FOR 6900 / 6910 Graduate Seminars

The courses provide a forum through which students may practise and hone their formal presentation skills. This involves:

(a) the preparation of the presentation, including illustrations;
(b) the delivery of the presentation within a designated time-frame; and
(c) the elaboration, clarification, justification, or discussion of points in the presentation through handling of questions or comments from the audience.

The courses give students the opportunity to present their own research, in general terms that can be understood by other graduate students in other areas of research. This gives the students practise at explaining their research to someone who is not fluent in their field of work.

The courses expose students studying in a relatively narrow area of forestry, forest engineering, or environmental management to a broader spectrum of areas of study in the discipline. In this way students, who have diverse backgrounds and experiences, become acquainted with something of the breadth of subject matter covered in the Graduate Academic Unit. This permits them to better appreciate how their own topics and interests fit within the field as a whole.

The courses give students the opportunity to enter into discussion of at least some of the topics covered. This should help them to listen carefully, to formulate questions, to probe the ideas of their peers, or to provide additional points or points of view of those presented by others. It is to be hoped that this will carry over into discussion after the seminar - a successful seminar will generate continuing debate!