AN BEHAV 2000RW - Foundations of Animal Behaviour
Roseworthy Campus - Semester 2 - 2023
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General Course Information
Course Details
Course Code AN BEHAV 2000RW Course Foundations of Animal Behaviour Coordinating Unit School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences Term Semester 2 Level Undergraduate Location/s Roseworthy Campus Units 3 Contact up to 6 hrs per week Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y Prerequisites Successful completion of 24 units of an undergraduate program Restrictions Available to BSc (Animal Behaviour), Bachelor of Veterinary Technology, BPsySci, BHMS students only Assessment Practical report, online quizzes, major assignment, final exam Course Staff
Course Coordinator: Dr Camille Buhl
Course Timetable
The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from .
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Learning Outcomes
Course Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Describe the major categories of animal behaviour, their underlying mechanisms and evolutionary framework
2. Observe, record and quantify animal behaviour
3. Formulate a hypothesis about animal behaviour to perform data analysis and statistics on animal behaviour
4. Compare and contrast different disciplinary approaches to animal behaviour
5. Clearly communicate thoughts and understanding orally and in writingUniversity 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) Attribute 1: Deep discipline knowledge and intellectual breadth
Graduates have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of their subject area, the ability to engage with different traditions of thought, and the ability to apply their knowledge in practice including in multi-disciplinary or multi-professional contexts.
1,3,4 Attribute 2: Creative and critical thinking, and problem solving
Graduates are effective problems-solvers, able to apply critical, creative and evidence-based thinking to conceive innovative responses to future challenges.
1,2 Attribute 3: Teamwork and communication skills
Graduates convey ideas and information effectively to a range of audiences for a variety of purposes and contribute in a positive and collaborative manner to achieving common goals.
2,3,5 Attribute 4: Professionalism and leadership readiness
Graduates engage in professional behaviour and have the potential to be entrepreneurial and take leadership roles in their chosen occupations or careers and communities.
1,2,3,4,5 Attribute 5: Intercultural and ethical competency
Graduates are responsible and effective global citizens whose personal values and practices are consistent with their roles as responsible members of society.
5 Attribute 8: Self-awareness and emotional intelligence
Graduates are self-aware and reflective; they are flexible and resilient and have the capacity to accept and give constructive feedback; they act with integrity and take responsibility for their actions.
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Learning & Teaching Activities
Learning & Teaching Modes
This course will provide a mixture of lectures, online materials, workshops, tutorials and practical classes.Workload
The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.
A student enrolled in a 3 unit course, such as this, should expect to spend, on average 12 hours per week on the studies required. This includes both the formal contact time required to the course (e.g.,lectures and practicals), as well as non-contact time (e.g., reading and revision).Learning Activities Summary
There is a series of lectures that cover the different approaches to animal behaviour (including developmental, genetic, neurobiological and evolutionary bases of behaviour) as well as a range of specific behaviour such as foraging, migration, predation, reproductive and social behaviour. Both fundamental and applied aspects are covered.
Practical sessions include creating an ethogram, performing data analysis on recordings of behaviour, measuring learning and memory in mice, studying foraging and nutrition in horses, and modelling animal collective behaviour. Students will also prepare a research proposal based on their own preliminary observations and for which there will be walk-in sessions to work on the project and receive help and feedback on the progress of the project.
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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 Hurdle
Yes/NoLearning Outcome Approximate timing of assessment (week of teaching period) Online practical quizzes Summative 10% No 1, 2, 3 Weeks 1, 3, 8, 10 & 12 Online formative quizzes Summative 0% No 1, 3, 4 Weeks 2, 3, 4 & 5 Observation of animal behaviour Summative 10% No 2, 5 Week 3 Feedback on major assignment, opportunity to refine project Formative 0% No 1, 3, 4 Weeks 3 & 6 Oral practical report on learning and memory Summative 5% No 2, 3, 5 Week 4 Data analysis in groups Summative 10% No 2, 3, 5 Week 6 Major assignment Summative 25% No 1, 3, 4 Week 9 Final examination Summative 40% No 1, 3, 4 Exam period Assessment Detail
Online practical quizzes (10%): for some practical sessions, the students will have to complete online quizzes testing their understanding of the topics that these sessions cover.
Observation of animal behaviour (10%): students will observe animal behaviour on existing video recording, establish an ethogram and use it to quantify behaviour.
Oral practical report on learning and memory (5%): student groups will give a 5-10min oral presentation in front of the rest of the class to describe the results of simple learning and memory experiments performed during the practical.
Data analysis in groups (10%): students work in groups to perform basic data analysis and statistics in order to interpret quantitative animal behaviour data. This analysis will be submitted as a short report per group.
Major assignment (25%): Students will write an individual report on a small project which they will have developed over the semester. In this project, they will formulate a simple hypothesis about an animal behaviour, perform preliminary observations or experiments before designing a research project proposal.
Final Examination (40%): an end-of-semester written examination will be used to assess the understanding of all components of the course.Submission
Late Submission:
If an extension is not applied for, or not granted then a penalty for late submission will apply. A penalty of 10% of the value of the assignment for each calendar day that the assignment is late (i.e. weekends count as 2 days), up to a maximum of 50% of the available marks will be applied. This means that an assignment that is 5 days late or more without an approved extension can only receive a maximum of 50% of the marks available for that assignment.Course Grading
Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:
M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme) Grade Mark Description FNS Fail No Submission F 1-49 Fail P 50-64 Pass C 65-74 Credit D 75-84 Distinction HD 85-100 High Distinction CN Continuing NFE No Formal Examination RP Result Pending 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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