Categories of Courses
Courses and trips offered by Arthur Haines belong to one of three different categories based on difficulty. Course difficulty will primarily be affected by the amount of information a student must know prior to taking the course and the difficulty of problems students will be face during the class. The categories are provided as a way to help students determine the appropriateness of each class for them (in addition to the course descriptions).
Core Concepts
These courses are designed for students new to plant biology or new to the groups that will be discussed. The classes do not require prerequisite skills of any kind. They are designed to provide students with necessary vocabulary and identification skills to begin study in plant taxonomy through use of general field guides. Technical manuals will not be used as the primary source of information, though these references may augment class material. Core Concepts courses are designed to prepare students with the necessary information that, with practice, will allow them to gradually build a base of fundamental skills. Difficult vocabulary (i.e., technical terms for describing plant parts) are used, but are kept to the minimum number necessary for informed identification of plants.
Intermediate Skills
These courses are designed for students with some (but not exhaustive) experience in plant biology. Experience may be completion of several Core Concepts courses, or it may be several years of amateur study, or a combination of the two. Intermediate Skills classes are intended to introduce students to the sometimes daunting amount of vocabulary necessary to identify and accurately describe tracheophytes from a diversity of plant families. Students will be exposed to difficult groups, including graminoids, aquatics, and woody genera of the Rosaceae (depending on the course), though they will be shielded from the most demanding topics. A basic understanding of plant terminology, taxonomy, and the region's flora will be important in order that students can take full advantage of these classes. Aspiring professional botanists are highly encouraged to take these classes.
Advanced Techniques
These courses are designed for professional and skilled amateur botanists with a general understanding of the region's flora. Courses of this level typically focus on a particular taxonomic group or on exhaustive surveys of various plant communities. Technical vocabulary will be discussed and used throughout the courses. Difficult determinations, including hybrid individuals (when present), will be sought out as part of the class content. Taxonomic and phylogenetic topics may also be discussed in order to highlight nomenclatural changes (especially concerning the rationale of why changes have occurred). No plant on the landscape is safe from being the focal point of these courses. In short, the purpose of Advanced Techniques courses is to learn as many of the details of a taxonomic group or plant community as possible. In turn, this provides students with detailed information to draw on during their professional or volunteer work with field and herbarium surveys.