Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Dr Alexandra Carthey
Contact via Contact via Email
|
---|---|
Credit points |
Credit points
10
|
Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
(130cp at 1000 level or above) and (Admission to BEnv or by Permission by Special Approval)
|
Corequisites |
Corequisites
|
Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
|
Unit description |
Unit description
This is a simulated work experience unit, where small groups undertake major projects on matters of environmental concern under the supervision of Macquarie staff and experts from outside agencies. Progress reports and a final presentation are made by each group. Much of the project work is undertaken independently and outside formal class hours (the class does not meet every week but there are frequent opportunities for additional advice and supervision with the course convenor). Visit Employability Connect for important information on this unit including required preparation and closing dates for PACE activities. |
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Requirements to Pass this Unit
To pass this unit you must:
Late Assessment Submission Penalty
Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark of the task) will be applied for each day a written report or presentation 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. The submission time for all uploaded assessments is 11:55 pm. A 1-hour grace period will be 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, please apply for Special Consideration.
Assessments where Late Submissions will be accepted
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. If you experience circumstances or events that affect your ability to complete the assessments in this unit on time, please inform the convenor and submit a Special Consideration request through ask.mq.edu.au.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
---|---|---|---|
Presentation 1 | 10% | No | Week 3, in your workshop |
Presentation 2 | 10% | No | Week 5, in your workshop |
Report Summary | 10% | No | Week 12, Friday 27th October, 11.55pm |
Final Project Report | 60% | No | Week 13, Friday 3rd November, 11.55pm |
Final Presentation | 10% | No | Week 13, in your workshop |
Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 3, in your workshop
Weighting: 10%
For the first presentation, each group will present an overview of their project, including the research question(s), proposed methods, supervisor and initial thoughts and ideas based on preliminary research and site visits.
Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 5, in your workshop
Weighting: 10%
The second presentation is an opportunity for each group to showcase their initial data/findings, and receive feedback to help guide you through any issues arising.
Assessment Type 1: Summary
Indicative Time on Task 2: 5 hours
Due: Week 12, Friday 27th October, 11.55pm
Weighting: 10%
To accompany the final presentation, each group needs to produce a one page summary of their project that will be provided to the audience.
Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 40 hours
Due: Week 13, Friday 3rd November, 11.55pm
Weighting: 60%
The Final Report will document the project in its entirety, including the research question(s), methods, results and a detailed synthesis of the major research outcomes.
Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 13, in your workshop
Weighting: 10%
The final presentation is a summary of the project and needs to cover the issues examined and the findings, limitations and conclusions/recommendations.
1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:
2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation
Week 1 Classes
Classes commence in week 1.
Class Schedule
ENVS3463 requires students to work in groups, independently, for much of the semester. There are 4 compulsory face to face (or online for external students) 3 hour workshops/teaching blocks in Week 1, 3, 5 and 13. Please note that this may change at short notice. Keep an eye out for ENVS3463 ilearn announcements.
We only meet formally 4 times in the semester so that you have ample time to read and carry out your research project. Please refer to the Unit timetable below, for further guidance. If I request a meeting with a group outside of these designated four meetings outlined in this unit guide, consider it to be compulsory, given that there will be a good reason for it.
You and your group have to give three presentations (Weeks 3, 5 and 13), submit a short project summary (Week 12) and a Final Report (Week 13). In addition, reflecting and responding to the needs of previous group projects, I have scheduled 3 consultation weeks (weeks 6, 9, 11) for group meetings if required, by appointment. I request that we stick to the scheduled available times for meetings for this Unit. For any other queries, please email Alex Carthey or Cassandra Ropar.
The University expects that you devote 9 hours per week (over the 15 week session), in total, to a 10 credit point unit such as ENVS3463. Put another way, you should be able to achieve a passing grade with around 150 hours for the semester. A rough breakdown for EACH person might be as follows: Classroom: 4 x 3 hours = 12 hours Group project meetings: 8 x ~ 1 hours (including preparation time) = 8 hours. Individual/group research: 130 hours Total: 150 hours
See some useful readings on group work and project management on ilearn.
Methods of Communication
We will communicate with you via your university email and through announcements on iLearn. Queries to convenors can either be placed on the iLearn discussion board or sent to the unit convenor via the contact email on iLearn.
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.
Week 1 - Introductory lecture and project definition, selection and confirmation
Week 3 - Presentation 1 - Groups to present an overview of their project
Week 5 - Presentation 2 - Groups to present data collected or other measures of progress
Weeks 2,6,7-11 - By email appointment - groups can consult with unit convenor and PACE Advisor if need be
Week 12 - Report Summary due
Week 13 - Final presentations and Final Report due - “Industry day” (external supervisors
are welcome to attend, COVID restrictions pending).
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct
Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.
The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources.
Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:
Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
We value student feedback to be able to continually improve the way we offer our units. As such we encourage students to provide constructive feedback via student surveys, to the teaching staff directly, or via the FSE Student Experience & Feedback link in the iLearn page.
Student feedback from the previous offering of this unit was very positive overall, with students pleased with the clarity around assessment requirements and the level of support from teaching staff. As such, no change to the delivery of the unit is planned, however we will continue to strive to improve the level of support and the level of student engagement.
Unit information based on version 2023.04 of the Handbook