Environmental Tools and Technologies (11775.1)
| Available teaching periods | Delivery mode | Location |
|---|---|---|
| View teaching periods | On-campus |
Bruce, Canberra |
| EFTSL | Credit points | Faculty |
| 0.125 | 3 | Faculty Of Science And Technology |
| Discipline | Study level | HECS Bands |
| Academic Program Area - Science | Level 2 - Undergraduate Intermediate Unit | Band 2 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021) Band 3 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021) |
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:1. Identify, locate and explain the most appropriate tools and technology for a given environmental challenge;
2. Demonstrate the application of a combination of tools and technologies in measuring, recording and assessing a range of environmental variables;
3. Synthesise and critically examine contrasting datasets; and
4. Evaluate and apply tools, methods, skills and theoretical knowledge to address environmental challenges and advance environment and sustainability practice (adapted from ACEDD TLO 3.3).
Graduate attributes
1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - take pride in their professional and personal integrity
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - be self-aware
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - evaluate and adopt new technology
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development
2. UC graduates are global citizens - adopt an informed and balanced approach across professional and international boundaries
Prerequisites
Students must have passed 24 credit points.Corequisites
None.Incompatible units
None.Equivalent units
None.Assumed knowledge
None.| Year | Location | Teaching period | Teaching start date | Delivery mode | Unit convener |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Bruce, Canberra | Semester 1 | 03 February 2025 | On-campus | Dr Jurian Hoogewerff |
| 2026 | Bruce, Canberra | Semester 1 | 16 February 2026 | On-campus | Dr Jurian Hoogewerff |
Required texts
- Environmental Chemistry by Stanley Manahan https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781315160474
Highly Recommended as will be used in some weeks
- Environmental Chemical Analysis By S. Mitra , Pradyot Patnaik , B.B. Kebbekus, https://www.routledge.com/Environmental-Chemical-Analysis/Mitra-Patnaik- Kebbekus/p/book/9780849338380
- Sampling and Analysis of Environmental Chemical Pollutants 2nd Edition by E Popek, https://www.elsevier.com/books/sampling-and-analysis-of-environmental-chemical- pollutants/popek/978-0-12-803202-2
- Environmental DNA: For Biodiversity Research and Monitoring. by P Taberlet et al. https://academic.oup.com/book/32663
- Statistics and Chemometrics for Analytical Chemistry 7E, J Miller and J Miller and R Miller. https://www.pearson.com/store/p/statistics-and-chemometrics-for-analytical-chemistry/P200000005030/9781292186719
- Introduction to Geographic Information Systems ISE 9th Edition, Kang-tsung Chang ISBN ยท 9781260289084: https://www.mheducation.com.au/introduction-to-geographic-information-systems-ise-9781260289084-aus
- Hydrochemistry: basic concepts and exercises. 2nd edition 2023 .by E Worth https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110758788/html
Submission of assessment items
Special assessment requirements
To pass the unit the student must achieve minimum 50% (>49.49%) aggregate or higher.
The unit convenor reserves the right to question students on any of their submitted work for moderation and academic integrity purposes.
Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.
Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.
UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).
UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.
Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.
Learner engagement
The total workload for this unit is 150 hours. To achieve top marks for this unit students should plan to need the full 150 hours of commitment, as the unit is designed with those 150 hours of commitment in mind (not less!).
The face-to-face contact time for this unit consists of 18 hours of lectures and 30 hours total of practicals, workshops and a fieldtrip, totalling 48 contact hours.
The preparation for the Thursday lecture and tutorials will require at least 2 hours per week of self-study and revision (9 weeks x 2 = 18 hours in total).
The remaining 150 - (48+18) = 150 - 66 = 84 hours should be apportioned according to the weighting for each assessment item.
Participation requirements
As team work is an essential part of the unit all students are required to attend all field, lab and workshop activities to complete the assessments.
Peer team marking scheme:
Assignments 3 and 4 are subject to a peer assessment marking scheme. Each team member will get a mark weighted for their contribution to the team effort.
The peer assessment is done after the final report submission when each team member will assess their fellow group members (and themselves) in an anonymous survey about the level of contribution of each member to the group effort. After the survey the convener will use the assessment to adjust the mark of each individual team member. Thus, some students might get higher marks than the overall team mark, and some students might get lower marks but the average mark for the whole team will remain the same. It is important to note that if a student does not contribute at all to the team work, their mark for the team component could be halved and resulting in failing the unit if the other individual marks are low too. Many years of experience has shown that this peer marking scheme fairly attributes appropriate marks to each team member; it penalises passengers and rewards hard workers.
Required IT skills
MSWord, MS Excel, MS Powerpoint and R skills learned in year 1 are beneficial. Students will get an introduction to basic GIS skills
In-unit costs
The students will need to purchase one "Tradie" waterproof A4 notebook (less than $10 at Officeworks). See section 4b for details
There will be no cost associated with the required field trips. The cost of transport to the field sites will be covered by the University of Canberra.
Students will need to provide the following for the field trips:
- A4 TRADIE NOTEBOOK!
- Work clothes - You'll be dealing with mud and water
- Long dark wide tradie or field trousers because of snakes (no leggings, as snakes will bite through!)
- Closed working boots or high walking boots
- Water bottle (full, of course!)
- Snacks
- Wet weather gear
- Hat (with a wide brim, front and back) and sunscreen
- Camera (phone is fine)
- Calculator (phone is fine)
- Medication (allergies, asthma, etc)
- A backpack to store it all in
- Lots of positive energy!
Work placement, internships or practicums
This unit involves Work Integrated Learning by Simulation of an environmental survey with fieldwork.
Additional information
Research led Unit: This unit involves research-led education. There are active researchers delivering this unit who are able to engage students in deep and active learning and transmit to students their passion for the research they are carrying out.
Provision of information to the group: Notifications through the Canvas Announcements Forum or the Canvas Discussion Forums are deemed to be made to the whole class. It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that they check for announcements on the Unit's Canvas website (Canvas forum messages are also emailed to student email addresses only). Students should ensure they check their student email regularly. The Canvas forums will be checked by staff regularly.
Use of student email account: The University Email policy states that "students wishing to contact the University via email regarding administrative or academic matters need to send the email from the University account for identity verification purposes". Therefore all unit enquiries should be emailed using a student university email account. Students should contact servicedesk@canberra.edu.au if they have any issues accessing their university email account.
