GEOLOGY 4010A - Advanced Geology (Hons) Pt 1

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2015

This course forms part of the honours program in Geology. It consists of research, writing and presentation tasks towards your major research project, Minerals Tertiary Education Council (MTEC) short courses and a major field camp to New Zealand. This course equips honours students with a wide range of skills for graduate employment programs or further postgraduate research.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code GEOLOGY 4010A
    Course Advanced Geology (Hons) Pt 1
    Coordinating Unit School of Physical Sciences
    Term Semester 1
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    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
    Course Description This course forms part of the honours program in Geology. It consists of research, writing and presentation tasks towards your major research project, Minerals Tertiary Education Council (MTEC) short courses and a major field camp to New Zealand. This course equips honours students with a wide range of skills for graduate employment programs or further postgraduate research.
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Rosalind King

    Course Timetable

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

  • 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)
    Knowledge and understanding of the content and techniques of a chosen discipline at advanced levels that are internationally recognised. 1-4
    The ability to locate, analyse, evaluate and synthesise information from a wide variety of sources in a planned and timely manner. 1,2,3,4,6
    An ability to apply effective, creative and innovative solutions, both independently and cooperatively, to current and future problems. 1-7
    Skills of a high order in interpersonal understanding, teamwork and communication. 5,6,7
    A proficiency in the appropriate use of contemporary technologies. 2,3,4
    A commitment to continuous learning and the capacity to maintain intellectual curiosity throughout life. 1-7
    A commitment to the highest standards of professional endeavour and the ability to take a leadership role in the community. 5,6,7
    An awareness of ethical, social and cultural issues within a global context and their importance in the exercise of professional skills and responsibilities. 5,6,7
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    The Geology Honours course consists of:
    • 12 day field trip to New Zealand
    • Two Minerals Tertiary Education Council (MTEC) 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.

    MTEC courses 1& 2
    Students have the opportunity to choose 2 of the 9 courses in the Minerals Tertiary Education Council (MTEC) Minerals Geoscience Honours Program (MGH). The program is run in collaboration with eight other Australian Universities (ANU, Curtin, James Cook, Melbourne, Monash, Newcastle, UTas, UWA) at various locations. As part of its support for the Minerals Geoscience Honours Program, MTEC has provided financial assistance to offset the cost of students participating in courses outside their hometown.


    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 two MTEC courses.
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    Assessment Task Task Type Weighting Due Learning Outcome
    New Zealand Field Trip  Formative & Summative 27% Feb-March 2,5,6
    Oral Exam  Summative 20% June 1,3,4,6,7
    Written Summaries of scientific seminars Summative 6% March-Oct 1,5
    MTEC Course 1 & 2 Formative & Summative 27% Feb-June 2,3,4
    Research Seminar Summative 20% November 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.

    MTEC courses 1 & 2 (27%)
    Each MTEC 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:

    NOG (No Grade Associated)
    Grade Description
    CN Continuing

    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.

  • 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.

  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines
  • Fraud Awareness

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