GEOG11023 - Physical Geography of Australia

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit surveys the major patterns of Australian landscapes and the processes which have produced them. Topics include the geology, climates, landforms, soils and ecology of Australia.

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 - 2024

Term 1 - 2024 Profile
Online
Rockhampton
Term 1 - 2025 Profile
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. Practical and Written Assessment 30%
2. Written Assessment 40%
3. Online Quiz(zes) 30%

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 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 66.67% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 14.63% 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: Students feedback.
Feedback
The assessment requirements need further clarification.
Recommendation
The requirements of each assessment will be discussed in the class to ensure clarity and understanding among the students.
Action Taken
The assessment requirements were explicitly discussed in class for the first few weeks.
Source: Students feedback.
Feedback
Learning materials.
Recommendation
Continue refreshing and updating the learning materials, including both weekly online lecture notes and online quiz questions
Action Taken
The learning materials, including online lecture notes and quiz questions, were refreshed and updated.
Source: UC self assessment
Feedback
Revising learning materials to align with the the evolving technology landscape.
Recommendation
Continue refreshing and updating the learning materials, particularly the online quiz questions, to ensure they are more relevant to the specific content and cannot be easily answered by Generative AI.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: UC self assessment
Feedback
Enhancing foundational learning resources to support student learning.
Recommendation
Incorporate and enhance foundational learning resources, such as assessment tutorial videos and supplementary reading on assessment writing, within the unit's Moodle site to better support students' learning and academic progress.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. explain fundamental processes responsible for the development of Australian climates, landforms, soils and biogeography
  2. describe major patterns of climates, landforms, soils and biogeography in Australia.

Important skills objectives include the development of abilities to:

  • find particular information when required that is contained in your online material, textbook or other study resources
  • demonstrate information literacy skills concerning the use of the CQU Library online catalogue and the development of search strategies for research paper topics
  • research and analyse information relating to the physical geography of Australia
  • write annotated bibliographies and research papers.

In a broader educational context, it is worth noting that the design of this unit is intended to assist students to develop independent life-long learning skills, and in particular the ability to successfully cope with online learning environments, such as is presented in this unit.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2
1 - Practical and Written Assessment •
2 - Written Assessment •
3 - Online Quiz(zes) • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2
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 - Practical and Written Assessment • • • • • •
2 - Written Assessment • • • • • • • •
3 - Online Quiz(zes) • • • • •