Hurdle Assessments: Student Engagement in 100-level Units

Development of knowledge and skills requires continual practice at authentic problems in a laboratory-based setting. In an effort to develop good study skills from the outset, the Faculty of Science and Engineering have made participation compulsory for 100 level units - this is now a hurdle assessment for the unit i.e., you must comply with this requirement to pass the unit. 

While we expect 100% participation at all lectures/workshops and practical laboratory classes to guarantee a successful outcome, the hurdle assessment in this unit requires that you attend and participate in at least 10 out of the 13 weekly lectures/workshops and practical laboratory classes. The teaching staff of your registered class will provide you with further details on what we define as participation and we will record your participation weekly in the iLearn grade book. This is a hurdle assessment, meaning that failure to meet this requirement may result in a fail grade for the unit.

Please contact your convenor [nathan.daczko@mq.edu.au] as soon as possible if you have difficulty attending and participating in any classes. We will endevour to enable you to attend a practical class later in the week. Students are permitted up to three absences. If there are circumstances that mean you miss a class, you can apply for a disruption to studies request through ask.mq.edu.au and if approved this practical will be removed from your record of absences.

Late Assessment Submission Penalty

Students enrolled in Session based units with written assessments will have the following university standard late penalty applied. Please see https://students.mq.edu.au/study/assessment-exams/assessments for more information.

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of '0' will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11:55 pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern.

For any late submission of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration. 

Assessments where Late Submissions will be accepted: In this unit, late submissions will accepted for all assessments following the standard late penalties described above. The dates for submission of assessment tasks are listed on the schedule. Students must keep a photocopy of their reports.

Requirements to Pass this Unit

To pass this unit, you must: (1) attempt all assessments; (2) achieve a total mark greater than or equal to 50%; (3) meet the engagement hurdle described above; and (4) achieve at least 50% in the final examination.

Special Consideration

The Special Consideration Policy aims to support students who have been impacted by short-term circumstances or events that are serious, unavoidable and significantly disruptive, and which may affect their performance in assessment.

Written Assessments: If you experience circumstances or events that affect your ability to complete the written assessments in this unit on time, please inform the convenor and submit a Special Consideration request through ask.mq.edu.au.

Weekly practice-based tasks: To pass the unit you need to demonstrate ongoing development of skills and application of knowledge in 10 out of 13 of the weekly practical classes. If you miss a weekly practical class due to a serious, unavoidable and significant disruption, contact your convenor ASAP as you may be able to attend another class that week. If it is not possible to attend another class, you should still contact your convenor for access to class material to review in your own time.

Note that a Special Consideration should only be applied for if you miss more than three of the weekly practical classes.

Week 1 class: EESC1150 runs both a Workshop (2hr) and Practical (2hr) in week 1, i.e., you must attend both classes in week 1.

Methods of communication: We will communicate with you via your university email (if personal) and through announcements on iLearn. Queries to convenors must be placed on the iLearn discussion board (if not personal) or sent to the unit convenor via the contact email on iLearn (if personal).

COVID information: For the latest information on the University’s response to COVID-19, please refer to the Coronavirus infection page on the Macquarie website: https://www.mq.edu.au/about/coronavirus-faqs. Remember to check this page regularly in case the information and requirements change during semester. If there are any changes to this unit in relation to COVID, these will be communicated via iLearn.

Introduction: Planet Earth is a hands on unit of study, that sets out to acquaint you with the essential features of the materials that constitute the Earth, processes that shape the Earth’s surface, and the interaction of people and the geologic environment. The unit is an introduction to geology and not only forms the vital stepping stone for future studies in Earth and Environmental Science, but also sets out to give students from other disciplines a basic understanding of the physical Earth that will be helpful in studies and careers in environmental science, geomorphology, biology, geodesy, gemology and economics.

We aim to help you develop the skills necessary for study of the physical Earth. By the end of the unit, you should have the skills to:

• Make critical observations of geology for yourself
• Identify minerals and rocks
• Determine geometric relationships between rock units, as depicted on simple geological maps
• Use geological information to better understand the physical Earth

These different threads come together via an understanding of the cyclic nature of rock-forming and rock degrading processes of our planet, in terms of the Plate Tectonic Theory.

