Critical Thinking & Communication in Biology (BIOL6403)

Course overview

BIOL6403 will introduce you to the broader scientific field of biology. You will read, discuss and present scientific knowledge outside the area of your research project. The course is run as a series of discussion groups.

A reading list is compiled by BIOL academics who select three papers on a theme in Biological Sciences for each session. You will attend and participate in five discussion groups over the course of the year. Course reading material will be available from the library (www.library.uq.edu.au course materials BIOL6403) as PDFs.

At the beginning of the course you will select one topic to examine in depth. You will be assigned one of the papers from that topic to present. At each session three Honours students each present a 15 min critique of their selected paper to the group and then lead a ~15 min discussion period.

Development of research proposal for honours year through active participation in a workshop style class which covers all aspects of research design, implementation, management and communication. The activities covered directly contribute to developing a viable honours proposal and effective working relationship with your Honours Advisor. See the Honours Handbook for more information.

Course requirements

Assumed background

Students must have been awarded a Bachelor's degree and completed relevant third level courses.

Restrictions

Enrolment restricted to Bachelor of Science (Honours) students.

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

The three hour workshop sessions will occur on Monday mornings from 10am to 1pm weekly. See Honours Handbook for timetable information.

Aims and outcomes

1. To develop critical thinking skills that can be applied to analysis of research from a broad range of topic areas.
2. To learn to effectively communicate scientific information through written communication, oral presentation and small group discussions.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment details

3MT-style presentation

Mode

Oral

Category

Presentation

Weight

20%

Due date

To be delivered in class in Teaching Week 5

Task description

Submission guidelines

To be delivered in class in Teaching Week 5.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Literature review

Mode

Written

Category

Essay/ Critique

Weight

35%

Due date

To be submitted through Turnitin from the Blackboard site by 2 pm on Friday in Teaching Week 10.

Task description

Submission guidelines

Submission will be through Turnitin by the due date.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Two-page research proposal (EOI-style)

Mode

Written

Category

Essay/ Critique

Weight

30%

Due date

To be submitted through Turnitin from the Blackboard site by 4 pm on Friday in Teaching Week 13.

Task description

Submission guidelines

The Report is submitted electronically only via the TurnItIn site on the course Blackboard page.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Seminar notes

Mode

Written

Category

Notebook/ Logbook

Weight

15%

Due date

To be submitted through Turnitin from the Blackboard site by 4 pm on Friday in Teaching Week 13.

Task description

Submission guidelines

Submission through Turnitin.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Should you fail a course with a grade of 3, you may be eligible for supplementary assessment. Refer to my.UQ for information on supplementary assessment and how to apply. 

Supplementary assessment provides an additional opportunity to demonstrate you have achieved all the required learning outcomes for a course.  

If you apply and are granted supplementary assessment, the type of supplementary assessment set will consider which learning outcome(s) have not been met.  

Supplementary assessment can take any form (such as a written report, oral presentation, examination or other appropriate assessment) and may test specific learning outcomes tailored to the individual student, or all learning outcomes. 

To receive a passing grade of 3S4, you must obtain a mark of 50% or more on the supplementary assessment. 

Additional assessment information

Applications for Extensions

Information on applying for an extension can be found here - my.UQ Applying for an extension

Extension applications must be received by the assessment due date and time.

If you are unable to provide documentation to support your application by the due date and time you must still submit your application on time and attach a Word document outlining why you cannot provide the documentation and upload the documentation to the portal within 24 hours.

Please note: While your extension request is being considered, you should work towards completing and submitting your assessment as soon as possible.

If you have been ill or unable to attend class for more than 4 weeks in a semester, we advise you to carefully consider whether you are capable of successfully completing your courses. You might need to consider applying for removal of course. We strongly recommend you seek advice from the Faculty that administers your program.

Extensions with Student Access Plans (SAP)

For extensions up to 7 days, your SAP is all that is required as documentation to support your application. However, extension requests longer than 7 days (for any one assessment item) will require the submission of additional supporting documentation e.g., a medical certificate. A maximum of two applications may be submitted for any one assessment item, unless exceptional circumstances can be demonstrated. All extension requests must be received by the assessment due date and time.

Academic Integrity: 

All students must complete the Academic Integrity Tutorial: https://www.uq.edu.au/integrity/

Artificial Intelligence Use (AI)

The assessment tasks in this course evaluate students’ abilities, skills, and knowledge without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Students are advised that the use of AI technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

Turnitin

By submitting work through Turnitin you are deemed to have accepted the following declaration “I certify that this assignment is my own work and has not been submitted, either previously or concurrently, in whole or in part, to this University or any other educational institution, for marking or assessment”.

Students can download the digital receipt in the Assignment inbox to confirm successful submission. A valid Turnitin receipt will be the only evidence accepted if assessments are missing. Without evidence, the assessment will receive 10% per day of the available marks late penalty deduction, and after seven days, will receive zero marks.

In the case of a Blackboard outage, please contact the Course Coordinator as soon as possible to confirm the outage with ITS.

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.