Unit Outline

The physical and living aspects of the global environment interact to produce the extraordinary variety of landscapes, ecosystems and species that occupy this planet. This unit highlights the interplay and conservation of controlling processes so that they continue to maintain Earth's ecosystems and inspire future generations. Earth, Climate and Life develops intermediate understanding of factors controlling geomorphological distinctiveness of earth surface features, weather and climate processes from global to local scales, and distributions and habitats of plants and animals and how they interact within ecosystems. These topics are integrated across various time and spatial scales, emphasising distinctive biomes including island places, and will help students understand reasons for variety in the attributes of landforms and plant and animal species. The unit prepares students for several third year units in physical geography, and develops key skills in demand among employers, including analysis of multiple factors that may be in operation, and presentation of convincing reports.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

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


1.	Explain key concepts in physical geography and apply them to distinctive natural places;
2.	Apply physical geography approaches and methodologies to a range of environmental settings;
3.	Explain the relationships between earth, climate and life systems;
4.	Communicate with discipline-specific terminology and approaches to a range of audiences.

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	KGA171 OR KGA172 OR 25 credit points at Introductory level or higher from environmental science, earth science, climate science or ecology.

Alterations as a result of student feedback

Teaching arrangements


ATTENDANCE MODE	TEACHING TYPE	LEARNING ACTIVITY	CONTACT HOURS	FREQUENCY
On Campus	Lecture (Online)	Up to 2 hours of recorded lecture content each week. You will be required to work through the lecture content and read provided material before the workshop each week.	2	Weekly
	Workshop	An in-person 2-hour workshop will be held each week (excluding Week 1, Week 3 (field trip) and Week 13). These workshops are designed and led by professionals and activities will include group and individual tasks.	2	Once only (10 times)
	Fieldwork	A whole-day field trip (8 hours) will be held in Week 3. Additional time for travel to and from site may be required.	8	Once only
	Seminar	A 1-hour in-person introductory seminar will be held in Week 1. This seminar is designed to introduce students to the unit and each other.	1	Once only
Online	Lecture (Online)	Up to 2 hours of recorded lecture content each week. You will be required to work through the lecture content and read provided material before the workshop each week.	2	Weekly
	Independent Learning	Throughout the semester students will work on a Project. Tasks will include hypothesis forming, data collection, data analysis and reporting findings. This will take an estimated 45 hours total throughout the semester or roughly 4.5 hours per week between Weeks 2-11.	45	Study Period 1 time
	Workshop (Online)	An in-person 2-hour workshop will be held each week with students having the option to join online (excluding Week 1, Week 3 (field trip) and Week 13). These workshops are designed and led by professionals and activities will include group and individual tasks.	2	Once only (10 times)
	Fieldwork	A virtual field trip will be available in Week 3. Alternatively, online students may choose to join the in-person whole-day field trip in Week 3.	8	Once only
	Seminar	A 1-hour introductory seminar will be held in Week 1. This seminar is designed to introduce students to the unit and each other.	1	Once only

Attendance / engagement expectations

If your unit is offered On campus, it is expected that you will attend all on-campus and onsite learning activities. This is to support your own learning and the development of a learning community within the unit. If you are unable to attend regularly, please discuss the situation with your course coordinator and/or our UConnect support team.

If your unit is offered Online, it is expected you will engage in all those activities as indicated in the Unit Outline, including any self-directed learning.

If you miss a learning activity for a legitimate reason (e.g., illness, carer responsibilities) teaching staff will attempt to provide alternative activities (e.g., make up readings) where it is possible.

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	AT2 Project plan	Week 7	10 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 2:	AT3 Project report	Week 11	30 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 3:	AT4 Online Test	Week 14	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 4:	AT1 Workshops	Refer to Assessment Description	20 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: AT2 Project plan

Task Description:

State your project hypothesis using the information provided on your chosen topic on MyLO and on the fieldtrip. Describe how you will analyse the data related to your research question using the resources in your project on MyLO. Explain which techniques you have chosen to use to summarise and display your data and justify why these are necessary to address your project goals. Include your data spreadsheet in your project plan.

Task Length:

500 words and a data spreadsheet

Due Date:

Week 7

Weight:

10 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Justify and state a research hypothesis	LO2, LO4
2	Identify suitable data analyses approaches for data collection	LO1, LO2, LO4
3	Present data in spreadsheet in a suitable format for analyses	LO2, LO4
4	show how your proposed data analysis plan can be used to address chosen research question and/or aims	LO1, LO3, LO4

Assessment Task 2: AT3 Project report

Task Description:

Report on your project findings including the hypothesis and analysis of data developed in AT2, building on the feedback from earlier in the semester. Include a literature review that provides context for your study, and discussion of results, in the context of place-based understanding in physical geography. See MyLO for detailed instructions.

Task Length:

2,000 word report, including introduction, results, and discussion/ conclusions sections. See report template on MyLO for detailed instructions.

Due Date:

Week 11

Weight:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Contextualise results and findings using relevant literature and theory.	LO1, LO2, LO3
2	Use data analysis techniques relevant to the research question and/or aims, and data collected	LO1, LO2, LO4
3	Use a professional report structure and presentation to communicate data and findings	LO4
4	Use relevant source literature to justify research question and/or aims	LO1, LO3, LO4
5	Specify the nature of the problem or phenomena that you are reporting on, correctly defining the context in terms of relevant literature or theories.	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

Assessment Task 3: AT4 Online Test

Task Description:

Open book take-home examination

Task Length:

3 hours

Due Date:

Week 14

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Describe key concepts in physical geography	LO1
2	Analyse landscape, climatic and biotic factors	LO2
3	Critically analyse environmental information from physical geography settings	LO3
4	Communicate effectively using discipline-specific techniques	LO4

Assessment Task 4: AT1 Workshops

Task Description:

For each week in which there is a workshop answer the questions provided and upload the answers through a MyLO assessment dropbox. Further information will be provided in the workshops on MyLO

Task Length:

1 product following each workshop

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Apply physical geography concepts to solve problems	LO1, LO2, LO4
2	Explain the relevant physical geography concepts for a given problem	LO1, LO3, LO4

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.