Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25
None
Available as a Free Standing Elective
No
In this module you will attend a summer field course where you will visit a range of terrestrial and aquatic habitats and develop fieldwork skills such as identification of specimens, surveying, and data analysis. Towards the end of the field course you will work in a group to undertake a research project. Your professional skills will be assessed during this time. Upon return to Keele, at the start of level 5, you will be given guidance on how to write up your project report in a formal scientific format. This whole assessment is an excellent preparation for your final year project at level 6.
Aims
To enable students to experience various types of fieldwork, undertake data collection and analysis, execute and write up a project, and understand how life can live in a variety of habitats.
Intended Learning Outcomes
identify and classify, with and without keys, a range of organisms in the lab and in-situ in their respective habitats: 1,3identify and assess the ethical considerations and hazards associated with field work: 2,3work in a team to formulate a research hypothesis, carry out a field investigation to test this hypothesis, and communicate the results: 2,3describe, assess and compare the abundance and distribution of organisms based on field observations within a range of habitats and relate them to the abiotic and biotic factors that influence their distributions: 1,3compare and contrast a variety of adaptations that enable resident organisms to survive in a range of environments: 1,3
Active learning :45 hours fieldwork with associated lectures and data analysis 2 hours tutorials Independent study:1 hour class test10 hours class test preparation 20 hours report preparation 72 hours independent study
Description of Module Assessment
1: Online Tasks weighted 30%1 hour field course class test
2: Competence weighted 20%Professional Practical Skills assessment
3: Individual Report weighted 50%Field course project report