STB300 Advanced Science Symposium

Unit Outline: Semester 2 2024, Gardens Point, Internal

Overview

The ability to clearly articulate your research to diverse audiences, both written and verbally, is an essential skill that you will need to know as scientists. Symposiums are a common way for researchers to disseminate their research to the broader scientific community. This unit aims to provide you with an opportunity to organise a symposium for all students enrolled in Bachelor of Science Advanced (Honours), and to give you an appreciation of the importance of promoting your research. You will develop the skills and knowledge required to organise, participate and run a symposium, as well as gain experience discussing science in different contexts and broadening your scientific knowledge through peer seminars. This unit will draw upon your experiences in STB200 to organise the symposium for STH420 Advanced Research final seminars and STB200 research experience posters.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

1. 1. Organise and facilitate a research symposium as part of a team [CLO6]
2. 2. Communicate scientific knowledge to diverse audiences using a variety of formats [CLO1; CLO4]
3. 3. Critically review a topic of current global significance [CLO5]

Content

Learning Approaches

This unit will be given as a series of workshops that will involve student participation in a number of written and oral communication activities. In this unit you will learn through engaging with resources, tools and techniques provided in the workshop and online to provide you with opportunities to study project management, organising a symposium and communication skills. During the workshop, you will have the opportunity to employ these skills and receive formative feedback from your demonstrators and peers. Although the workshops will provide you with time to work on planning a symposium, it is expected that teams will need to meet face-to-face or communicate through online tools to continue workshop discussions.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

Oral and written feedback will be available during the semester. 

Assessment

Overview

Within your symposium organising team, you will identify and agree on a current/topical scientific issue of significance across disciplines. As individuals, you will research and critically review the chosen topic from the perspective of your discipline area and will develop a critical piece of work to report your findings. The critical piece can be presented in a variety of formats (e.g. The Conversation article, critical review, reflection, newspaper article, speech) and will be negotiated with the unit coordinator. Topics for the critical piece will be selected by students in collaboration with the unit coordinator and should include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, diversity and equity perspectives where appropriate.

As a cohort, you will organise and facilitate the running of a symposium for the presentation of final seminars for current STH420 Advanced Research final seminars and STB200 research experience posters. Small panel discussions based on the critical piece will also be presented during the symposium. You will form teams to overlook the organisation and running of the different areas of the symposium.  Your team will be responsible for communicating with other teams to ensure that information is disseminated to all relevant parties. If required, you will need to troubleshoot problems that arise on the day of the symposium and provide assistance when needed.

As individuals, you will be assessed on your ability to complete team assigned tasks by the agreed deadline(s). You will also submit a summary report on how you contributed to the symposium, how you participated on the day, and a reflection on how this experience will prepare you for the STH420 Honours final seminar. Peer review assessments focused on your contribution to the organisation and running of the symposium will also be used in your exhibition assessment piece.

Unit Grading Scheme

S (Satisfactory) / U (Unsatisfactory)

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Symposium

You will be assessed on:  1) Demonstrated personal accountability, independent learning and collaborative skills through the submission of a summary report on how you contributed to the symposium, how you participated on the day, and a reflection on how this experience will prepare you for the STH420 Honours final seminar in the following year. 2) Peer review assessments focused on your contribution to the organisation and running of the symposium

Assessment: Critical Piece

Within your symposium organising team, you will identify and agree on a current/topical scientific issue of significance across disciplines. As an individual you will research and review the issue and write a critical discussion of the topic. The critical piece can be presented in a variety of formats and will be negotiated with the unit coordinator to ensure you meet the unit learning outcomes.

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.

Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources

Risk Assessment Statement

There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit.