| Unit name | Science and Society |
|---|---|
| Unit code | BIOCM0016 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Curnow |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
BIOC30002 - Research Training |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
BIOCM0015 – Extended Research Project and any two of: BIOCM0017 – Synthetic Biology BIOCM0018 - Protein Assemblies and Molecular Machines BIOCM0019 - Cell Biology of Development and Disease |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Biochemistry |
| Faculty | Faculty of Life Sciences |
Lead Contact: Dr Paul Curnow
Why is this unit important?
Science, and scientists, do not stand apart from the rest of society. Instead, they play a central role in our modern world. This unit will explore the relationship between sciences generally, and biochemistry in particular, and the society we live in. What does the general public think of science (and scientists) and how can scientists themselves shape that opinion? Who funds UK science – and why? What is 'science', anyway? What's a scientific community - and why do they matter?
By the end of the unit, students will understand the broader context of basic scientific research including links to culture, policy, the economy and sustainability. This relates to teaching across the Biochemistry degree programme and includes both the history of science and current concerns.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
This unit deepens understanding of how biochemistry and research science interfaces with society. Students interrogate the broader context of their concurrent Year 4 research project and the course builds directly upon technical Biochemistry content delivered across Years 1-3. The unit uses an interactive approach to teaching and authentic assessments, and developed critical thinking skills.
An overview of content
Students will cover these areas:
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
After engaging with the unit, students should be able to:
Learning Outcomes
Teaching in the unit is delivered in-person as a series of student-centred interactive workshops. This enables students to construct knowledge for themselves across a broad range of research-adjacent topics.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Formative work occurs in the interactive teaching sessions. It prepares students by introducing major themes that are then built upon for summative assessment. Most commonly, students are given a creative team task related to the individual summative assessment. For example, analyse public representations of science and come up with public engagement activities (formative) before creating a public engagement resource (formative); Identify a set of policy actions and how these would be implemented (formative) before writing a policy briefing (summative); Discuss grant funding, knowledge generation, socioeconomic impact, and scientific ethics (summative) before writing a grant technical summary (formative)
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
The components that make up the unit assessment are:
Three written pieces of work covering:
To earn credit for this unit you must normally have made a reasonable attempt at each of the components of the unit assessment. A reasonable attempt requires a student to have undertaken the assessment activity and engaged with its purpose in the academic judgement of the relevant Unit Director, or nominee.
When assessment does not go to plan
Where required, a reassessment normally involves a second attempt at the same form of assessment.
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. BIOCM0016).
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.
