AGRI13009 - Resource Smart Food Production: More With Less

General Information

Unit Synopsis

Current conventional agricultural approaches have caused a number of serious environmental issues requiring proposals for mitigation. In this unit you will be introduced to the sustainability challenges of current food production systems in relation to the availability and use efficiency of resources (water, nutrients and energy) and greenhouse gas emissions. Case studies will be drawn from a range of food production systems including crops and livestock. You will undertake an investigation into a current challenge confronting a food production system of your choice. You will explore the effects of resource availability and management actions on productivity and discuss ecological consequences.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 3
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 1
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Minimum of 72 credit points

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).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2023

Term 2 - 2023 Profile
Bundaberg
Emerald
Online
Rockhampton

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).

Assessment Overview

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.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Online Test 30%
2. Case Study 20%
3. Report 50%

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

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2022 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 87.50% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 38.10% response rate.

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.

Source: SUTE Feedback and In Class
Feedback
Students reported that they enjoyed the variety of learning materials offered in this unit.
Recommendation
The unit should continue to offer a range of learning materials delivered through various types of resources on Moodle and in-class. These include videos, pre-reading from various sources, guest lecturers, news stories on research projects and innovations, interactive resources/maps, collaborative jamboards and weekly review questions.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: SUTE feedback
Feedback
Some students indicated that the use of discussion boards from group discussions and assessment was challenging.
Recommendation
Students should be reminded of the importance of using and engaging with different types of communication platforms. Most students have experience with discussion boards from previous units, however they should continued to be reminded that they are free to raise concerns or the need for technical assistance with the unit coordinator.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: In Class
Feedback
Enhance Problem Based Learning tutorials
Recommendation
All tutorial sessions should be based on problem based learning in future offerings of this unit. In Term 2 of 2022, most tutorials followed this structure and students responded well to this.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Evaluate how plant and animal functioning and productivity are impacted by resource availability and management actions
  2. Integrate scientific knowledge for the development of sustainable resource management solutions for the cropping or livestock industry
  3. Develop solutions to complex problems in agroecosystems.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Online Test •
2 - Case Study • •
3 - Report • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Communication • • •
2 - Problem Solving • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • •
4 - Information Literacy • • •
5 - Team Work • •
6 - Information Technology Competence •
9 - Social Innovation •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10