CQUniversity Unit Profile.

This assessment is designed to test and apply your newly acquired rock and mineral identification skills in the real world i.e. the field situation, to source site specific geological information and to hone your scientific report writing skills. The aim is to synthesize this information and to produce a high quality geological field guide.

Scenario

You have been asked by your local Rotary Club, as the “geological expert”, to lead a field trip that will look at some geological features of interest in your local area. You are to produce a “Geological Field Guide” for participants.

This exercise may require some fieldwork within your local area.

HINT: Undertake an internet search to glean ideas from existing field guides in the published literature e.g. Australian Geological Society and other professional society field guides.

Further support material for this assessment task will be posted on Moodle along with some Exemplars. We will also discuss this assessment item during the weekly in-class and on-line Zoom Tutorials and in Moodle Forums and Posts.

You will be assessed on your ability to write a well researched, succinctly written and well illustrated scientific document. Please view the unit's Moodle site for the assessment criteria rubric associated with this assessment item. Carefully read the details outlined in the assessment criteria rubric, ensuring you think about how to address all the assessment criteria outlined in the rubric before commencing the assessment item. Prior to finalizing your submission ensure that you check to see that you have addressed all of the assessment criteria outlined in the rubric.

The Practical Examination (1.5 hour duration plus 5 minutes reading time) will test your mineral and rock identification skills and your geological map interpretation skills.

Distance Education students will undertake their Practical Examination during the second day (afternoon) of their Residential School. Distance Education students please bring your rock and mineral kits to the Residential School as we will be going over (revising) the practicals already attempted each week prior to the Residential School. If you have not attempted ALL of your practicals prior to the Residential School you will find it extremely difficult to pass your Practical Examination.

Internal (ROK) students will undertake their Practical Examination during week 7 (time and venue to be advised in Moodle) if there are > 10 internally enrolled (ROK) students. If there are < 10 internally enrolled (ROK) students, these students will undertake the full 4 day Residential School ALONG WITH the Distance Education students and will undertake their Practical Examination ALONG WITH the Distance Education students.

You (individually) will be assessed on your:

• Ability to identify hand specimens of the more common rock-forming minerals by applying your newly acquired knowledge of their diagnostic properties and the key tests used in their characterisation.
• Ability to classify igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks
• Ability to interpret simple geological structures, geological successions and timing from geological and topographical maps
• Ability to read a geological map to make resource and environmental management decisions
• Ability to draw geological cross-sections
• Ability to operate some commonly used geological equipment e.g. geological compass, global positioning system, hand lens, tablet with geological software.

This assessment item is designed to test the recently acquired rock and mineral identification, classification and mapping skills of small groups of students (Group Work) in the natural setting, the field. The Group Work will take the form of a simple geological field mapping exercise (transects) over a defined geographic area using some basic geological instruments and software. The operation of these instruments and software will be demonstrated at the onset of the mapping exercise during the Residential School.

Further details pertaining to the mapping tasks will be demonstrated to the combined cohort of Internal (ROK) and Distance students during the field trip component of the Residential School (30 April to 01 May). Each Group are to submit a combined or group report online for assessment via Moodle. It will take the form of a short written report, which includes maps, photos and field sketches.

The type and nature of field mapping activities to be conducted is dependent upon a number of variables, namely weather conditions and accessibility to geo-sites on the day. Consequently, some changes to tasks may need to be made on the day/s of the field trip.

Each group will be assessed on it's ability to:

• Conduct a simple geological mapping exercise in the field by utilizing some basic geological tools e.g. geological compass, hand lens, an aerial base map, global positioning system, tablet with geological software, etc.
• Identify and classify the rocks and minerals observed at the delegated field mapping site/s
• Produce a geological map and cross sections based on the group's field observations and measurements
• Unravel the stratigraphic succession (rock record and history ) at the designated field site/s and to relate this to Plate Tectonics theory.

Please note that some aspects of these criteria may be altered on the day due to unforeseen circumstances i.e. inclement weather conditions, tidal conditions, accessibility of geo-sites or other factors.

During the course of 2 days of field work (30 April to 01 May) during the Residential School a number of sites of geological interest in the Rockhampton area will be visited. At each of these geo-sites you will be asked to make notes on the rocks and minerals encountered, their geological ages, the geological features observed and to take photographs and GPS positions for your records. This information will be recorded on Digital Tablets, CQU to provide, as well as in field notebooks.

The objective of this assessment item is for you (individually) to relate your field observations to the major geological events that have occurred in central Queensland i.e. relate these geosites to the central Queensland stratigraphic column of geological events in (see page 6 in Willmott, your text book). You will need to relate the rocks and landforms you encountered during your field work to their corresponding geological time periods. These, in turn, are to be related to geological events. This field information is to be placed into your field report, which each member of the class is to submit i.e it's an individual assessment item.

Further details as to the tasks to be performed at each of the field sites visited will be outlined during the onset of the Residential School and during the duration of the field trips. Tasks may alter on the days/s due to unforeseen circumstances e.g. inclement weather conditions, accessibility to geo-sites etc. Instructions on the use of Field Tablets and other geological equipment and software will be provided both prior to and during the 2 days of field work.

This assessment item is to take the form of a Field Report. Marks will be awarded for:

• Adequacy and accuracy of field descriptions
• Neatness and clarity of field sketches, photos and maps
• Ability to present a coherent and logical geological sequence of events and the ability to place these within the prevailing plate tectonic model.
• General presentation and layout of the report
• Readability and grammar
• Use and adequacy of referencing.

Note: this assessment item will be discussed further during Moodle forums and tutorials both prior to and after the conclusion of the residential school field trips.