Overview
On successful completion of this unit, students will have a sound understanding of selected applications of microbiology. Students should be able to explain the fundamental principles of environmental microbiology with particular reference to air, food, water and wastewater, the role of microbes in relation to human health and epidemiology and the influences of microbes of human society. Students must attend a compulsory residential school or on-campus lab classes in order to achieve the leaning outcomes.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
MBIO19012 Microbiology or MBIO19003 Introductory Microbiology
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2019
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Student evaluation, student discussions, self-reflection.
Students were happy with the unit overall.
There will be no changes to the unit at this point, particularly since this unit will be under revision for the restructure of the science degree.
- Explain the fundamental principles of environmental microbiology, with particular reference to air, food, water and wastewater.
- Discuss the role of microbes in relation to human health, with particular reference to the normal microbiota and exogenous microbes.
- Analyse the influences of microbes on human society and its activities.
- Apply the fundamental principles of microbial epidemiology to current issues relating to human/animal/plant health.
- Work with others to carry out relevant microbiological procedures in the laboratory in a safe and efficient manner.
- Interpret the results of laboratory experiments in the context of the underlying microbiological principles/applications.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 - Presentation and Written Assessment - 20% | ||||||
| 2 - Practical and Written Assessment - 30% | ||||||
| 3 - Examination - 50% | ||||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 - Communication | ||||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | ||||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | ||||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | ||||||
| 5 - Team Work | ||||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | ||||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | ||||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | ||||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | ||||||
| 10 - First Nations Knowledges | ||||||
| 11 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |
| 1 - Presentation and Written Assessment - 20% | |||||||||||
| 2 - Practical and Written Assessment - 30% | |||||||||||
| 3 - Examination - 50% | |||||||||||
Textbooks
Environmental Microbiology
- Edition: 3rd (2014)
- Authors: Pepper, Gerba and Gentry
- Elsevier
- Burlington Burlington , MA , USA
- ISBN: 978-0-12-394626-3
- Binding: Hardcover
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Web cam and microphone
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
s.makiela@cqu.edu.au
Week 1
Begin Date: 15 Jul 2019Module/Topic
Introduction, human disease
Chapter
1, 22, 30, 31
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 2
Begin Date: 22 Jul 2019Module/Topic
Animal and plant disease, biocontrol
Chapter
20
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 3
Begin Date: 29 Jul 2019Module/Topic
Microorganisms in nature
Chapter
4, 5, 6, 7
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 4
Begin Date: 05 Aug 2019Module/Topic
Microbial interactions with the environment
Chapter
15, 16, 19, 31
Events and Submissions/Topic
Experimental design for Project Report due Friday (9th August) 5:00pm AEST.
Week 5
Begin Date: 12 Aug 2019Module/Topic
Food microbiology
Chapter
22
Events and Submissions/Topic
Vacation Week
Begin Date: 19 Aug 2019Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 6
Begin Date: 26 Aug 2019Module/Topic
Waste water treatment
Chapter
23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 7
Begin Date: 02 Sep 2019Module/Topic
Practical block session (5 - 8 September)
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 8
Begin Date: 09 Sep 2019Module/Topic
Sampling, processing and culture of microbes
Chapter
8, 10
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 9
Begin Date: 16 Sep 2019Module/Topic
Detection, enumeration and bioinformatics
Chapter
11, 12, 13, 21
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 10
Begin Date: 23 Sep 2019Module/Topic
Bioremediation, biodegradation and bioleaching
Chapter
17, 18, 31
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 11
Begin Date: 30 Sep 2019Module/Topic
Industrial microbiology and biofuels
Chapter
20
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 12
Begin Date: 07 Oct 2019Module/Topic
Revision
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Review/Exam Week
Begin Date: 14 Oct 2019Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Exam Week
Begin Date: 21 Oct 2019Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Presentation and Written Assessment
You will be assessed on two tasks (for a total weighting of 20%):
15% - essay
5% - seminar
Essay
On the unit Moodle site, you will have a choice of 5 topics, each of which is a controversial issue in microbiology. Please note that the number of students in each topic will be restricted. You will need to write a critical debate on their chosen topic. There is no right or wrong answer, but you will need to critically review all sides of the issue and defend your opinion with references.
