Forbidden Botany: A Game to Develop Botanical Lexicon in Biological Science Courses

Abstract

Forbidden Botany is a game, modeled after Taboo, that lets students think factually and conceptually about definitions and identify gaps in their botanical vocabulary while building upon the knowledge they have already acquired. Students typically struggle with learning botanical terms because they can be lineage specific and may be novel to students upon introduction. Throughout much of biological education, botanical sections of courses tend to be presented in a much less exciting way than animal counterparts and with relatively less frequency, resulting in less botanical knowledge and appreciation. This interactive game was developed for undergraduate biology to provide greater exposure to botanical terminology, combat plant awareness disparity, and aid in plant identification.