The Science of Gardening

The Science of Gardening was originally written as the training manual for Colorado Master Gardener Program. The overall objective here was to be research based (rather than the same old folklore that has been passed down through the generations) and to focus on developing diagnostic skills. It is the textbook for the Colorado Gardener Certificate Program, an online suite of mini-courses on gardening offered by Colorado State University Online.I also use it as the textbook for Hort100, Horticultural Science, a general science class in the Colorado State University system. This is a large class limited to 250 students (due to lack of classroom space). This is 4 credit course (3 lectures and one lab per week). Due to time limitations, there are a few chapters in the book not covered.The approach in developing the curriculum was to first identify the learning objective; that is what we expect the students to be able to do upon completion of a unit/chapter. Then the text, PowerPoint, and lab activities were developed to help the student learn and practice the learning objectives.The PowerPoint files for lecture follows the textbook paragraph by paragraph, with the same artwork. This makes it easy for students to follow along in the textbook, rather than trying to take extensive written notes on everything. (Student love it).Since I do a lot of distance education teaching, my PowerPoint are design as a visual graphic with rapid slide change. I try to get close to the PBS Standard of a graphic change every 20 seconds of lecture. While not there, I'm rather close. (In contrast, broadcast TV and movies have a graphic change at least every 5 seconds. So our students loose interest fast when a PowerPoint slide stays on the screen for minutes while the professor goes down a list of items or moves beyond the slide content.) So my slides have few words, lots of original graphics, and change constantly. A 50 minutes lecture typically has 100 slides that change quickly. I'm willing share my PowerPoint files and lab activities with other instructors with the understanding that they use the textbook, The Science of Gardening, as a required text.Local adaptation - The curriculum was written for the Colorado and greater high plains/rocky mountain region. That is, I illustrate concepts with common insects and diseases of this area, and work with regional climatic scenarios. I've had students from all around the country in my online course, and they seem to have little concerns about adapting it to their growing situation. As an instructor in another climate area, you could readily add in local climatic information and swap some illustrations of common insects and diseases for those that are big problems locally. Also in areas there landscape irrigation is not routine, you may want to skip this unit.Student Feedback - Student feedback has been amazing for a textbook. They describe the book as filled with practical information that they will apply in their gardening activities. It is common to hear students state that this was their favorite class in the college experience due to the practical information that it contains and enthusiasm of the instructor. Students often want to keep the book for future reference.