discussion

Purpose

The purpose of the discussion post is to provide an opportunity for you to research scientific topics, learn to communicate complex topics to others, and connect what you are learning in class to events in real life. We have been studying plant diversity and their evolutionary history in this unit. In the post, you will read an article about medicinal botany which will provide background about the benefits of plants and their use as medicines.

This topic supports the Module Outcome:

• MO2.8: Recognize how plants interact with other organisms (CO2, CO3)

Skills

• Compose summary statements regarding the article(s) you read and in replying to your classmate's topics
• Paraphrase information: Your post should be in your own words as you must paraphrase information from website gained during the research component of the activity.

Knowledge

• Learning about your chosen topic
• Expanding your knowledge by reading and posting to your classmate's topics

Task

Post

In this unit, we have been learning about plant diversity and their characteristics. You will post about the benefits of plants and their use in medicine.

1. In the post, you will read two articles posted on the U.S Forest Service Website. After reading the two articles, you will create your discussion post based on a 3-2-1 analysis and the requirements listed below.
   1. READ: The first article is about medicinal botany and focuses on how long people have been using medicinal plants.
   2. READ: The second article is on the ingredients that we use for medicinal purposes. Read Active Plant Ingredients Used for Medicinal Purposes
2. As you read the articles, you will need to make notes about the following topics as they will be your discussion prompts.
   1. 1. You should identify three things that you learned when reading the two articles and why they are of value to you.
      2. You should identify two plant ingredients that you were surprised to learn are used for medicinal purposes and what that purpose is.
      3. You should identify one question you have about medicinal plants.
3. Your post should be at least three paragraphs in length with each paragraph addressing one of the three prompts. Each paragraph should be at least three sentences.
   1. Paragraph one: Identify the three things you learned while reading the two articles and why they are of value to you.
   2. Paragraph two: Identify two plant ingredients that you were surprised to learn are used for medicinal purposes and what that purpose is.
   3. Paragraph three: Identify one question you have about the articles and medicinal plants

Reply

1. Read your classmate's post and reply.
2. Use the "Reply to Thread" button when you have chosen the discussion post you wish to comment on.
3. In your response to a classmate's post, you should directly address the information in their post and provide positive feedback about their post. See Criteria below.

Criteria for Success

You will report to the class in your discussion post about medicinal botany with the three prompts listed below. The discussion post is worth 20 points and is part of your Discussions grade in the course. The response to the prompts and fulfilling the expected writing requirements for the prompts is 15 points, while your response to a classmate's post and meeting expected writing requirements is worth 5 points.

Important Note: You are expected to paraphrase information you gathered during the research component of this activity and submit the work in your own words. If it is determined that information in the post was submitted by copy and paste from resources or the product of someone other than yourself, then paperwork related to academic dishonesty will be submitted to the Vice President of Academic Affairs and a grade of zero (0) for the assignment or F for the course will be given.

1. In your post, you should address three items, each item should be covered in a separate paragraph and each paragraph should have at a minimum three sentences. Expectation: three paragraphs, each with a minimum of three sentences.
   1. Three prompts (5 points each prompt)
      1. Paragraph one: Identify the three things you learned while reading the two articles and why they are of value to you.
      2. Paragraph two: Identify two plant ingredients that you were surprised to learn are used for medicinal purposes and what that purpose is.
      3. Paragraph three: Identify one question you have about the articles and medicinal plants
      4. Your post should be formatted as follows:
         1. I learned that......and it is of value to me because.....
         2. I learned that......and it is of value to me because.....
         3. I learned that......and it is of value to me because.....
         4. I was surprised that....because...
         5. I was surprised that...because...
         6. One question I have is....
2. In your response to a classmate's post, you should directly address the information in their post and provide positive feedback about their post. Your response should be a minimum of two complete sentences based on expectations listed below.
   1. Response requirements (5 points)
      1. In at least two sentences you should provide positive feedback about their post. Examples of how this can be accomplished: This can be in the form of expressing your interest in the medical uses for the plant products, connecting it to the products you researched, and/or connecting the medicinal uses to any previous knowledge you had about it. You may also ask them a question about the information that you may have after learning about the uses of plants in medicine.
      2. Credit for the response will not be given for simply stating "This is an interesting disease", "I agree", "Nice post", "No, I don' t agree" or similar statements.