Word length: 1000-1400 words.
Seminar
You will need to prepare a short (3-6 minute) seminar presenting one aspect of your essay; there will be several choices available per essay topic on the unit Moodle site. All seminars will be delivered via Zoom at a time and date negotiated between students and the unit coordinator (it will be after Week 10). The use of a PowerPoint presentation is optional.
Week 7 Monday (2 Sept 2019) 9:00 am AEST
Week 9 Monday (16 Sept 2019)
For the essay, a full assessment rubrics will be available on the unit Moodle site, using the following criteria:
- Content and range of knowledge (20%)
- Application of critical analysis (40%)
- Defense of argument (10%)
- Presentation (10%)
- Clarity of expression (10%)
- Referencing (10%)
For the seminar, detailed marking criteria will be available on the unit Moodle site, and will be based on the following:
- Seminar content (60%)
- Seminar presentation (40%)
- Analyse the influences of microbes on human society and its activities.
- Apply the fundamental principles of microbial epidemiology to current issues relating to human/animal/plant health.
- Communication
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
2 Practical and Written Assessment
In small groups (3 - 4 people), you will be asked to collaboratively design an experiment, carry out the experiment during the practical block session, and then individually prepare a scientific report on the project.
You will be given a choice of two or three potential project areas; these will be available on the Moodle site one week prior to the start of term. Based on each student's preference of project area, you will be assigned to a group by the unit coordinator early in Week 1. The allocation of roles within these groups will be determined collectively by the group members. Each group will have their own discussion forum and Zoom session in Moodle.
You will be assessed on various tasks (for a total weighting of 30%):
5% - experimental design (group assessed)
15% - written report (individually assessed)
10% - peer assessment (individually assessed)
Experimental Design
You will be provided with a list of available materials early in Week 1. In your groups, you must research and design a scientifically valid experiment. Students who have not studied experimental design are advised to read the basic concepts provided in Moodle.
The experimental design must be submitted by the end of Week 4 (9th August), and should include a list of materials required to ensure that the material will be available by the practical session. The experimental designs will be marked and returned before the practical session in case any changes need to be made.
You will only be allocated a certain amount of time to undertake their experiment during the practical block session. Part of the experimental design should include time requirements.
Written Report
The written report will be an article for a journal submission. As such, you will need to follow the "Guidelines for Authors" document for the journal when preparing your submission. This document, the conventions to follow and the passing standards will be available on Moodle, and will be clearly outlined in the practical session.
Word limit: 1500 words max.
Peer Assessment
You will be asked to grade yourself and each of your team members on how well they performed as a team member. This will be done in a formative manner after the experimental design stage and will be repeated summatively after the practical block session. Each student's final mark will be an average of the summative peer assessments. These will be done via the Self and Peer Assessment program, which will be available in Moodle.
Week 10 Monday (23 Sept 2019) 9:00 am AEST
This is both the final report and the summative peer assessment.
Week 12 Monday (7 Oct 2019)
The experimental design will be marked per group. Detailed marking criteria will be available on the unit Moodle site, and will be based on the following:
- Clarity of objectives and focus of the work (25%)
- Validity of experimental design (50%)
- Use of literature (25%)
For the report, a full assessment rubrics will be available on the unit Moodle site, using the following criteria:
- Scientific writing (10%)
- Data presentation and analysis (20%)
- The extent to which the results are considered and discussed (40%)
- Report presentation (10%)
- Clarity of expression (10%)
- Referencing (10%)
The peer assessment questionnaire will be available on the unit Moodle site from Week 4. The criteria will be discussed on the forums and during the practical block.
- Work with others to carry out relevant microbiological procedures in the laboratory in a safe and efficient manner.
- Interpret the results of laboratory experiments in the context of the underlying microbiological principles/applications.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Team Work
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
Examination
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