Geology is a vital, living science that touches our everyday lives. For example, materials such as diamonds, natural resources and energy are essential to our modern civilisation, and precious stones add to our appreciation of nature's beauty. Processes such as volcanism, earthquakes, landslides and erosion may dramatically affect our well being. Knowledge you gain of these materials and processes, based on scientific approaches of observation, testing and evaluation, will assist you towards a better understanding of this planet, Earth.

STUDY PROGRAM

Students coming into this unit have a variety of backgrounds, since there are no set pre-requisites. Some of you will have no geology or physical geography at all in your previous studies, others will have taken Earth and Environmental Science at HSC level. However, previous studies in geology and related subjects are not necessary and in terms of your geological knowledge, by the end of this unit it should not matter what background you had before you started. In spite of this, inevitably in the early stages some of you might find many more new concepts to come to grips with than others. DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED, as by persevering into the unit of study, you will gain the satisfaction of seeing how the pieces of the overall Earth puzzle start to come together.

This unit concentrates on five major themes that will be explored and revisited in various ways throughout the unit. These themes include:

• Deep time (prehistorical and ancient geological past)
• Plate tectonics
• The rock cycle
• Geological skills e.g. mapping and mineral/rock recognition
• How geoscience can be used to solve some of the problems of the 21^st century

There are three modules that investigate different aspects of geoscience. The main ideas and objectives for the modules are:

Module 1: Tools of Geoscience (approximately one-third of the unit)

By the end of this unit students should be able to:

• Understand that the rocks we see today have undergone change through geologic time and are still undergoing change (this is known as the rock-cycle)
• Recognise that there are 3 main groups of rocks (igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic) and be able to distinguish typical hand specimen examples of each type (Note: this skill will be reinforced throughout the unit)
• Understand the basic concepts of the plate tectonic theory and appreciate that it is the major unifying idea of geoscience
• Describe the main tools of geoscience and give examples of how they are used: e.g. mapping, satellite imagery, air photos, geophysical investigations, Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
• Read and interpret topographic maps, and understand how contours are constructed and how to interpret them
• Use geological maps including legends, scales, grid references, etc. to solve simple problems and navigate
• Understand that maps are two dimensional representations of a three dimensional world, and the graphical techniques that are used to illustrate what is under the surface (e.g. making and interpreting geological cross sections)
• Explain the sequence of events that led to the geological configuration of an area (geological history)

Module 2: Hot Rocks (approximately one-third of the unit)

By the end of this unit students should be able to:

• Analyse volcanic processes, the landforms produced, and volcanic hazards
• Account for differences between volcanoes in terms of lava type (chemistry, appearance, explosiveness, etc) and their geographic position in relation to plate tectonic theory (e.g. boundary, intra-plate, etc)
• Examine intrusive igneous processes (e.g. magma composition and behaviour), and the features these processes produce
• Recognise common volcanic and intrusive igneous rocks and be able to use a classification scheme to identify them; interpret the origin of igneous rocks from hand specimens and field relations
• Describe and appreciate the significance of deeper Earth processes (e.g. mantle plumes)
• Understand the impact of plate tectonic theory on igneous processes
• Identify the main silicate rock-forming minerals
• Comprehend the basic chemical structure of the main groups of minerals (e.g. silica tetrahedra) and how this structure determines their appearance and physical properties
• Illustrate how knowledge of igneous processes can be useful to people (e.g. natural resources and energy; building materials)

Module 3: Rocks Under Stress and Deep Earth (approximately one-third of the unit)

By the end of this unit students should be able to:

