Unit Catalogue

This postgraduate-level unit focusses on DNA based approaches to understand the ecology of microorganisms. We use a case study approach and hands-on laboratory experience to introduce students to current techniques used to measure how microorganisms respond to the environment.

Participants are required to attend this 2 week in-person intensive on Casuarina Campus. Prior to commencement, students are asked to familiarise themselves with the content and assessment items.

The unit involves tutorials, discussions and laboratory activities, supported by independent study before and after the intensive. Students will be introduced to water quality sampling in the field and will be guided through hypothesis formulation, sample collection, experimentation and data interpretation for environmental assessment focussing on water quality. The laboratory work is a vehicle for experiencing and embracing other skills in the areas of teamwork, the scientific method, communication, and critically analysing the broader literature. To support students develop good study habits, they are introduced to approaches that support goal setting and time management. These strategies are important because students will need to submit assignments during and at the end of the two weeks.

This unit is an ideal postgraduate-level entry into research training, problem-solving, critical thinking and science writing.

Student learning is paced and guided by a daily study guide available on Learnline which includes assessment items. Students are required to conduct self-directed learning and critical thinking, all of which is supplemented by in-class tutorials and discussions (attended in-person only) and field/laboratory hands-on experience.

The recommended study commitment is 37 hours per week for each of the two weeks that the intensive runs, and to undertake reading (2 h) to prepare for the intensive. Students are given four weeks after the intensive in which to write their scientific report. Students generally need to spend a minimum of 25 hours on this assignment. In addition to private investigation and research, planning and completing assignments, students may also elect to attend Language and Learning support, Library, or Study Skills online workshops. Special details of class times can be obtained by accessing the class timetable at http://www.cdu.edu.au/timetable/.

This in-person intensive unit runs for two weeks in the summer semester (dates in timetable). Students will be presented with a water quality scenario and the challenges of maintaining a microbial low health-risk water environment. Students are guided to generate hypotheses and collectively discuss experiments to test these hypotheses. Students are provided with background information about both their study environment and more general challenges to recreational water quality. They are introduced to the equipment and resources available to guide the decisions about the types of experiments that might be possible. Activities are designed to showcase skills learnt throughout the unit, including during discussions, the critical analysis of a topic in the discipline, their oral presentation and a hypothesis driven research paper arising from their field and lab analyses. Students will be encouraged to think about how these data have implications for environmental assessment more broadly