average 10-12 pages (double spaced and including figures;
i.e., not real long). Expectations for this research project will be different
for graduate credit, with a greater emphasis placed on the depth of inquiry
made into research literature.
Post-Trip Seminars and Evaluation- 10%.
1. Open Discussion/Informal Photo Exchange (to be scheduled within the
first two weeks of Fall Semester 2011)- This session will serve as a time
to highlight the big events from the trip and synthesize the field-learning
experience. The emphasis will be on sharing views for those who did and
did not participate in the trip (guests may be invited) and deciding on
some options for the presentations;
2. Final
Project Presentations- (plan on at least two intensive work and/or presentation
sessions scheduled in Fall semester)- Each student is required to complete
an oral, written, and/or poster presentation for the public. We will meet
during the first two weeks of class to make a decision on the format for
the presentation (see above) and then complete this portion of the course
during the semester.
3. Post-trip
evaluation- all students will be asked to complete a formative evaluation
of the study program and to assess the learning experience as a capstone
and global experience.
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