Undergraduate Course: Geoscience Outreach and Engagement (EASC10087)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | Earth Science |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | This course will allow students to develop expertise in science outreach ("engagement"), and/or knowledge transfer; learn key transferable skills such as time and project management, working in a professional capacity, liaising with external clients; as well as developing key communication skills for non-academic audiences. Students will work with external partners ("clients") in, for example, schools, exhibitions, museums, outdoor visitor centres, science centres, community groups and other organisations, to design, develop and (where possible) deliver resources and materials for science engagement. These may include classroom teaching resources, leaflets, web resources, smart phone/tablet applications, events, web-blogs, presentations or materials for museums, visitor centres, communities, members of the public or young learners. The theme and content may be anywhere within the scope of interest of the School of GeoSciences. Opportunities exist to undertake projects that contribute to the development of Earth and environmental science (and related) teaching resources that support the new Scottish school curriculum (Curriculum for Excellence). Recent experience and feedback strongly indicate that successful completion of the course has proved an important element in enhancing future employment prospects. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | No |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Delivery period: 2014/15 Flexible, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Learn enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
|
Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
| Course Start Date |
04/08/2014 |
| Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 10,
Other Study Hours 100,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
86 )
|
| Additional Notes |
Additional Hours: on placement
|
| Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1. Students who take this course will demonstrate a high level of autonomy and initiative at a professional level.
2. They will be required to engage with clients to define and agree a workable job specification, and design and deliver it in the form of a resource and/or material. Students are expected to demonstrate some originality and creativity in dealing with professional level issues and develop communication skills at graduate science level.
3. They will be expected to work as professional geoscience graduates in environments of mixed skill bases, ages and learning abilities.
4. They will learn how to critically review and consolidate knowledge from a subject/discipline in order to produce an original resource.
5. This project will require students to use a range of principal and specialised geoscience skills and some generic transferable skills (see below) depending on the specific demands of the projects. Students will undertake literature-based or action research on relevant, related and wider aspects of the project (as described above). |
Assessment Information
Written Exam: 0%, Course Work: 100 %, Practical Exam: 0%.
Mini project report in December (5%).
Conference presentation (10%).
Final Hand-in
Personal reflection document and future project development ideas (5%).
Diary/log with project management timeline (20%)
Project technical report (30%).
Final product - a stand-alone piece of work suitable for the end-user (or future developer) (30%). |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Semester 1
Week 1
Introduction
Week 2
Time and Project Management
Week 3
Curriculum for Excellence and Interdisciplinary Learning
Week 4
Digital Printing and Film-making
Week 5
Ethics and Intellectual Property Rights
Week 6
Digital Printing and Film-making
Week 7
Science Communication at Our Dynamic Earth
Semester 2
Week 2: Blogging, Twitter and Ethics
|
| Transferable skills |
*Communicating science knowledge and understanding in unfamiliar contexts and to unfamiliar audiences
*Working with external clients in unfamiliar environments (e.g. school classrooms, visitor centres, museums)
*Project and time management
*Creative project design skills
*Interpersonal skills
*Enterprise and sustainability
|
| Reading list |
Not entered |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Project research, development and delivery, supported by tutorials, student team and small group/individual meetings with staff; introductory planning meeting; half-day seminar/lecture on science communication. Research project. Presentation/poster and student conference. |
| Keywords | Science engagement and communication; science education; clients; project management |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Colin Graham
Tel: (0131 6)50 4849
Email: Colin.Graham@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Ken O'Neill
Tel: (0131 6)50 8510
Email: koneill3@exseed.ed.ac.uk |
|
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