| Assessment |
Assessment information will be published prior to commencement of the teaching period.
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| Learning Outcomes (LO) |
Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:
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to integrate and apply the knowledge learnt in previous units. There are also topics on marketing, fibre technology, cotton spinning and ecomonic analysis in addition to material presented in the previous cotton units. Oral and group skills will be developed as well as professional report writing;
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understand some technical aspects of cotton spinning and cotton fibre technology;
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understand the business decisions that face cotton growers in irrigated farming enterprises;
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within a team, visit a farming enterprise that include cotton production and be able to make recommendations on production, environmental and business for improved economic and environmental sustainability;
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within a team, present the results of the farm consultancy to an agriculturally aware audience; and
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understand economic benchmarking of cotton farms.
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| Graduate Attributes (GA) |
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Attribute |
Taught |
Assessed |
Practised |
| 1 |
Knowledge of a Discipline
Students assume the role of a cotton consultant in a problem-based learning scenario based on a cotton farm. This brings together their understanding of the production, environmental and social aspects of this discipline. They are assessed via a team presentation and a written consultancy report, weighted at 70% of this unit.
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| 2 |
Communication Skills
Students take part in a professional workshop on communications and the media as part of the residential school. Students are tutored in presenting a five-part oral presentation (useful for field days, job interviews and product sales) based on cotton topics. Students work on three presentations throughout the workshop and present one to the class for assessment. Students also learn how the media works particularly relating to media releases and short interviews for newspapers and radio.
Groups of students combine at the end of a day evaluating the operations at a real cotton farm to present the results of their on-farm consultancy.
The first assignment is to write an article for the Australian Cotton grower magazine. This assignment is assessed by the editor of the magazine and excellent examples are published.
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| 3 |
Global Perspectives
Topics covered in this unit include an appreciation for the world market for cotton. An afternoon of the intensive school is devoted to benchmarking Australian cotton fibre quality (all exported) against other Australian producers and the expectations of overseas buyers. Assessment is via web based quizzes on these topics.
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| 4 |
Information Literacy
The magazine article produced by the students demands that they have a relevant and up to date appreciation of the Australian cotton production scene. To complete this assignment students must also become familiar with other articles in the magazine, develop a story that is interesting to cotton growers and are assessed.
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| 5 |
Life-Long Learning
This off-campus unit promotes the benefits of knowledge and understanding for better performance in cotton/agricultural vocations.
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| 6 |
Problem Solving
The on-farm consultancy is a two-day workshop involving real cotton production and economic problems. The students are required to learn from experts in economics and agronomy to make recommendations that could improve performance in production and environmental ways. This exercise represents 40% of the assessment and explorers, team working, problem solving and oral and written presentation skills.
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| 7 |
Social Responsibility
The social and environmental responsibility of cotton farming is continually raised in this unit. It surfaces in the on-farm consultancy where students are being asked to improve the practices on cotton farms to improve public perceptions. Best management practices are being taught and are assessed via quizzes and through the written farm consultancy assignment.
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| 8 |
Team Work
The on-farm consultancy, amongst other aims, is designed to develop team working skills. Students are allocated into groups of 4-5 to mix up abilities and are given time to prepare for their consultancy as a team before embarking on the assignment. Mentoring in leadership by young industry leaders is also included.
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