In the summer and winter semester Giulia offers an online version of PLBIO2100 Medical Ethnobotany through the Cornell School of Continuing Education Online Learning. This course is an accelerated course offered in the spam of three weeks and was developed in collaboration with the Center for Teaching Innovation (CTI) at Cornell University. It is delivered via the web-based learning system Canvas and is taken for credits and open to Cornell students, high school students and the general public. In this course students are introduced to ethnobotany, to its current challenges and threats, emphasizing the importance of the preservation of traditional knowledge and native languages. This course aims to assess an inclusive, student-centered learning environment.
PLBIO2100 online implements active learning to promote students engagement with daily open discussions and activities where students are asked to share their personal perspectives and to comment on their peers answers in a interactive fashion. Students are asked to complete selected assignments in various format over offered material (e.g. Giulia’s recorded lectures, research articles, selected movies, podcasts, etc.).
By the end of the course students will be able to: a) describe the role of plants in human health and in social contexts in the past and the present; b) analyze and validate globally the relevance of preservation of biological diversity and native culture in human societies; c) identify some of the most commonly used medicinal plants, their bioactive compounds and their action on the human bodies; d) integrate concepts from ethnobotany, biochemistry, bioprospecting, indigenous knowledge, pharmacology, toxicology and conservation.
For more information, please visit: https://sce.cornell.edu/courses/roster
