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GEOL311 Palaeontology and Stratigraphy

Credit Points 6
Offering
Responsible Campus Teaching Period Mode of Study
Armidale Trimester 2 Off Campus
Intensive School(s)
Start Finish Attendance Notes
21 June 2013 28 June 2013 Mandatory Eight-day intensive school which includes a three-day field excursion. Ability to enrol in this unit will be removed approx two days prior to the commencement of this mandatory intensive school.
Supervised Exam There is a UNE Supervised Examination held at the end of the teaching period in which you are enrolled.
Pre-requisites GEOL102 or GEOL103 or GEOL202 or candidature in a postgraduate award
Co-requisites None
Restrictions None
Notes None
Combined Units None
Coordinator(s) John Paterson (jpater20@une.edu.au)
Unit Description

This unit covers a variety of topics in both palaeontology and stratigraphy, including evolution, phylogeny, early life forms, Ediacaran life, the Cambrian explosion, taphonomy (fossil preservation), palaeoecology, palaeobiogeography, extinctions, lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy, and chronostratigraphy. The unit will also cover the major invertebrate fossil groups such as trilobites, brachiopods, molluscs, echinoderms, sponges, corals, bryozoans and graptolites, in addition to microfossils and trace fossils. The unit includes a 3-day field excursion during the 8-day intensive school.
Materials Textbook information will be displayed approximately 8 weeks prior to the commencement of the teaching period. Please note that textbook requirements may vary from one teaching period to the next.
Disclaimer Unit information may be subject to change prior to commencement of the teaching period.
Assessment Assessment information will be published prior to commencement of the teaching period.
Learning Outcomes (LO) Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:
  1. apply and explain the main concepts and principles in palaeontology and stratigraphy;
  2. identify the major fossil groups;
  3. apply fundamental palaeontological and stratigraphical field and laboratory techniques; and
  4. compare and contrast the major events and phases in the history of life on Earth.

Graduate Attributes (GA)
Attribute Taught Assessed Practised
1 Knowledge of a Discipline
Students are taught and assessed on the theoretical and practical aspects of advanced palaeontology and stratigraphy and expected to use this acquired knowledge to solve problems and apply it in the workplace. 		True True True
2 Communication Skills
Written communication skills are assessed and practised in the form of an essay and the practical exercises at the intensive school. Written communication skills are also regularly practised by the use of an online discussion board. Oral communication skills are practised during a class discussion on the Cambrian 'explosion' at the intensive school. 		True True
3 Global Perspectives
Students are taught about aspects of palaeontology that are of global significance, including a range of evolutionary (eg, the Cambrian 'explosion') and extinction events. These aspects are assessed in all set assessment tasks. 		True True
4 Information Literacy
Students are assessed on their ability to demonstrate advanced research capacity in an essay on a specific topic in palaeontology and critically evaluate the information to generate a logical argument supported by evidence. Students are taught how to search for primary literature using databases and how to reference using the author-date system. 		True True True
5 Life-Long Learning
Students are encouraged to practise the skills and apply the knowledge they have learned to their personal and professional development. 		True
6 Problem Solving
Students practise and are assessed on a range of problem-solving skills during the intensive school, including identification and classification of invertebrate fossils, the preservation of fossils, and the correlation of stratigraphic sections measured and logged during the field excursion. 		True True
7 Social Responsibility
Students are taught about the ethics of fossil collecting and field work in general, especially with regard to private land and protected areas such as national parks. 		True
8 Team Work
Students are taught about the ethics of fossil collecting and field work in general, especially with regard to private land and protected areas such as national parks. 		True True
   

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