Plant Evolutionary Biology will include a couple of projects. These are meant to complement course material and provide multiple paths to success in the class.

495 Projects

These will be posters developed in teams of two or more on an assigned clade. The exact topic the teams presents on will be dependant on their own research and a proposal. Teams will need to adhere to deadlines throughout the semester to prepare drafts for peer-review and give a presentation towards the end of class that represents a synthesis of the course content. Accountability is built into the grading ruberic, such that team members provide feedback on each other. Technical assistance will be provided throughout the course to help develop presentation skills and best practices in poster preparation.

595 Projects

In addition to participating in class-wide poster projects, graduate students are expected to integrate the course with their own research. This will be done in the form a research proposal. A template is in the works, but that is flexible depending on specific needs and interests. Research proposals will be based on progression and development rather than adhering to a specific theme. This is because I do not want a CMB student to invest time in an EEB proposal that is not useful beyond the class. It should be helpful in helping that student anticipate criticisms from potential reviewers and develop a stronger background in their personal research topic though. Similar to posters, graduate projects follow deadlines throuhgout the semester regarding a one-pager, first draft, and peer review. In lieu of a presentation, a final proposal is due at the end of the semester.