In Forest Insects and Diseases, a junior level forestry course, students combine knowledge into synthesis and creativity by creating a booklet of a forest insect or disease from either A Forest Insect Alphabet by David Kulhavy and Charles Jones or Edge of Life: Forest Pathology Art by Michelle Rozic and David Kulhavy into an interactive student guide with knowledge skills, reflection, activities and synthesis. Students present a 20 x 20 PowerPoint (20 slides, 20 seconds per slide) and an interactive performance with art, music over their booklets. Students use small group discussion, interactive questions and answers and reviews to complete their final products. A Forest Insect Alphabet is a hand printed and hand bound fine arts press book depicting forest insects in wood carved images in both color and black and white. Included also are four-line quatrains of songs and scientific information on each of the insects. Forest pathogens are selected from Edge of Life: Forest Pathology Art; this book displays both science and art on the importance of forest pathogens in society including impact on the forests, and uses in medicine and art. As part of a course in Forest Insects and Diseases, students select one of the 26 forest insects in A Forest Insect Alphabet or one of the 31 forest pathogens from Edge of Life: Forest Pathology Art and complete a workbook incorporating current issues, interviews with scientists with expertise on the insect or disease. Copies of the original artwork from the books are added with activities, reflections and pedagogy incorporating knowledge acquisition, synthesis of information and creativity. The best presentation and workbook is selected for display at the annual Undergraduate Research Conference at Stephen F. Austin State University. This teaching program was selected as a High Impact Teaching exercise as part of the Quality Enhancement Program at Stephen F. Austin State University