• Comprehend that metamorphism causes change to existing rocks by the application of heat and pressure
• Comprehend that rocks slowly change form and shape under the application of forces
• Match parent rocks with metamorphosed equivalents
• Establish that rock microstructure and the existence of particular minerals indicate that rocks have undergone change
• Discern the difference between contact and regional metamorphism and be able to distinguish this difference in hand specimens showing a visible difference
• Understand the concept of metamorphic grade
• Use and interpret geological maps with intrusive rock bodies and simple structural features
• Describe how knowledge of metamorphic processes can be of benefit to people
• Understand the relationship between metamorphism, deformation and plate tectonic theory
• Understand how geophysics is used to understand the deep Earth and to monitor geological hazards

STUDENT LEARNING EXPERIENCES

This unit can be seen as two interconnected streams. A lecture/workshop stream involving short presentations and hands on activities that will give a broad overview of the topic, provide background information and introduce new ideas and concepts that link in with the other stream. Parallel to the lecture/workshop stream are a series of laboratory practical classes, field-based activities and case study assignments.

There will be two case studies. These case studies will be extended inquiries into real geo-scientific problems, extending over several weeks. These problems are different to the ones that you would typically find in textbooks, and more closely resemble the investigations that scientists face in the real world, with many interacting factors and a number of possible solutions.

Each of the case studies will allow you to explore the ideas in depth and will provide an effective and, we hope, enjoyable method of learning. There is also the added benefit of providing you with opportunities to develop generic skills such as problem solving, teamwork, communication, accessing and evaluating information and in using scientific approaches to solve problems.

You will be working individually or in small teams for each case study, both in attempting to solve the problem and to produce a final report. The reports will be awarded marks for your individual synthesis. You will be expected to do substantial research outside of the scheduled time (e.g. library and/or web-based literature search).

FIELD TRIPS

During this unit of study you will be required to participate in two field trips: one on-campus (in-person during the practical class) and one off-campus (virtual or in-person options are available). These excursions form an essential part of the unit and give you an introduction to field geology. You should take special note of the following:

Equipment: The basic requirements are a hand lens, magnet, and some method of testing mineral hardness (e.g. a pocket knife, copper coin, etc.). Buy a geological hammer only if you intend to continue in a geological field. As the weather is not always kind, note taking can be a problem if ballpoint or ink pens are used. Pencils are recommended. Bring several, and keep them sharp. Learn to be neat and tidy in these initial stages, and form a good habit early. It is much easier to discipline yourself now than to change habits later.

Clothing: Everyone has their own idea of comfort, but some common features of field clothing are obvious. Wear sensible, tough footwear, such as boots or strong sneakers. Thongs, fashion shoes and street shoes are useless and unacceptable. We will be walking over some irregular rock outcrops and may be in snake-infested areas. We cannot guarantee good quality weather; so you should have waterproof clothing. Long trousers, such as jeans, are safer than shorts. Bring a hat and sunscreen.

TEXTS AND REFERENCES

Unit of study booklet

This is available through iLearn and contains the lecture/workshop activities, laboratory practicals and case study assignments. The booklet is essential for you to have to follow the unit and is best used in a printed format as you need to draw on the pages. You must print this yourself. The completed worksheets are invaluable as an aid during revision for the examination.

Textbook

The recommended text is:

Tarbuck, E.J., Lutgens, F.K. and Tasa, D. (2016). Earth: An introduction to Physical Geology (12th Global). Pearson . ISBN 9781292161839

This gives more background information, often written from a different perspective from the workshops and practical class notes. It also contains photographs and diagrams for use in the workshops and laboratory exercises. In the library you may find several other basic textbooks on Physical Geology that will be of use to you. The other text mentioned is Merali, Z. and Skinner B.J. Visualizing Earth Science. Wiley. ISBN 978-0-471-74705-5.

Reading List

You may find the following books helpful for reference. They should provide useful supportive material to the workshops, case studies and laboratory exercises, and supplement the prescribed textbook and the Unit of Study booklet.

Dynamic Earth is a subject relying heavily on observation, so it will be of great help to look at a variety of illustrations of the features that are covered in the unit of study. The books listed below are generally well illustrated, with striking colour photographs and diagrams.

