Room 456a, Level 4, Barr Smith South, School of Architecture and Built Environment
Email: katharine.bartsch@adelaide.edu.au (preferred mode of contact)
Researcher Profile: https://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/katharine.bartsch
Available by appointment only.

Website: School of Architecture and Built Environment: https://architecture.adelaide.edu.au/

Contact Protocol: Course-specific queries should be raised with your tutor.
If queries cannot be resolved in your tutorial, please contact the course coordinator via email.

AskECMS: https://ecms.adelaide.edu.au/study-with-us/student-support/ask-ecms
If you’re a Faculty of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences (ECMS) student, our Ask ECMS team can help you with just about any study-related matter that could possibly arise.

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

All the details for this course will be available, and updated, on MyUni.

Environment I introduces the relationship between specific environmental contexts (with emphasis on the bio-physical context) and design. The course provides the foundation for subsequent courses in the environment stream of the Bachelor of Architectural Design. 
The course learning outcomes for Environment I are specifically aligned with the thematic content of the lecture series, the tutorials, the required and recommended readings, the objectives of the assessable tasks, and importantly, the program learning outcomes.

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1.   analyse key aspects of the historical, political and ethical context of sustainable development, as well as Indigenous perspectives about the environment. 
2.   identify the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainability.
3.   demonstrate understanding of sustainable processes, relating especially to biodiversity and water.
4.   employ the basic principles of sustainable design in a small project, including the selection of a plant palette. 
5.   apply independent research skills to analyse and evaluate the relationship between climates, environments, and design. 
6.   write clear and concise analytical texts which structure evidence for and against (a point of view) relating specifically to sustainable design.

The following textbooks are compulsory.

Christopher B. Daniels and Catherine J. Tait (Eds.). (2006). Adelaide: Nature of a City: The Ecology of a Dynamic City from 1836-2036. Adelaide: Biocity: Centre for Urban Habitats with the support of the Adelaide City Council, University of Adelaide (School of Environmental and Earth Sciences), The Department for Environment and Heritage and the Royal Zoological Society of South Australia.

Christopher B. Daniels (Ed.). (2010). Adelaide: Water of a City. Adelaide: Wakefield Press.


These 2 textbooks, now available on a USB, can be purchased from the School of Architecture and Built Environment.
They can be purchased on Friday 7th August, 10-12Noon. Level 5 Barr Smith South, Tope of the Stairs (next to First Year Studio 534).

The cost is $40 for the two books, strictly Cash Only.

These texts will be useful throughout the Environment stream offered at Levels I, II and III. Compulsory reading material for lectures, tutorials, or assignments will be available in the corresponding folder on MyUni.

Detailed information about further resources and required reading will be available on MyUni.

The Writing Centre offers practical advice and strategies for students to master reading, writing, note-taking, and referencing techniques for success at university. Please note, the drop-in service is not an editing or grammar checking service but the Centre can help you develop your written English. Consult “The Writing Centre” for on-line resources re: essay writing guides, study guides, referencing.

You can book a virtual meeting with writing mentors. Details are available at the website. https://www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/

University Email
The school uses the University email system to get in touch with the students. So it is imperative that you check your email regularly and keep up to date with any new announcements. It is expected students check University email account regularly as this is the primary means of individual contact. Also, check Canvas for regular updates, announcements and online material.

Based on such communication, it will be assumed you are aware and prepared before each studio, lecture or scheduled meeting time in regards to any prior communication. Tutors will NOT respond to individual email correspondence. Be prepared to ask your questions in class, preparation before class is therefore essential so you can make full use of this time to communicate and seek advice from tutors.

MyUni / Canvas
In addition to the above resources, further assignment resources are available on MyUni / Canvas. These may include further reading material for the lectures and studios, reading material that will assist with the preparation of assignments and appropriate links to assist students with academic writing including essay writing as required.

MyUni / Canvas is an essential online tool which will be used to communicate information regarding the course including details of assignments and interim grades. There are many other learning resources and assessment pieces that rely on the MyUni system for delivery. Therefore it is recommended that you familiarise yourself with the various functions of MyUni and employ it to its fullest extent. https://myuni.adelaide.edu.au

Discussion Board
The Canvas Discussion Board can be used to interact with other students and is an essential tool to discuss information and increase your understanding of issues.

