Seminar guidelines
Seminar assignment
Prepare and deliver a seminar on some aspect that particularly interests you of the central course
theme – What are the implications of anthropogenic phosphorus use for our civilisation’s
sustainability? The most critical part of the whole exercise, and the key to a successful seminar,
is to identify a clear and specific question that you would like to address. This will be the theme
of the seminar and your chosen paper or chapter will help us together to make progress in
addressing your question. You will need to be creative and think carefully about your chosen
question, and expect several iterations as you read about the topic. In many ways, it is the most
difficult part of the exercise, but once achieved should make for a very effective seminar.
Some of you have already started to choose chapters or papers. Other reference material that
may contain citations to possible readings will be posted very shortly on the website in the
Reference list. You will need to read those that interest you and others around its subject area to
develop a broad interesting seminar question. Other students may choose to develop a question
first and then locate a suitable reading. Please consult with me before making your final choice
of reading. As you will soon discover, there is a vast amount of readily accessible information
currently available related to the course theme. This exercise is aimed at familiarizing you with
how to access, synthesize and present both general and primary scientific information on an issue
of particular interest to you.
As we discussed in the last session, possible topics that fit within the course theme cover a very
wide range from hard core fundamental biology all the way through to social behavior (e.g. why
P has been a core element in the evolution of life; how agricultural crop P use efficiency could be
enhanced; the geopolitical implications of the P stocks distribution around the world; P and food
security; P nutrition in humans; P-related eutrophication; soil P cycling and conservation;
stoichiometric aspects of anthropogenic P use; economic, social and ecological aspects of waste
treatment to recycle P; anthropogenic reliance on P; what would be the key features of a P-based
ecological footprint; how have traditional societies managed without P fertilizer; manure versus
inorganic P additions in agriculture; biological mechanisms that promote effective P use in
natural ecosystems; societal incentives to reduce our reliance on P…..etcetera) – it is up to you to
identify some element of the overall theme that really interests and motivates you.
Seminar Exercise:
1. Consult the general and primary scientific literature on your topic of interest and synthesize
the current status of information on that issue.
2. Develop a clear, focussed and intellectually stimulating question that you can use your chosen
paper or chapter to address that issue. Note that the question should have a broader focus than
the individual paper or chapter. In other words, the paper will not provide a comprehensive
answer to your question, but will contribute toward answering it. You are encouraged to use
evidence from other readings to supplement the seminar paper or chapter. Note that you might
find it helpful to look at the kinds of questions students have developed in previous versions of
this course (see BIOL 510 website), but remember that these were for different overall course
themes.
3. Make an oral presentation (~20 minutes), aimed at stimulating ideas and debate for
subsequent discussion. The presentation should be suitable for an interested public audience, and
may include the following headings:
a) Introduction. Introduce the topic, its relationship to anthropogenic phosphorus use
and sustainability, and its historical context. Present your seminar question - Make sure
to write it up very clearly in your title page, and possibly again later. Explain why you
chose it.
b) What are the most interesting arguments/hypotheses in the chapter or paper? Write
them out in your presentation and set them in the context of your broader central seminar
question.
c) What evidence is used to address those arguments/hypotheses? Describe and explain
the main pieces of evidence that are relevant to your central seminar question. Critically
evaluate that evidence – both positive and negative aspects.
d) If appropriate, how does the perspective and background of the author influence the
structure of the arguments and the conclusions?
e) In what ways can the author’s arguments/hypotheses be improved or refined? Review
the topic and what others have written on it. Also review the author’s more recent
writings if appropriate to provide and up to date perspective on the value of the
chapter/paper.
f) Summarize your conclusions on the seminar question you have posed. Be sure to
include a synopsis of what you have learnt from your seminar audience as well.
Seminar convenor:
Seminars will be graded according to the following criteria:
i) identification of a clear seminar question
ii) development of that question during the seminar using evidence from the chosen reading, and
other sources
iii) evidence of independent thinking (e.g. identifying the most interesting arguments/hypotheses
and critiquing them)
iv) presentation clarity
v) enthusiasm and originality
vi) discussion leadership
vii) synopsis at the end of the seminar
Note the above very carefully - They tell you what I am looking for.
Seminar participants:
The success of this course as a learning instrument will largely depend on the quality of the
discussions in each seminar. The main objective is to encourage your independent thinking
processes related to the relationships between biology, anthropogenic use of P and the future
sustainability of our civilisation.
Initiation and participation in the discussions following each seminar is a very important part of
the learning process in this course. Please read the paper or chapter circulated prior to each
seminar, and come prepared with a typed list of three relevant discussion ideas or questions
relating to the reading in the context of the broader seminar question developed by the seminar
leader. Your three questions will be graded on the basis of their quality (i.e. their perceptiveness
and relevance).
The library staff are available to assist you with electronic searches if necessary. In order to
ensure that each student selects a different seminar topic and research paper, please contact me
for approval (groganp@queensu.ca) as soon as you have developed and identified a clear
seminar question that will be the focus of the seminar discussion.
The overall question and possible readings that you are considering using for your seminar
should be sent to me in time (at least 5 days prior to the seminar) so that we can schedule a one
on one meeting where I can assess them and provide feedback. You are deliberately being given
free class time early in the course to get you going – use it wisely. The earlier you send them to
me, the more feedback I will be able to provide.
If you are having difficulties, please contact me. Finally, note that I am very keen to support
individual approaches in this course, so if you have other suggestions of how you would like to
do your seminar, please contact me.