** indicates a book in Special Reserve in the Library; * indicates a book on 3-day loan.

**Branagan, D.F. and Packham, G.H., 2000. Field geology of NSW. NSW Dept of Mineral Resources. Sydney. QE45.B7

*Busch, R.M., Tarbuck, E.J. and Lutgens, F.K, 1993. A study guide to accompany "The earth — an introduction to physical geology". Merrill. QE28.2.T37

*Cattermole, P., 2000. Building Planet Earth. Cambridge University Press. QE26.2.C384

*Hamblin, W.K. 1998. Earth's Dynamic Systems. Macmillan (8th Ed.) QE28.2.H35

*Hamblin, W.K. and Howard, J.D. 1995. Exercises in Physical Geology. QE28.2.H36

**Herbert, C. and Helby, R., 1980. A Guide to the Sydney Basin. Geological Survey of NSW Bulletin 26. QE341.N4

**Kimberley, M.M and Kimberley, S.J. 1995. Study guide to Skinner/Porter's The Dynamic Earth: an introduction to physical geology. Third Edition. Wiley (3rd Ed) QE28.2K56

*Merritts, D.J., De Wet, A., and Menking, K., 1998. Environmental Geology: an earth system science approach. Freeman, New York. QE38.M47

*Monroe, J.S. and Wicander, R. 1992 Physical Geology — exploring the earth. Harper Educational Publ.; West Publ. Co St. Paul. QE28.2.M655

*Montgomery, C.W., 1993. Physical Geology. Wm C. Brown (3rd Ed.) QE28.2.M66

*Morrison, R., 1988. Voyage of the Great Southern Ark. Ure Smith Press. QE340.M67

*Morton, R.D., 1995. Student’s Companion to Skinner and Porter’s The Dynamic Earth; an introduction to Physical Geology, Third Edition. Wiley QE28.2.S552

*Murck, B.W., Skinner, B.J. and Porter, S.C., 1996. Environmental Geology. Wiley and Sons, New York. QE38.M87/1996

*Plummer, C.C. and McGeary, D., 1999. Physical Geology. Wm C. Brown Publ., Iowa (8th Ed.). QE28.2.P58

*Press, F. and Siever, R. 1998. Understanding Earth. Freeman, New York (2nd Ed.) (replaces Earth, 4th Ed.). QE28.P9

**Scheibner, E., 1999. The geological evolution of New South Wales. Dept of Mineral Resources. QE341.S296

**Skinner, B.J. and Porter, S.C., 2000. The Dynamic Earth: an introduction to physical geology. Wiley , 4th Ed. QE28.2.S55

**Skinner, B.J., Porter, S.C. and Botkin, D.B., 1999. The Blue Planet. Wiley , 2nd Ed. QB631.S57

*Smith, D.G., 1981. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge. QE26.2.C35

*Stanley, S.M., 1989. Earth and life through time. W.H. Freeman and Company, N.Y. QE28.3.S73

*Tarbuck, E.J., Lutgens, F.K. and Tasa, D. (2016). Earth: An introduction to Physical Geology (12th Global). Pearson . ISBN 9781292161839

**Van Andel, T.H., 1994. New views of an old planet: continental drift and the history of the earth. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge (2nd Ed.). QE26.2.V36

*Veevers, J.J., 2000. Billion-year earth history of Australia and neighbours in Gondwanaland. GEMOC Press, Sydney. QE340.B55

CD-ROMS

**Dunning, J and Onesti, L.J., 1998. Earth Matters. Freeman and Co., New York. QE38.D8

**Tasa, D., 1999. Illustrated dictionary of earth science. Tasa Graphic Arts. QE5.I45

Library Loans

The Library at Macquarie will have provided you with information on library loans. The procedures differ for metropolitan and country students. Please familiarise yourself with the procedures appropriate in your case. If you have any enquiries contact the Library on (02) 9850-7500.