Lecture Recordings
Lecture content will be made available online in Semester 2, 2020.

Environment I focuses on student-centred learning and teaching. In “What the Student Does: Teaching for Enhanced Learning” Biggs (1999) advocates a systemic approach which takes into account all aspects of the teaching context—course objectives, teaching and learning activities and the assessment tasks—as a strategy to move away from passive, uni-directional, teacher-to student transmission of knowledge. This is the aim of the teaching and learning mode of Environment I. Importantly, Biggs stresses the need to embed the course objectives in the assignment tasks. Thus, formative and summative assessment tasks are designed to engage students in activities which will develop their knowledge and skills which are aligned with the course objectives (most significantly, foundational knowledge of sustainable development as a basis for future courses in the Environment stream at Levels I, II and III and an understanding of the synergies between design and the environment in preparation for future design studios as well as the ability to the ability to locate, analyse, evaluate and synthesise information from a wide variety of sources to prepare clear and concise analytical texts).

The knowledge base begins with the lectures and the required reading material. However, these are intended as a point of inspiration and a starting point for students’ independent learning which is demonstrated in the assessable work. They are not intended as a comprehensive, finite review of the content.

Knowledge, skills, and assessable work are carefully integrated to achieve the intended holistic approach to learning and teaching. Moreover, according to Biggs, assessment must generate higher level cognitive learning activities, specifically, theorising, applying, relating, understanding or explaining distinguished from describing, note-taking or memorising. Student-focused learning strategies, embedded in the assessable work, are essential to bring about higher level cognitive learning.

John Biggs (2012) What the student does: teaching for enhanced learning, Higher Education Research & Development, 31:1, 39-55, DOI: 10.1080/07294360.2012.642839.

The Learning Activities Summary will be available on MyUni in the Course Orientation Module.

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

The University expects full-time students (ie. those taking 12 units per semester) to devote at
least 48 hours per week to their studies. Accordingly, students undertaking this 3 unit course are expected to devote 12 hours per week to contact activities and self-guided studies.

Based on this framework here are some figures that might assist workload management:

Total workload hours: 12 hrs per week x 12 weeks = 144 hrs + 24 hours (non-teaching period, mid-semester break) = 168hrs

Total contact hours: Usually 3 hrs per week x 12 weeks = 36 hrs

Total self-guided study: 168hrs – 36 hrs = 132 hrs


These 132 hours should be used towards preparation of weekly tasks and for completion of the various assignments associated with the course, including development of various skills required to complete the same. Please organise your time wisely.

Assignment 1 Due Friday Week 5 25%
Assignment 2 Due Friday Week 8+1 25%
Assignment 3 Due Friday Week 13 40% (Assessment Hurdle)
Quizzes 10%

If there are any concerns about the due dates or conflicts arising with those of other courses these concerns must be communicated to the course coordinator by Monday of Week 2. The course co-ordinator will take these into account and notify the class of any changes via MyUni.

Topic 1: THE ORIGINS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Week 1 Online Content
- Every course should have a theme song! Big Yellow Taxi
- The Lorax and other Tales of Caution: Responsibilities for Designers
- Course Overview: From Learning Activities to Assessment  
Week 1 Tutorial F2F: Introductions. Overview of Assignments / Quizzes

Topic 2: SUSTAINABLE TRADITIONS

Week 2 Online Content
- Introduction to Assignment 1
- Traditional Responses to Eco-limits: Vernacular Settlements
- The Relevance of Indigenous Architecture Now
- Online Quiz
Week 2 Tutorial F2F: Assignment 1 Task

Topic 3: ECOLOGY AND THE DESIGN PROFESSIONS: Sustainable Futures

Week 3 Online Content
- Can Design Save the Planet? Ecological Design + the Design Professions
- Ecology and Landscape Architecture
- Ecology and Architecture
- Online Quiz
Week 3 Tutorial F2F: Assignment 1 Task

Assignment 3 is an assessment hurdle. Students must receive 50% for the assignment to Pass the Environment I.

Assignment 2 offers a small group discovery opportunity which is mentored by Course Coordinator and Senior Lecturer, Dr Katharine Bartsch.

