ENVSCI 399 : Capstone: Environmental Science
Science
2024 Semester Two (1245) (15 POINTS)
Course Prescription
Course Overview
Students will engage in a collaborative project focused on a place-based environmental issue. In this capstone course the class will work together to explore place-based environmental issues focused around the Manukau Harbour and neighbouring areas of the Waitākere Ranges. A one-day field trip will allow the students to explore the environmental issues in practice. Students will work in small teams for the duration of the semester, under the guidance of an academic mentor, to analyze components of one a particular environmental issue. Teams will define and collect the scientific information needed to scope the problem and communicate their findings in a range of ways. Teams will assemble in group meetings to explore different facets of the overarching environmental issue. Teams will communicate their findings to the class who will work to understand how the various environmental issues and problems are interrelated.
Students will indicate environmental issues of most interest to them and spend most of the semester focusing on that issue in small groups. All students will explore the interactions between their focus issue and other environmental issues impacting the Manukau Harbour. Environmental issues explored in this course include:
- Water supply and health
- Forest fire risk
- Kauri dieback and rāhui
- Coastal flooding/sea-level rise
- Coastal erosion
- Contaminants and wastewater
- Sustainable development and urban design
This course contains no formal lectures. Rather, students will be required to attend several in-class sessions, the field trip and weekly small group meetings.
Course Requirements
Capabilities Developed in this Course
| Capability 1: | People and Place |
| Capability 2: | Sustainability |
| Capability 3: | Knowledge and Practice |
| Capability 4: | Critical Thinking |
| Capability 5: | Solution Seeking |
| Capability 6: | Communication |
| Capability 7: | Collaboration |
| Capability 8: | Ethics and Professionalism |
Learning Outcomes
- Work collaboratively in a team to assess an environmental problem and present information about it to a diverse audience through oral and written presentations (Capability 6, 7 and 8)
- Identify, explain and evaluate environmental problems, synthesize relevant knowledge, and propose pathways to solving them (Capability 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5)
- Demonstrate an understanding of of Te Tiriti o Waitangi by explaining its relevance to a place-based environmental issue (Capability 1 and 3)
- Find, read, critically discuss and apply information, independently and as a team, to assess and propose solutions to an environmental problem (Capability 1, 4 and 7)
Assessments
| Assessment Type | Percentage | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| Presentation | 10% | Group Coursework |
| Field Journal | 30% | Individual Coursework |
| Video | 25% | Group Coursework |
| Reports | 30% | Individual Coursework |
| Quizzes | 5% | Individual Coursework |
| 5 types | 100% |
| Assessment Type | Learning Outcome Addressed | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||||||
| Presentation | ||||||||||
| Field Journal | ||||||||||
| Video | ||||||||||
| Reports | ||||||||||
| Quizzes | ||||||||||
Three assignments are completed as an individual.
Tuākana
Tuākana Science is a multi-faceted programme for Māori and Pacific students providing topic specific tutorials,
one-on-one sessions, test and exam preparation and more. Explore your options at
https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/science/study-with-us/pacific-in-our-faculty.html
https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/science/study-with-us/maori-in-our-faculty.html
Special Requirements
There is a compulsory field trip associated with this course. This usually occurs on the Monday of the second week of the mid-semester break. The field trip takes us to key sites within Manukau Harbour and the Waitākere Ranges, where environmental issues are explored in practice.
Workload Expectations
This course is a standard 15-point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15-point course that they are enrolled in.
For this course, you can expect a 2-day (20 hours) residential field trip, 7 hours of team meetings, 4 hours of lecture, and 119 hours of work on assignments and reflect on course content.
Delivery Mode
Campus Experience
Attendance is required at scheduled activities including field trips and class meetings to complete components of the course.
Lectures will be available as recordings. Other learning activities including meetings will not be available as recordings.
The course will include live online events including group discussions.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable plus a field trip.
Learning Resources
Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).
Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.
All resources are provided through Canvas. A Talis reading list is provided with scientific articles, reports and other relevant documents. The reading list is structured according to environmental issue topics.
Student Feedback
During the course Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the staff responsible for the course and staff-student consultative committees.
At the end of the course students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback.
Your feedback helps to improve the course and its delivery for all students.
Academic Integrity
The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.
Class Representatives
Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.
Copyright
The content and delivery of content in this course are protected by copyright. Material belonging to others may have been used in this course and copied by and solely for the educational purposes of the University under license.
You may copy the course content for the purposes of private study or research, but you may not upload onto any third party site, make a further copy or sell, alter or further reproduce or distribute any part of the course content to another person.
Inclusive Learning
All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.
Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz
Special Circumstances
If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.
If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.
This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.
Learning Continuity
In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.
The delivery mode may change depending on COVID restrictions. Any changes will be communicated through Canvas.
Student Charter and Responsibilities
The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.
Disclaimer
Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.
In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.