One of the keystone projects in Dr. Quave’s Medical Botany (UALR) and Botanical Medicine & Health (Emory) courses is that of the Medicinal Plant Monograph Project. In this project, students are provided with a list of various medicinal plants (listed by scientific and common name). Students must select a plant that interests them most, and then begin work on a monograph of the medicinal properties of the plant. This assignment is divided into segments over the course of the semester (selection of plant, references, a 1st draft, peer-review reports, and final draft). In the class, students undergo a process of peer review and the best papers are included in a medicinal plant E-book, which is then formatted by Dr. Quave and distributed to the class at the end of the semester.
The most recent version of the Medicinal Plant Monographs E-book includes monographs written by Emory and UALR students previously enrolled in Dr. Quave’s class. Students enrolled in the Emory Botanical Medicine and Health course also give an oral presentation on their medicinal plant to the class. These student presentations are available as short (10 minute) videos on the TeachEthnobotany YouTube Channel.
Here are links to some of the teaching tools and resources used in this project:
- Guidelines/Instructions for the paper This includes instructions on how to write the monograph, peer-review instructions and a grading rubric for the final paper.
- Plant List. This includes a list of >100 medicinal plants. The list may change each semester as plants are selected from the list for inclusion in the E-book.
- Guidelines/Instructions for the presentation. This includes instructions on how to format the PowerPoint slides and a grading rubric on the presentation content and delivery.
- Medicinal Plant Monographs E-book. This is the most recent version of the student-written E-book, which compiles the best medicinal plant monographs.
- Student Presentations. This is a link to student presentations on medicinal plants.
