SyllabusLesson 1Lesson 2Lesson 3Lesson 4Lesson 5Lesson 6

Syllabus

Using the Course Materials

This course is divided into six lessons that follow the same format. EDEN has created several teaching and learning tools for course participants, described below:

Study Guides: Begin each lesson with the printable Study Guide, which is a note-taking tool that highlights the key points of the lesson and guides you through the entire course content. While it is not mandatory that you complete the study guides, they are designed to prepare you for successfully completing the knowledge assessments.

Lessons: Proceed to the first lesson. When it opens, at the top of the page you will find the lesson title, an overview, outcome(s), and instructions for completing the lesson. As you scroll down the page and click on each “Next” button, you will be able to view the complete lesson. Each lesson features:

  • Teaching Scenarios will help frame your thinking about how you will teach plant biosecurity management to others. Each teaching scenario focuses on the educational needs of your target audience.

  • Study Questions highlight key concepts from the readings and correspond to the questions on the study guide and knowledge assessment for that lesson.

  • Readings and Presentations are hyperlinked to the lesson. Each hyperlink will take you to a Web site or Adobe Reader® will immediately open up a document for you. The time it takes each document to download will depend on the size of the document, your connection speed, and your computer’s speed and memory. Because this is a noncredit course, none of the reading materials are lengthy or highly technical. You may elect to print one copy of each reading or save it for personal use. Look for the ► symbol for assignment instructions.

Note on the Readings: Please be aware that some readings are contained within much larger documents. In such cases, we have provided excerpts of the required reading, along with the URL for the document

Note on the Presentations: In an attempt to avoid technical glitches, all of the MS PowerPoint presentations have been saved in the PDF format. Open each presentation by clicking on the link. To make the slides larger or smaller, click on the “plus” (+) or “minus” (-) signs above the slides, or change the percentage in the small white box. Use your arrow keys to move forward or backward during the presentation or click on the arrows by the page number box below the slides.

Extension professionals are permitted to download any of the course presentations for local educational programs. The original PowerPoint presentations are available under the green “Resources” button.

Quick Quizzes will help you test yourself over the reading materials. Each quiz contains five true-false questions to give you some indication of how well you have comprehended the course content. If your answer is incorrect, the correct answer is provided. Quick Quiz scores are not recorded. The quizzes are intended to help you prepare for successful completion of the knowledge assessment.

Case Study and Lesson Synthesis is an applied activity that helps you bring together the core concepts of select lessons. Please consider the use of these or other course materials when teaching plant biosecurity management to others.

Knowledge Assessment. When you have completed the readings and presentations for the lesson, you should proceed to the online, multiple-choice knowledge assessment. First, click on the green “Assessments” button. Next, click on the grey button that corresponds to the lesson you just completed. Read the instructions. Proceed through the assessment by clicking on the arrow at the bottom of each screen. Note that you have two opportunities to answer each question correctly. During the knowledge assessment, you will not be permitted to return to a previous screen. Your answers are electronically graded, and your score will be revealed on the last screen of the assessment. A benchmark of 80 percent or better is required before proceeding to the next lesson. If you do not attain a score of 80 percent or better, you may review your study guide notes, and the readings, and retake the assessment. Your final score gives you an indication of how well you have comprehended the materials and your readiness to teach the materials to others.

Important: Individual test results will not be released to anyone else. Only a few EDEN personnel will be authorized to access the database of test scores, for the sole purpose of improving the course content for future users. Course evaluators will use aggregated data only, not individual scores.

Definitions and Acronyms. EDEN has developed a list of useful definitions and acronyms specific to this course. (A comprehensive list with all of the related homeland security, terrorism, and biosecurity terms would be more cumbersome than beneficial.) Please be aware that “common definitions” do not exist for many agroterrorism, biosecurity, and emergency management terms. However, while various agencies and disciplines may apply slightly different meanings to the same term, the broad concepts should be fairly similar.

Answer Key to Study Guide. If you are unable to answer a question on the study guide, feel free to open the answer key for that lesson. The answer key directs you to the reading or readings that best answer each question on the study guide.  Each lesson's Study Guide Answer Key may be found on the last page of each lesson.

Related Resources. Beyond the course readings, EDEN has supplemented each lesson with official government documents and research-based information from credible sources. These related resources are intended for your professional reference only. These are not required readings and they are not included on the knowledge assessment.

A Note of Caution: Be Selective With WWW Information We caution you to be selective about your use of print and electronic materials from unknown sources. If you are uncertain about the origin of the materials, (e.g. anonymous pieces or obscure interest groups), EDEN suggests that you avoid quoting from them, or using those materials to teach others. The good news is that you will be able to locate ample research-based information directly from credible sources, such as USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN), the Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and state land-grant institutions.

Lesson References is a complete list of all the references that were used to develop the lesson. Many references are listed with URLs for your professional inquiry needs.

Last Updated:  09/02/2009