| Unit name | Independent Development of Geology Skills |
|---|---|
| Unit code | EASC20046 |
| Credit points | 10 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Rowley |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
Mandatory units in year 1 of a Geology degree programme at Bristol. |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
N/A |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
N/A |
| School/department | School of Earth Sciences |
| Faculty | Faculty of Science |
Why is this unit important?
Completion of this unit is essential preparation for EASC30040 Independent Field Project. You will continue to to acquire and develop practical skills with rock samples, fossils, thin sections, geological maps, GIS and related scientific literature and data. Open-access laboratory sessions will be timetabled for you over the year. It will give you the skills to study independently and to build nuanced interpretations from complex multi-faceted datasets
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit encourages you to see your programme as a whole; to apply the interlinks and complementary skills and knowledge gained across different modules into a coherent subject understanding. It runs in parallel with modules which develop the underlying knowledge to carry out effective rock, mineral and fossil identification and interpretation, while giving greater breadth of exposure to different materials. The unit also gives you the opportunity to develop your skills as independent learners, and the ability to develop effective time management, record keeping, and integrated interpretation skills.
You will complete a literature review of the area that you are going to map in EASC30040 and prepare a digitised topographic map of the area at an appropriate scale ready for the addition of the outcrop and structural data that you will gather in the field. You will also make petrological descriptions and interpretations of a rock collection of the units exposed in your mapping area
An overview of content
This unit encompasses a broad range of basic skills, including rock, mineral and fossil identification, map construction and interpretation, and integrated interpretation of multiple data types. It will develop your time management and planning skills. Observations will be recorded systematically in laboratory notebooks which will become a resource for review, revision and synthesis to support you in the summative exam at the end of this unit, in your mapping project and throughout your other studies.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
You will come out of this unit having developed the skills to study more independently, and with a greater capacity for gathering, organising, applying and integrating varied data types and observations to build complex interpretations. These skills are the foundation of applied scientific understanding, and critical to success at higher levels.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this unit you will:
This is a learner-driven unit carried out in the laboratory, library and computer room with introductory and demonstrator-supported sessions. You are supported through a series of weekly help and feedback sessions.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Formative feedback will be given on the notebook during the year and additional formative feedback will be provided via a series of short online (Blackboard) quizzes that you can complete in your own time/order throughout each term.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Satisfactory completion of a literature review, a digital topographic map and laboratory notebook. Timely completion of each of these tasks is essential for the award of credit points.
Practical exam (100%)
The exam will test different aspects of the unit, and will typically involve a variety of rocks, thin sections and geological maps. Only the course text, Deer, Howie & Zussman's introduction to the Rock Forming Minerals, and the student's IDoGS notebook will be permitted in the exam.
When assessment does not go to plan
The University’s Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes outline the requirements for progression on and completion of degree programmes. Students who miss an exam and self-certify their absence may complete a supplementary assessment for an uncapped mark as if taken for the first time. Resit and supplementary exams are habitually taken during the reassessment period later in the summer. As far as is practicable and appropriate, resit and supplementary assessments will be in the same form as the original assessment but will always test the same intended learning outcomes as the initial missed or failed assessment. In the case of group work, failure by a whole group would result in an appropriate group task being set and reassessed for all group members. If a single student fails a group assessment or is unable to participate for an evidenced reason, an individual reassessment will be set.
There are rigorous and fair procedures in place to support students who are ill or whose studies and assessments are affected by exceptional circumstances.
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. EASC20046).
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 University 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. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
