>My botany class has reached the point in the semester where we talk about
>plant life cycles. I begin with a generalized diagram of a plant life
>cylcle with alternation of generations and tell them that the different
>plant divisions tend to follow this pattern, but the relative prominence of
>the gametophyte and sporophyte generations differ for the major groups.
>Soon afterward we hit the brown algae and most textbooks describe the life
>cycle of Fucus which has gametic meiosis and does NOT seem to follow the
>general pattern of sporic meiosis. Is this aberrant among the Phaeophyta?
>If it is why do textbooks concentrate on Fucus rather than Laminaria or the
>giant kelps that alternate between huge sporophytes and tiny gametophytes?
>> I would appreciate advice on how to convey these topics to a class
>without confusing students (or the professor).
>
I am nearing the same point in the semester - diversity (gymnos "through"
algae) - and often feel as though I should be wrestling with the same
issues. But I'm not. I dropped all life cycles but angios, gymnos,
seedless vascular plants (a fern) bryophytes (moss), and a generalized life
cycle. Why? Because what I remember from my introductory botany class in
college (and I was a "budding" [sorry] plant geek) was that these were
boring and confusing. This is not intended as a criticism of those who
cover these topics. I suspect there is a way to convey these topics with
enthusiasm and interest - I have just never seen such a treatment nor have
produced such. Maybe this is more of a public confession (mea culpa, mea
culpa . . .) and request for support/forgiveness??? I must add that I have
additional concerns related to what I replace those topics with (another
topic). I guess I also want ideas on how to best treat those diversity
topics that have survived my curricular axe.
A real can of worms, maybe.
Wil Taylor
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Wilson A. Taylor
Department of Biology
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Eau Claire, WI 54701
taylorwa at uwec.edu
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