GEOLOGY 4070B - Advanced Environmental Geoscience (Hons) Pt 2
North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2021
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General Course Information
Course Details
Course Code GEOLOGY 4070B Course Advanced Environmental Geoscience (Hons) Pt 2 Coordinating Unit School of Physical Sciences Term Semester 1 Level Undergraduate Location/s North Terrace Campus Units 9 Contact Mixed mode - flexible and/or intensive Available for Study Abroad and Exchange N Corequisites GEOLOGY 4080 Restrictions Available only to students admitted to the relevant Honours program Assessment Seminars, fieldtrip, short courses and thesis support tasks Course Staff
Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Jonathan Tyler
Course Timetable
The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from .
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Learning Outcomes
Course Learning Outcomes
A successful student in this course should be able to:
1 Develop and manage an Environmental Geoscience research project from hypothesis building to result interpretation; 2 Develop their own fieldwork program; 3 Conduct laboratory analyses using state-of-the-art instrumentation; 4 Undertake computer analyses and modelling with industry-standard software; 5 Communicate with industry and government scientists; 6 Attend and present results at conferences, workshops and/or meetings, and; 7 Write a scientific publication that can be developed into a refereed publication. University Graduate Attributes
This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:
University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s) Deep discipline knowledge
- informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies
- acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1
- accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)
1 Critical thinking and problem solving
- steeped in research methods and rigor
- based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development
- demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment
1,2,3,4 Teamwork and communication skills
- developed from, with, and via the SGDE
- honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies
- encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning
2,5,6,7 Career and leadership readiness
- technology savvy
- professional and, where relevant, fully accredited
- forward thinking and well informed
- tested and validated by work based experiences
4,5,6,7 Intercultural and ethical competency
- adept at operating in other cultures
- comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts
- able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes
- demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges
2,5,6 Self-awareness and emotional intelligence
- a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal
- open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers
- able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate
1,5,6,7 -
Learning & Teaching Activities
Learning & Teaching Modes
The Environmental Geoscience Honours course consists of:
• A field trip to examine the impacts of climate change and modern/ancient human activity upon the environment.
• A short course in geoscience data analysis
• Scientific seminars
• Research seminar
• Thesis support tasks (including weekly lectures and research tasks)Workload
The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.
A student enrolled in this course should expect to spend, on average, 18 hours per week on the studies required. This includes both the formal contact time required to the course (e.g., lectures, seminars, meetings and fieldtrips), as well as non-contact time (e.g., reading, research and revision).Learning Activities Summary
New Zealand Field Trip
All honours students will have the opportunity to attend an excursion to New Zealand. The field trip will explore the long term impacts of climate change and human activity (both modern and ancient) upon the Earth System in New Zealand. Activities will include mapping of glacial and fluvial geomorphology, contemporary glacial dynamics, sediment collection, field description and interpretation, observation of cave depositional environments, study of biogeochemical cycles and study of palaeontological sites and/or remains. The trip is held in February/March.
Short course(s)
Students will undertake one or more short courses in the broad area of earth sciences.
Written summaries of scientific seminars
Each student is expected to attend weekly seminars in Earth Sciences and across the university.
Thesis Support Tasks (Oral Exam and Research Seminar)
Each student is expected to attend the compulstory regular thesis support sessions whcih aims to outline the required parts of a thesis and guide students toward the best outputs. Each thesis support session will focus on a different part of the thesis (e.g. hypothesis, methods, discussion) and provide a framework for this section, its construction and completion. A peer review system is an important component of this.Specific Course Requirements
This program includes a 12 day field trip to New Zealand and short course(s). -
Assessment
The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:
- Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
- Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
- Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
- Assessment must maintain academic standards.
Assessment Summary
Assessment Task Task Type Weighting Due Learning Outcome New Zealand Field Trip Formative & Summative 26.7% Refer to Honours Handbook ,5,6 OralAssessment formative & Summative 46.7% 1,3,4,6,7 Seminar Reports Summative 6.7% 1,5 Short course(s) Formative & Summative 20% 2,3,4 Assessment Detail
New Zealand Field Trip 26.7%
Prior to the trip a research topic will be that will cover some of the geology seen in New Zealand. These seminars form part of the assessment and will be held before and/or during the trip itself. Three in-field tasks and field notebooks will be assessed during the trip. A final oral exam will be held, or a final report upon return from the field. Alternative assessment options may be available for students not able to go on the New Zealand field trip
Oral Assessment Tasks (46.7%)
Thesis Support Tasks will be assessed through oral assessment through a poster, oral exam, and/or presentation at mid-year and after the thesis has been submitted.
Short course(s) (20%)
Each short course is assessed differently and may include a final exam, project, workshop or field assessment task/s.
Seminar Reports (6.7%)
A written summary of the problem the presenter is addressing, the methods they have used and any conclusions that they make is to be completed for each seminar attended. Notes should be taken during the presentation. You are expected to complete notes for at least 10 seminars.
Thesis Support Tasks are are seminars focusing on writing sections of your thesis including, but not limited to:
1) Hypothesis and Aims
2) Background and Literature Review
3) Introduction
4) Methods
5) Presenting your results
6) Results vs Discussion
7) Presentation Skills
Submission
All items for assessment must be submitted by the stated deadlines. There will be a penalty for late submission: the submitted work will be marked 'without prejudice' and 10% of the obtained mark will be deducted for each working day (or part of a day) that an assessment task is late, up to a maximum penalty of 50% of the mark attained.Course Grading
Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:
M11 (Honours Mark Scheme) Grade Grade reflects following criteria for allocation of grade Reported on Official Transcript Fail A mark between 1-49 F Third Class A mark between 50-59 3 Second Class Div B A mark between 60-69 2B Second Class Div A A mark between 70-79 2A First Class A mark between 80-100 1 Result Pending An interim result RP Continuing Continuing CN Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.
Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.
Final results for this course will be made available through .
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Student Feedback
The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.
SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
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Student Support
- Academic Integrity for Students
- Academic Support with Maths
- Academic Support with writing and study skills
- Careers Services
- Library Services for Students
- LinkedIn Learning
- Student Life Counselling Support - Personal counselling for issues affecting study
- Students with a Disability - Alternative academic arrangements
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Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
- Academic Credit Arrangements Policy
- Academic Integrity Policy
- Academic Progress by Coursework Students Policy
- Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy
- Copyright Compliance Policy
- Coursework Academic Programs Policy
- Intellectual Property Policy
- IT Acceptable Use and Security Policy
- Modified Arrangements for Coursework Assessment Policy
- Reasonable Adjustments to Learning, Teaching & Assessment for Students with a Disability Policy
- Student Experience of Learning and Teaching Policy
- Student Grievance Resolution Process
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Fraud Awareness
Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student鈥檚 disciplinary procedures.
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