SCHEDULE:

Date	Week	Workshop (compulsory participation) Mon 12–14 [14 SCO, 163 or livestream]	Laboratory Practical (compulsory participation) Tue & Wed 10–12, 13–15 or 15–17 [11WW 210]
24 Jul	1	A tour of Planet Earth [Nathan Daczko] (1, 2, 9.5)*	Practical 1: Topographic Maps	Volcanoes Case Study
31     Jul	2	Minerals [Tracy Rushmer] (3)	Practical 2: Campus Excursion
7 Aug	3	The Deep Earth-Volcano Connection [Chris Firth] (4, 5)	Practical 3: Geological Map Reading
14   Aug	4	Explosive Volcanism and Hazards [Chris Firth] (4, 5)	Practical 4: Minerals
21   Aug	5	Supervolcanoes and Below [Chris Firth] (4, 5)	Practical 5: Mafic and Intermediate Igneous Rocks
28 Aug	6	Metamorphism [Nathan Daczko] (8)	Practical 6: Felsic Igneous Rocks
4 Sep	7	Crustal Deformation [Nathan Daczko] (10, 14)	Practical 7: Metamorphic Minerals
		Session 2 break (Field trip Mon 11 Sept)
25 Sep	8	Weathering, Soils and Sedimentary Rocks [Matthew Kosnik] (6, 7)	Practical 8: Metamorphic Rocks	Hartley Case Study
2 Oct	9	No Workshop (Public Holiday)	Practical 9: Geological Cross Sections
9 Oct	10	Fossils and Depositional Environments [Matthew Kosnik] (9, 16–20)	Practical 10: Geological History
16 Oct	11	Geochemical Tools and Dating the Earth [Tracy Rushmer] (9.4, PDF of chapter in iLearn)	Practical 11: Exam Revision – Rocks and Minerals
23 Oct	12	Earth’s Interior and Understanding the Earth System [Chris Firth] (11, 12, 22)	Practical 12: Geo Jeopardy
30 Oct	13	Exam Revision [Nathan Daczko]	No classes

*Numbers in brackets represent chapters from Earth: An introduction to Physical Geology

Practical teaching staff: Tracy (Tue 10–12, 13–15), Chris (Wed 10–12, 13–15), Matthew (Tue 15–17)

 

IMPORTANT DATES:

Week 3 – at start of your Workshop: Part A of Volcanoes Case Study is due

Week 5 – at start of your Workshop: Part B of Volcanoes Case Study is due

Week 7 – at start of your Workshop: Part C of Volcanoes Case Study is due

During session 2 break: Monday 11^th: Full-day fieldtrip to Hartley (optional online version available)

Week 12 – at start of your Workshop: Hartley Case Study is due

Exam: To be advised once the examinations timetable is drawn up

Two key messages: (1) lecture/workshops are available on campus or online [We recommend the on campus class] and (2) the field trip may be taken virtually or in-person.

This year sees our sixth year of some significant changes to the EESC1150 offering and we ask for your patience and feedback. There have been major changes to the content delivery format to incorporate more hands on activities in the lecture/workshop and practical laboratory components. Participation in both the lecture/workshop and the laboratory practical components is compulsory. We have shortened the laboratory practical component from 3 hours to 2 hours following feedback from students.

Swapping traditional lectures for novel two-hour workshops has seen a dramatic improvement in first year geology students’ engagement, depth of learning and final grades. The lecture/workshops—which involve 10 to 15 minute ‘mini-lectures’ interspersed with object-based and active learning exercises—are conducted in the new active learning spaces at Macquarie. First year geology is ideal for object-based and active learning as it is strongly skills-based with students learning how to identify minerals and rock types, think in three dimensions and understand geophysical principles. Our goal is to deliver new information that advances the students’ learning, while including a process of immediate feedback on the effectiveness of their learning during the activities. We found that since the changes were implemented in 2018, the object-based and active learning stimulated discussion, group work and lateral thinking at each table, along with excellent engagement with the workshop leader and the teaching team. The objects enhanced the delivery of unit-specific knowledge while also improving students’ generic skills such as communication, teamwork, and observational and drawing ability. The results from recent years showed the success of the new format. The failure rate dropped from around 20 per cent to less than ten per cent of the cohort, and the percentage of students scoring a distinction or high distinction jumped from approximately a quarter to more than one-third of the class.