The union of teaching and research, combined in a search for impartial truth, was fundamental to the modern research university ideal. A small group of students, meeting to work at the discovery of new knowledge under expert guidance, was the centrepiece of the university experience. Yet in Australian and UK universities from the 1980s, with the massive growth of university
enrolments and the addition of many applied disciplines, research became increasingly detached from teaching, and a division was created that has widened ever since. Today despite oppressive research pressures on staff, research is almost wholly absent from Australian undergraduate teaching.

The University of Adelaide promotes small group discovery and aims to become a model of the teaching/research union, to show how universities can recapture what was once the defining characteristic of the research university. This does not mean merely inviting students to study an individual topic in depth, with initiative and creativity. In a true research university, the study of existing knowledge is secondary to the making of new knowledge. Moving away from knowledge delivery, now increasingly eroded by the universal availability of free online content, a university should focus on the essence of what research offers: the rigour of the scientific method, the search for empirical evidence, the beauty of logic and of patterns, the value of innovation, the creativity of problem solving and the intrinsic worth of knowledge. The University of Adelaide will return research to undergraduate teaching, so that every student in every program comes to experience the scholarship of discovery as the highlight of their learning experience.

For many undergraduate students, this will take the form of an individual research project in their final year, for which the preparatory research skills and experience necessary will be built through smaller exercises in the earlier years of their course. As a key format for delivering undergraduate research, the university will commit to increasing the centrality of small-group learning, in which students address the scholarship of discovery with other students and a staff mentor. While content will increasingly be delivered in other formats, every student in every program should experience such small-group discovery as a key part of their learning experience.

All details about the individual assignments including an overview of each assessment task, the task type, due date, weighting, and identification of the learning objectives addressed by the assessment task are provided in the relevant assignment folder on MyUni. The course is not exempt from any requirement of the Assessment for Coursework Programs policy

Assignment 1 Due Friday Week 5 25%
Assignment 2 Due Friday Week 8+1 25%
Assignment 3 Due Friday Week 13 40% (Assessment Hurdle)
Quizzes 10%


If there are any concerns about the due dates or conflicts arising with those of other courses these concerns must be communicated to the course coordinator by Monday of Week 2. The course co-ordinator will take these into account and notify the class of any changes via MyUni.

Students are expected to attend all lectures and tutorials. Class rolls will be maintained to monitor attendance. Membership of tutorials is to be finalised by the end of the first week of semester 1. Students wishing to swap between tutorials after this time are required to present their case to the coordinator (Katharine Bartsch), but should be aware that such a request may not be approved. It is important to maintain a good staff to student ratio.

There are well publicised School policies for registering non-attendance for legitimate reasons, and you are strongly encouraged to formally acknowledge non-attendance reasons as soon as is practicable prior to planned absences or after your non-planned absence. The Medical and Counselling services, as well as the Education and Welfare Office of the University, are available to assist you free of charge in regard to medical or counselling matters.

Students are required to attend all scheduled teaching (or engage in the online offering); and lectures, tutorials and other classes will proceed on the assumption that students have done so. Attendance at tutorials, seminars, practical work and studio sessions is taken into account in decisions about offering Replacement/Additional Assessment and/or examinations. Students who regularly do not attend sessions and do not carry out the associated work may be precluded from and regarded as having failed the course. Students should take advantage of the educational opportunities offered by all classes, including the opportunity for interaction, and learning from each other. Compulsory attendance is necessary at all practical work sessions for a number of reasons: to achieve this interaction, in particular in group work; because of the sequential nature of work in some courses; because of the need for students to provide an audience and feedback for other students presenting work; and to ensure the authorship of project work on which assessment is based.

When the assignments are to be presented during a studio or tutorial, students must arrive and submit their work at the beginning of the studio (as directed). Students who arrive later than 10 minutes after the studio commences will not be allowed to
present and will receive 0 mark. It is expected that all students will remain to listen to the presentations by their peers during studio presentations.

All details about the individual assignments including an overview of each assessment task, the task type (e.g. summative, formative), due date, weighting, and identification of the learning objectives addressed by the assessment task are provided on MyUni / Canvas.

