Plant ID evaluation

I began learning plants the way most people do. I found a teacher, I went on informal walks with them, and I studied. That model has been serving humanity well for hundreds of thousands of years and who am I to question a tradition like that! That said, as soon as I started leading those walks myself, the limitations of this model became immediately apparent. How much information should I be giving students? What should we be focused on? Are the students actually learning anything or are they just listening to me drone on about awesome green things? (Don't answer that!)

It seemed to me that there had to be a better approach. Enter the Cybertracker program. Cybertracker is a growing confederation of skilled trackers who take people out into the woods to teach them track and sign ID and animal trailing. What sets this organization apart from every other outdoor school I've ever attended is that the curriculum is entirely evaluation based. The instructor shows you a track, den, or some scat and asks you a question like "Who made this?" "How fast was this animal moving?" or "Which foot made this track?" The questions are tiered. There are easy, medium, and hard questions. Once the evaluation is over, you return to those same tracks and the instructor goes over the correct answers.

As someone who has done a number of these evaluations, let me just say that this model works exceptionally well. Not only do you very quickly learn a lot of information, you also are keyed into what your strengths and weaknesses are. It occurred to me back in April that the same approach could be applied to plants. That's what this Meetup will be about. We're going to go out into the woods. I'm going to ask you questions like "What plant is this?" "What taxonomic family does it belong to?" "Is it edible? If so, how would you prepare it?" and "What are some traditional medicinal uses for this plant?" Getting the answer correct is unimportant save for the feedback that it provides. This is a learning experience. It's also a whole lot of fun.

Please bring a notebook to record your answers. I'm thinking we start with a dozen or so plants. I don't want to melt too many brains.