ENVR11014 - Environmental Monitoring

General Information

Unit Synopsis

In Environmental Monitoring you will learn the basics of ecosystem science as well as the research and industry skills necessary to carry out surveys and research in natural and impacted ecosystems. Your study will focus on two iconic Australian ecosystems, the Great Barrier Reef and the Brigalow Belt. The field skills you acquire in this unit will enable you to perform both academic research and industry surveys in ecosystems anywhere in the world. You will apply your knowledge of ecosystems, and animal and plant biology to sample collection, vegetation surveys, animal trapping and identification. You will also begin to learn some basic project management skills including how to legally document your work and to prepare and plan for safe field work. The residential school in this unit will involve animal trapping and will abide by the approved ethics proposal that includes the destructive sampling of some fish and, if caught, the euthanisation of pest species (e.g. cats) as required by law. Students are advised to contact the unit coordinator if they have any concerns with regard to this aspect of the unit. There is an additional cost for the off-campus component of the residential school in this unit.

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 Compulsory Residential School
View Unit Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2023

Term 2 - 2023 Profile
Mixed Mode
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 Quiz(zes) 30%
2. Laboratory/Practical 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 72.73% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 18.97% 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: Have Your Say
Feedback
Clearer rubrics and expectations of Assessment 3 (the Residential School Report)
Recommendation
Develop a better rubric for Assesssment 3, with clear graphical examples of appropriate figures, captions, and inline citation.
Action Taken
We provided students with very clear graphical examples of figures, captions and inline citation, as well as a clear rubric and expectations.
Source: Faculty
Feedback
Another assessment is needed to be better used as an online quiz to prepare students for the residential school rather than as a record of attendence.
Recommendation
Add an online quiz assessment focused on Residential School pre-readings and understanding the work to be undertaken. The intent is to increase the number of students who have read the Residential School preparatory materials and methods.
Action Taken
A new quiz was developed to prepare the students for the residential school and as a result the students were better prepared for the residential school than in previous years.
Source: Students
Feedback
More Useful Feedback
Recommendation
Provide instant feedback for incorrect and correct answers on the moodle quizzes.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Students
Feedback
More inclusive materials for Bachelor of Education students
Recommendation
Provide cognate materials from current High School biology and earth science units so that Bachelor of Education students can see more clearly how ecological and environmental knowledge will translate into better outcomes for secondary students.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Describe the basic concepts of ecological populations and communities
  2. Identify the defining characteristics of biomes and ecosystems
  3. Measure biotic and abiotic characteristics of ecosystem communities using appropriate field methods
  4. Collate, summarise and present data collected in the field
  5. Adhere to Australian environmental and work, health and safety legislation.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Online Quiz(zes) • •
2 - Laboratory/Practical • • •
3 - Report • • • •
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 • •
5 - Team Work • •
6 - Information Technology 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 - Online Quiz(zes) • • • •
3 - Report • •
2 - Laboratory/Practical • • •