GEOLOGY 4010B - Advanced Geology (Hons) Pt 2
North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2017
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General Course Information
Course Details
Course Code GEOLOGY 4010B Course Advanced Geology (Hons) Pt 2 Coordinating Unit School of Physical Sciences Term Semester 2 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 4020A/B Incompatible GEOLOGY 4000A/B, GEOLOGY 4030A/B, GEOLOGY 4040A/B Restrictions Available only to students admitted to the relevant Honours program Assessment Seminars, New Zealand field trip, short courses and thesis support tasks Course Staff
Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Juraj Farkas
Course Timetable
The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.
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Learning Outcomes
Course Learning Outcomes
A successful studnet in this course should be able to:
1 Develop and manage a Geology 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 Geology Honours course consists of:
• 12 day field trip to New Zealand
• Short courses, which may include a field trip
• 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 Presentation
All honours students will have the opportunity to attend an excursion to New Zealand. The field trip will include aspects of Plate Tectonics, Neo-Tectonics, active volcanism and spectacular geothermal activity and fluvio-glacial and neotectonic geomorphology. 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 also expected to attend weekly TRaX and Sprigg seminars.
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 courses. -
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 Due Weighting Learning Outcome New Zealand Field Trip Formative & Summative Feb-March
27% 2,5,6 Thesis support tasks Formative & Summative March-Aug 26% 1,3,4,6,7 Written Summaries of scientific seminars Formative & Summative March-Oct 7% 1,5 Short course(s) Formative & Summative Feb-June 27% 2,3,4 Research Seminar Summative November 13% 1,5,6,7 Assessment Detail
New Zealand Field Trip Presentation 27%
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 during the trip itself. Three in-field tasks and field notebooks will be assessed during the trip. A final oral exam will held on return from the field. Alternative assessment options may be available for students not able to go on the New Zealand field trip.
Short course(s) (27%)
Each short course is assessed differently and may include a final exam, project, workshop or field assessment task/s.
Written summaries of scientific seminars (6%)
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 as follows:
1) Hypothesis and Aims
2) Background and Literature Review
3) Introduction
4) Methods
5) Presenting your results
6) Results vs Discussion
7) Presentation Skills
Oral Exam (Support Tasks 1-3) (20%)
Thesis Support Tasks 1-3 will be presented and examined at an oral exam held in June. The student will be asked to comment on a series of questions related to tasks 1-3. The student’s supervisor/s and examiners, and the honours coordinator will conduct the oral exam.
Research Seminars (20%)
Each seminar will be 15 minutes long with 5 minutes of questions. It is compulsory that all students attend all seminars.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 Access Adelaide.
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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
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- LinkedIn Learning
- Student Life Counselling Support - Personal counselling for issues affecting study
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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
- Elder Conservatorium of Music Noise Management Plan
- 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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