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Understanding Plants - Part I

For centuries we have collectively marveled at plant diversity and form—from Charles Darwin’s early fascination with stems and flowers to Seymour Krelborn’s distorted doting in Little Shop of Horrors. This course intends to present an intriguing and scientifically valid look at how plants themselves experience the world—from the colors they see to the sensations they feel. Highlighting the latest research in genetics and more, we will delve into the inner lives of plants and draw parallels with the human senses to reveal that we have much more in common with sunflowers and oak trees than we may realize. We’ll learn how plants know up from down, how they know when a neighbor has been infested by a group of hungry beetles, and whether they appreciate the music you’ve been playing for them or if they’re just deaf to the sounds around them. We’ll explore definitions of memory and consciousness as they relate to plants in asking whether we can say that plants might even be aware of their surroundings. This highly interdisciplinary course meshes historical studies with cutting edge modern research and will be relevant to all humans who seek their place in nature. This class has three main goals: 1. To introduce you to basic plant biology by exploring plant senses (sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste, balance). 2. To introduce you to biological research and the scientific method. 3. To get the student to question life in general and what defines us as humans. Once you've taken this course, if you are interested in a more in-depth study of plants, check out my follow-up course, Fundamentals of Plant Biology (https://www.coursera.org/learn/plant-biology/home/welcome). In order to receive academic credit for this course you must successfully pass the academic exam on campus. For information on how to register for the academic exam – https://tauonline.tau.ac.il/registration Additionally, you can apply to certain degrees using the grades you received on the courses. Read more on this here – https://go.tau.ac.il/b.a/mooc-acceptance Teachers interested in teaching this course in their class rooms are invited to explore our Academic High school program here – https://tauonline.tau.ac.il/online-highschool

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Rating 4.7 based on 218 ratings
Length 8 weeks
Effort 25 hours of videos, quizzes, and reading assignments
Starts Jul 10 (42 weeks ago)
Cost $49
From Tel Aviv University via Coursera
Instructor Professor Daniel Chamovitz, Ph.D.
Download Videos On all desktop and mobile devices
Language English
Subjects Science
Tags Life Sciences Biology Basic Science

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What people are saying

very interesting

very interesting!

Very interesting.

Very interesting introduction into the world of plants.

very interesting course!

Professor put some serious effort in this lectures and it is really useful for everybody who is working with plants, or just enjoying them, to pass this course :) Daniel Chamovitz is a great lecturer and the course is very interesting!

Probably after completion atleast if you couls share all the answers...Thanks It was a very interesting course and has made me look at plants with a different lens.

Very interesting and well explained Excellent lectures, terrible exams.

a real good course, and indeed the best teacher I have seen on Coursera Very interesting course, although some of the concepts were beyond me and I couldn't get to grips with them!

It is a very interesting seminar, Teacher has very good communication skills.

very interesting and well done.

Very interesting subject matter, presented very well This course is amazing.

But it was difficult for me as I have very little preliminary information on plants and biology Very interesting course and enthusiastic professor For me, I still think is the most beautiful MOOC of all I have done.

After having seen "American Pie" , I don't see apple pie in the same way.After following this training, Ii don't see apple tree in the same way !More seriously,Ii'd like to thank you very much for this training which was both very interesting and understandable by majority of us.The videos are very clear and, actually, you're not boring (;-))!Thanks to Nir, as well.I 've appreciated the mix of simple experiment results and theoretical explanation behind.

I like the look of it, the professor is engaging and as a layperson I find the content very, very interesting.

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about plants

As the weeks passed, I not only became more and more interested, but I started to learn a few surprising things about plants and how humans have experimented with them, on them, and otherwise tinkered with them through the centuries.

This was an original and creative way of learning about plants!

It was a very interesting course and after finished it I really want to learn more and more about plants.Thanks a lot!

I loved learning about plants which to be honest i knew very little before completing this course and now I am very well informed and want to know more.

I never thought studying about plants was so intriguing and fascinating.

Had some really interesting facts about plants.

An interesting and engaging course :) I have learnt a few fun facts about plants after completing this course.

I've learned a lot of things about plants I couldn't have imagined, and it made me purse the topic furthers, so I cannot wait to enroll into part 2.

I'd recommend it to anybody wanting to learn more about plants.

Thank coursera and Professor Chamovitz This is an excellent, exciting, and well taught course, which introduces quite interesting findings about plants.

This course is like a roller coaster in knowledge about plants.

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professor daniel chamovitz

Presented by Professor Daniel Chamovitz, Ph.D., and Aviva Katz, Ph.D, both at Tel Aviv University, the course explored plant biology from the cellular level all the way to the function of the part of a plant.

Professor Daniel Chamovitz is interesting to listen to.

Professor Daniel Chamovitz is very competent and funny and teach A very interestinf course, well documented and explained by Dr. Chamowitz !

Professor Daniel Chamovitz was wonderful and very interesting.

Professor Daniel Chamovitz!

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easy to follow

the explanations are very clear and easy to follow.

I just want the scientific facts Very compelling and easy to follow (this coming from a Liberal Arts major).

Excellent course, didactive, easy to follow and not extenuating.

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recommend this course

I would recommend this course to anyone and look forward to part II!

Would highly recommend this course.

I highly recommend this course, I learnt a lot !

I would absolutely recommend this course!

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plant biology

Amazing course, definitely recommend to anyone interested in plant biology The course is very well done.

It was laid out in a really interesting way; i very much enjoyed the focus on how plant senses were discovered - I never knew how prolific Darwin was in plant biology!Awesome course, thank you for giving me access to it (and a certificate) for free.

What a wonderful take on plant biology!

It's been my dream to study plant biology!

Thank you Great Course to Understand How plant feels :) I started this course with very little knowledge of biology and finished it with a solid foundation in plant biology.

Very clear and well-illustrated lectures; when this course is accompanied by Part II about plant biology, the two courses lead to greater insight into botany and agriculture.

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final quiz

The final quiz still mesmerizes me, I could not get a few answers even after reviewing the entire syllabus, checking on the net etc.

Be sure to take notes so that you can easily answer the final quiz by the end of the course O perfect very difficult Thank you for giving me the opportunity to take this wonderful course.

And definitely include a course review before the final quiz!

Only issue that can be solved very easily is to adjust the rubrics of the final quiz to be clear if the questions allow one or more correct answers, as this doesn't follow a pattern and confuses while taking the test.

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las plantas

Excellent instruction Es un curso excelente impartido por un profesor que es excepcionalmente profesional y que se nota que ama las plantas, excelente curso acerca de las plantas.

interesante y muy útil para la investigación de las plantas !

Este curso es muy bueno, ayudan a entender de manera muy didáctica los mecanismos sensoriales de las plantas.

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Careers

An overview of related careers and their average salaries in the US. Bars indicate income percentile.

Biology Instructor 2 $32k

Professor of Biology 1 2 $38k

Lecturer - Biology & Marine Biology Department $48k

Biology Teacher 1 $54k

Biology Crew $58k

Biology Teacher 2 $60k

Teacher-Biology $67k

Chair, Biology $72k

Environmental Biology $79k

Biology $87k

Biology Scientist $103k

Investigator, Biology $111k

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Rating 4.7 based on 218 ratings
Length 8 weeks
Effort 25 hours of videos, quizzes, and reading assignments
Starts Jul 10 (42 weeks ago)
Cost $49
From Tel Aviv University via Coursera
Instructor Professor Daniel Chamovitz, Ph.D.
Download Videos On all desktop and mobile devices
Language English
Subjects Science
Tags Life Sciences Biology Basic Science

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