ENVR11011 - Modern Environmental Issues

General Information

Unit Synopsis

In Modern Environmental Issues you will learn how scientific methods and knowledge inform issues of environmental concern. You will learn about different environments and their interaction with human population, resources and pollution, disturbance, atmospheric composition and air pollution, fossil fuels and renewable sources of energy, conservation and environmental management. You will begin to apply basic scientific knowledge and principles to researching and discussing environmental issues and 'wicked' problems.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 1
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites There are no pre-requisites for the unit.

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 - 2025

Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Online
Term 2 - 2026 Profile
Online

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 Quiz(zes) 20%
2. Presentation 30%
3. Take Home Exam 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 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 92.31% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 22.41% 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: Student
Feedback
The open book exam was very difficult to complete on time
Recommendation
The end of term quiz format will be updated in the next offering to better engage students and assist in them completing it in the time allotted.
Action Taken
The End of Term Online quiz was offered over a greater time span and before invigilated exams in other units took place to give students more time to prepare and complete the assessment.
Source: Student
Feedback
Students found the unit well-organized and structured.
Recommendation
The overall unit structure will remain the same.
Action Taken
The overall unit structure was maintained.
Source: Student feedback
Feedback
Some of the lectures need to be updated.
Recommendation
The unit coordinator will update some of the recorded lectures.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student feedback
Feedback
The fortnightly questions are unclear in some cases and could be more Australian focussed.
Recommendation
The fortnightly questions will be reviewed for clarity. The global nature of questions related to environmental issues will be maintained. Students focus on local issues in their Video of a Local Environmental Issue assessment.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student feedback
Feedback
Students appreciate the real world focus and informative nature of the learning materials.
Recommendation
The overall structure and content focus of the unit materials will be maintained.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Describe the underpinning science of environmental issues
  2. Discuss possible solutions to environmental issues
  3. Communicate the scientific basis of environmental issues to general audiences
  4. Discuss the ecological and scientific principles relevant to understanding natural and human impacts on the environment
  5. Synthesise information from scientific literature relating to modern environmental issues.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Online Quiz(zes) • •
2 - Presentation • • • •
3 - Take Home Exam • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Communication • • • • •
2 - Problem Solving • •
3 - Critical Thinking • •
4 - Information Literacy • • • •
5 - Team Work •
6 - Information Technology Competence •
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
2 - Presentation • • • • •
3 - Take Home Exam • • • •
1 - Online Quiz(zes) • •