| Unit name | Foundation Skills for Science, Engineering and Mathematics |
|---|---|
| Unit code | CHEM10018 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | C/4 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Collins |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Chemistry |
| Faculty | Faculty of Science |
Why is this unit important?
This Foundation Skills unit will set you off on your journey to become a scientist, engineer or mathematician. It will help you to develop the essential academic and study skills, and personal attributes and behaviours that you will need not only to be successful in your Foundation Year, but also in your subsequent studies and career. It will introduce you to how scientists, engineers and mathematicians think⎯including the way that they use physical qualities to define and describe the world and test their theories and hypotheses. You will learn to be objective in how you make observations and use evidence to support or challenge scientific arguments. The unit will instil in you the values of academic integrity expected of a professional scientist, engineer or mathematician.
How does this fit into your programme of study?
This is a mandatory unit on the Foundation Year in Science, Engineering and Mathematics. It is taken only by students on that programme. You will need to demonstrate that you have met the required standard in each of the topics covered in order to progress to an undergraduate degree programme at the University of Bristol.
An overview of content
The unit will cover:
How you will, personally, be different as a result of the unit
The unit will develop your skills and build your confidence to become an effective student in science, engineering or
mathematics.
Learning Outcomes
Learning by Knowing
Learning by Doing
Learning by Being
Each week, you will engage in a seminar to investigate a particular topic. The seminar will include an introduction to the topic and provide an opportunity for you to discuss the topic and explore applications of the concepts with staff and fellow students to help you develop your understanding further. Each topic will be supported by additional asynchronous online resources that you can use to develop your understanding flexibly, at your own pace.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
For each topic, you will be given a series of assignments to help you to explore the topic further and to develop your understanding and skills. The activities will be categorised as either elementary—to introduce you to a topic and allow you to develop a basic level of understanding, or extension—to allow you to develop that understanding further and become more confident in applying it in a new context to solve a problem. The assignments will be discussed collectively in the seminars so that you benefit from feedback not only on your progress, but also that of others.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
At the end of each topic, you will be required to complete a final assignment to demonstrate that you have achieved the threshold level of understanding or skill. The unit is pass/fail, in that these assignments will not be graded and you will not receive a numerical mark, although you will be provided with descriptive feedback.
When assessment does not go to plan
If you are not able to demonstrate that you have met the threshold level of understanding or skill in a particular topic by satisfactory completion of an end-of-topic assignment, you will be provided with individual feedback to help you to improve and then be given one further opportunity to demonstrate that you have met the required standard by attempting a similar assignment. You will be required to meet the threshold standard in every topic in order to progress to an undergraduate degree programme at the University of Bristol.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. CHEM10018).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an
assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
