No abstract

Community college science majors were assigned a team-based research project in a course sequence of General Biology I and II and were followed over a two-semester sequence during three academic years. The project was intended to introduce key General Education principles such as global citizenship, scientific reasoning, communication skills, information literacy, and stewardship. Conducted in partnership with library faculty, the assignment used course-integrated workshops and one-on-one reference instruction to help students produce research papers, learn the mechanics of online library research, and practice public speaking. Assignments were designed to emphasize and refine skills such as information literacy, critical thinking, and writing, while supplementing course content with current global events. Pre-and post-surveys were conducted to analyze assimilation of skills during General Biology I and mastering of those skills the following semester.

A morphological and anatomical survey was carried out of seedlings of 62 taxa of palms representing all major groups. The data were analyzed using cladistic parsimony analysis. Seedling data were analyzed independently and combined with adult morphological data. Outgroup selection was made within the family using the calamoids and Nypa fruticans; outside the family, the monocot family Dasypogonaceae were used. The analysis with the calamoids and Nypafruticans as outgroups resolved some of the major groups. The combined analysis, using both seedling and adult data and Dasypogonaceae as the outgroup, provided better resolution. Most of the major groups were monophyletic although the coryphoids and arecoids appeared paraphyletic.