Final results for the course will only be available through Access Adelaide and students SHOULD NOT contact the course coordinator or the tutors for the same.

Most assignments will be marked within 3 weeks of the submission. Students are expected to inform the Course Coordinator if there are any errors or issues arising in relation to their assessment. The best examples of students’ work will be included in the All-In Exhibition to be held at the end of term alongside the best works from other courses and year levels.

All details about the individual assignment submissions and online participation tasks will be provided on MyUni / Canvas.


Please note the following general points about Submissions:

General
All submissions must include Student Name and Student ID Number. Submissions without Student Name or ID Number will not be considered for marking, and will receive zero marks in accordance with the guidelines.

Please adhere to submission deadlines and follow instructions provided.

Students must not submit work for an assignment that has previously been submitted for this course or any other course without prior approval from the Course Coordinator.

On occasion, the lecturer/tutor may wish to retain students’ work for future reference and the relevant student will be informed at such a time.

Early Submission:
There is an early submission box located on Level 4 which is cleared out daily at 10am. Please mark your submission clearly before placing in box. Online submissions can be made prior to the due date.

Models for in-class presentation cannot be handed in early.

Late Submission:
The school will NOT accept late submissions and any such assignment will receive zero marks. This also applies to electronic submissions.

Printing delays & hard disk crashes will not be entertained as legitimate causes for delay, so please ensure that the work is finished in advance. Online submissions can also take time when file sizes are large and this can result in delayed submissions. The School recommends submissions < 50MB.

Re-submission:
The school has a resubmission policy whereby students can redeem failed work by submitting additional work for a maximum of 50%.

Good practice:
Students should ensure that they regularly backup their work on multiple locations as hard-disk crashes are an unfortunate reality. When relying on community printing facilities, students should attempt to finish their work in advance to avoid unnecessary delays. Students must retain a copy of all assignments submitted (digital or hardcopy), as originals may be lost during the submission process.

For modified arrangements of submission and assessment due to special circumstances see the following Assessment Task Extension(s) & Additional Assessment guidelines.

Modified Arrangements (General)
Students can apply for extensions or modified arrangements based on Medical conditions or other Extenuating circumstances. However, students need to submit their application along with supporting documents within 5 business days of the condition becoming applicable.

The application form (the 'Blue Form') is available from the Front Office and needs to be submitted at the Front Office along with any supporting documentation. It is not sufficient, for example, just to submit a medical certificate. If you are sick a medical certificate needs to be appended to the Blue Form.

Please note that submitting an application does not guarantee acceptance and the Course Coordinator will inform the applicant if the application is accepted. Please DO NOT contact the Course Coordinator directly.

Medical Reasons:
In case of an extended medical condition which makes it impossible for the student to submit the work on time, an Application for Assessment Task Extension due to Medical Circumstances (Blue Form) may be lodged with the Front Office along with a doctor’s certificate within 5 business days.

Extenuating Circumstances:
If the student is unable to submit the work on time due to extenuating circumstances an Application for Assessment Task Extension due to Extenuating Circumstances (Blue Form) may be lodged with the Front Office. Please note that this is only available for certain military, religious, or legal obligations and does not extend to minor personal problems.

Compassionate Grounds:
In case of certain extraordinary personal problems students can apply for extensions based on compassionate grounds (Blue Form). However, these must first be discussed with the Course Coordinator in person through appointment during the assigned office hours.

Student Support:
For a full range of student support services visit https://www.adelaide.edu.au/student/

Additional Assessment:
If a student receives a Fail grade for the course with an overall mark between 45 and 49, they may be eligible for an Offer of Additional Assessment which would allow them to get a maximum of 50 Pass for the Course.

Additional Assessment offers are made by the School and the student will be informed directly once these are made available.

Disability:
Students who have a disability and wish to seek modified submission or assessment arrangements can contact the
University Disability Services at https://www.adelaide.edu.au/disability/ and then communicate this to the Course Coordinator in person by appointment.

Elite Athlete:
Students who have national/international sporting commitments and wish to seek modified submission or assessment
arrangements need to register with the University Elite Athlete Support Scheme at https://www.adelaide.edu.au/eliteathletes/ and then communicate this to the Course Coordinator in person by appointment.