WTRSCI 100 : Waipapa Taumata Rau: Contemporary Science in Aotearoa, New Zealand

Science

2025 Semester Two (1255) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Ko Waipapa Taumata Rau tātou. Welcome to your study in Te Whare Pūtaiao, the Faculty of Science. This core course considers how knowledge of place enhances your learning, the significance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and how knowledge systems frame understanding. It provides foundational essential skills to support you in your first year and future studies. Sustainability is used as a lens to to explore what it means to practise contemporary science in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Course Overview

What does it mean to do science here and now?

This interdisciplinary core course uses sustainability as a lens to demonstrate how science is intertwined with its broader context. We showcase science and scientists from across our faculty to expose you to some of the exciting topics available to you in your science degree. You will learn about foundational scientific tools and methods relevant to your future studies. We cover a wide range of topics including AI and ethics, astrophysics and place, philosophy and the meaning of science, professional ethics and science communication, fast fashion and sustainability, and science in context (including Te Tiriti o Waitangi).

Find out why place matters to science through global and local place-based examples such as whale migration routes to Antarctica, phosphorous in Morocco, shellfish bed restoration in the Hauraki Gulf, and Auckland’s Project Twin Streams community sustainability programme.

You will learn essential skills to support your future learning and employability including science communication, collaboration, academic writing, peer review and critical thinking. While the course primarily provides place-based examples from Aotearoa New Zealand to locate science in our context, the skills and knowledge is internationally transferable.

By the end of this first-year course, you will be well-prepared to think critically about science and how it can play a vital role in securing a more sustainable future.

WTRSCI 100 is a core course and will play a key role in shaping your first year of study with us. As a first-year requirement, completion is needed to progress into your second year of study where you will have opportunities to build on what you have learned.

We are looking forward to welcoming you into your first year in the Faculty of Science. Ko te Whare Pūtaiao tātou.

Course Requirements

Restriction: ARTSGEN 103, 103G, SCIGEN 102, 102G, WTR 100, 101, WTRBUS 100, WTRENG 100, WTRMHS 100

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
Graduate Profile: Bachelor of Science

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate how place, and an understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, are significant to your field of study. (Capability 1, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8)
  2. Critically and constructively engage with knowledge systems, practices and positionality (Capability 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5)
  3. Employ a reciprocal, values-based approach to collaborating. (Capability 4, 6, 7 and 8)
  4. Communicate ideas clearly, effectively and respectfully (Capability 6 and 7)
  5. Reflexively engage with the question of ethics in academic practice. (Capability 4 and 8)
  6. Demonstrate a critical understanding of sustainability. (Capability 2, 3, 4 and 5)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Studio Participation/Preparation 20% Individual Coursework
Online Module Activities 20% Individual Coursework
Effective Teamwork 10% Individual Coursework
Reflective Activities (x 2) 15% Individual Coursework
Assignments (1) 25% Group & Individual Coursework
Presentation (1) 10% Group Coursework
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4 5 6
Studio Participation/Preparation
Online Module Activities
Effective Teamwork
Reflective Activities (x 2)
Assignments (1)
Presentation (1)

Key Topics

Week 1: Whanaungatanga
Week 2: Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Week 3: Knowledge of Place
Week 4: What are Knowledge Systems?
Week 5: Knowledge Systems in Science
Week 6: Working Across Knowledge Systems in Science
Week 7: Working Across Knowledge Systems Beyond Science
Week 8: Developing an Ethics Toolkit for Science
Week 9: Ethics in Practice
Week 10: Communicating Knowledge
Week 11: Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Science in Contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand
Week 12: Ka Mua, Ka Muri (Reflecting back)

Special Requirements

This course has a 'must pass' requirement. This means a student passing the course must:
  • Attain a passing grade overall (49.5%)
  • Attain a passing grade in the 'relational learning' component of the course (15%).
The relational learning component is comprised of two parts:
  • Studio participation/preparation 
  • Effective teamwork - Includes an expectation of in-person lab attendance
Please note: the relational learning component of the course requires in-person attendance in your enrolled lab and studio.

Tuākana

Kia ora. Mālō e lelei, Talofa lava, Kia orana, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Mālo ni, Ni sa bulavinaka, Noa’ia, Fakatalofa, Kam na mauri, Halo. 

Welcome to your Waipapa Taumata Rau core course, which will be a foundation for your learning in our Faculty and your degree. We are so pleased you are joining us. We look to forward to working with you and hearing your thoughts and ideas. Our support  is both academic and pastoral.
  • Opt-in support for our Māori students is provided by Debbie Larkins (debbie.larkins@auckland.ac.nz)
  • Opt-in support for our Pacific students is provided by Sonia Fonua (s.fonua@auckland.ac.nz)
Debbie or Sonia will be in touch by email to ask if you would like to receive our support. For those that do, we will support you to feel confident about the course and your studies. You are very welcome to get in touch with us if you have any questions or concerns (we don't mind how big or small they might be). 

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 2-3 hours of online content, a 1 hour studio, a 1 hour lab and 5-6 hours of thinking about the course material and/or working on assignments each week.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

This course uses a hybrid delivery model. Each week students are expected to complete an online module comprising of short videos, readings and activities. Students can expect to spend about 2 hours completing the online module each week.

Studios (1 hour per week) and labs (1 hour per week) are in-person only and attendance is required. Active participation in studios and labs is a graded component of this course. Studios and labs are not recorded.

The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

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.

There is no text book for this course. All learning resources are free and available online through Canvas once the course begins. 

Health & Safety

Please note, you do NOT need a lab coat for this course.

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.

Your voice matters. We are looking forward to having staff-student engagement throughout the course.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework, tests and examinations 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. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against electronic source material using computerised detection mechanisms. Upon reasonable request, students may be required to provide an electronic version of their work for computerised review.

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

Please note, it is helpful for students if they reigister with  Student Disability Services prior to the start of semester.

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 your assessment is fair, and not compromised. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator, 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 you may be asked to submit your 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. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.

The information on this page was correct on 28 October 2024.

Published on 04/11/2024 09:35 a.m.