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The information below is relevant from 01/03/2010 to 24/02/2013
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BOTN19001 - Terrestrial Botany

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This course deals with terrestrial (Australian) plants - their evolution, taxonomy, distribution and use. Emphasis will be placed on plant identification, with the view to applying this knowledge in activities such as vegetation survey, ecosystem restoration and remote sensing, and appreciating economic uses of plants and environmental impacts on native flora. Compulsory practical classes, field visits and specimen collection will enable the students to gain practical skills in plant identification and vegetation survey.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 2
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Pre-requisites: BIOL11099 Living Systems OR BIOL11100 Functional Biology

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 - 2010

Term 1 - 2017 Profile
Distance
Rockhampton
Term 1 - 2018 Profile
Distance
Rockhampton
Term 1 - 2019 Profile
Mixed Mode
Rockhampton
Term 1 - 2020 Profile
Mixed Mode
Rockhampton
Term 1 - 2021 Profile
Mixed Mode
Rockhampton
Term 1 - 2022 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 1 - 2023 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 1 - 2024 Profile
Mixed Mode

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. In-class Test(s) 15%
2. Written Assessment 5%
3. Practical Assessment 30%
4. Examination 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 1 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 83.33% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 42.86% 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
"You are doing a brilliant job at teaching botany, I now look at plants and flowers in a new and exiting light"
Recommendation
This unit focuses on learning plant diversity and understanding why certain plant communities occur only on certain habitats. This focus will be continued to be supported.
Action Taken
Students are provided with best practice training in identification and utilization of native plants of Australia.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
The contents of the quizzes to be aligned with the lectures
Recommendation
Quizzes will be re-written to reflect upon the contents covered in lectures
Action Taken
Quizzes were modified and they now align with the lectures.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Clear instructions to be provided re: the materials to be brought to the residential school and the in-class test
Recommendation
Detailed instructions that will highlight the materials needed for the residential school will be provided to the students prior to residential school
Action Taken
This information was made available to the students at the beginning of the Term. Students were also reminded about this before they attended the residential school.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Access plant identification videos to be streamlined
Recommendation
The video display style will be improved using modern technology
Action Taken
Teaching technology resources were utlised to improved video display where possible. This process will continue.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Further instructions on what plants to collect and what resources to use to identify them would greatly benefit students
Recommendation
One tutorial session will be devoted to demonstrate what type of plants to be collected and how they can be identified
Action Taken
The first two tutorials highlight plant collection and identification aspects. The process of collecting, curating and identifyng specimens was also taught during residential school.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
"Overall field trip was awesome and really enjoyed it, gained great real world experience"
Recommendation
Field trip is the core activity of this Unit as this will help us relate theory to the practical aspects of natural resource management. This activity will be continued.
Action Taken
Very effective field trip (whole day) was undertaken in addition to a vegetation survey which was conducted on campus.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
I found the residential school extremely useful as it dealt with hands-on work on identifying and utilizing native plants.
Recommendation
As this is a practical-oriented unit, field visits and keying are essential part of the unit. This component will be continued and improved, where possible.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
A lot of resources are included in the unit and they need to be tidied up.
Recommendation
The Unit is proposed to be re-organised for 2024 offering. During this process, new materials (electronic resources) will be added and the least relevant material will be removed.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
"Overall, I have learnt a lot from this unit especially on recognizing Australian native plants in the bush. Nothing much to improve"
Recommendation
We will endeavor to maintain this quality, and update/improve the contents, where possible.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
More feedback is sought on quizzes, in class test and specimen collection.
Recommendation
Tutorial sessions will be used to provide feedback on student performances. Specimen collection will be scheduled for Week 11 so as to allow provision of feedback on time.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Specimen collection could be difficult if the students are located inlands which are often dry.
Recommendation
Students will have up to 11 weeks to plan and collect specimens. They are also encouraged to collect specimens during residential school. Targeting creek lines and wet areas, and looking for both ground cover species and trees/shrubs will help overcome this issue. Students are also encouraged to discuss their difficulties with the lecturers at the start of the Term.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. demonstrate that you understand the botanical terms by giving working definitions of selected terms
  2. gain practical skills in plant collection, curating and keying of specimens via laboratory sessions, and through satisfactory completion of specimen collection
  3. you should also be able to write short notes, produce labelled diagrams and give extended written explanations to demonstrate:
  4. an understanding of the characteristic features of Australian flora. This will be achieved by visiting various plant communities found around Rockhampton region, as well as learning about other plant communities found elsewhere in Australia
  5. an appreciation of vegetation management and ecosystem restoration procedures. This will include an understanding of the influences of soil, climate, fire and anthropogenic activities on Australian plants, and will be achieved via field trips, specimen collection trips, report writing, lectures and case studies
  6. that you can undertake vegetation surveys, interpret data and appreciate the uses of GIS and remote sensing skills in vegetation management
  7. an understanding of the economic uses of plants and environmental impacts on plants by inspection of plants and plant products, and examining case studies

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 - In-class Test(s) • •
2 - Written Assessment • •
3 - Practical Assessment • • • •
4 - Examination • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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 • •
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
1 - In-class Test(s) • •
3 - Practical Assessment •
4 - Examination •
2 - Written Assessment • •