Course Coordinator:Nguyen Nguyen Hong (nnguyen@usc.edu.au) School:School of Science, Technology and Engineering
UniSC Sunshine CoastUniSC Moreton Bay |
Blended learning | Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online. |
Please go to unisc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
Genetics is integral to biology because organisms are a product of both genetics and their environment. This central tenet is the basis of the course. You learn the foundations of how genes are transmitted and inherited (the rules of inheritance) and how these rules are modified. You apply this knowledge to analyse scenarios using techniques to understand the mode of inheritance and solve genetics problems. This course helps you to better understand areas as diverse as evolution, medical counselling and ethics, the biology of development, the dynamics of populations and molecular biology.
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Blended learning | |||
| Learning materials – Learning materials (online) will introduce the concepts of genetics and genomics. | 2hrs | Week 1 | 12 times |
| Laboratory 1 – On campus experiment-based practicals to be conducted in wet labs | 2hrs | Week 1 | 6 times |
| Laboratory 2 – On campus computer-based practicals | 2hrs | Week 2 | 6 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – On campus tutorial/workshop | 2hrs | Week 12 | Once Only |
200 Level (Developing)
12 units
| Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | |
| 1 | Demonstrate and apply foundational knowledge of:the central role of genetics in biology organisms being a product of their genetics & environment the transmission and inheritance of genes within populations to genetics problems | Knowledgeable |
| 2 | Solve a wide range of problems in genetics concerning different species, by using techniques to process genetic data from scenarios analysing the data to determine modes of inheritance and genetic mapping predicting phenotypes based on a hypothesis | Creative and critical thinker |
| 3 | Communicate your solutions to genetics problems to specialist audiences according to conventions | Empowered |
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
SCI100 or LFS100 or LFS103 or SCI102
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Standard Grading (GRD)
| High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
Open book online quizzes will help you to learn and revise and build your confidence for the final exam.
| Delivery mode | Task No. | Assessment Product | Individual or Group | Weighting % | What is the duration / length? | When should I submit? | Where should I submit it? |
| All | 1 | Quiz/zes | Individual | 30% | 20-30 mins |
Throughout teaching period (refer to Format) | Online Submission |
| All | 2 | Report | Individual | 50% | 1-2 pages (300 approx depending on the prac) |
Throughout teaching period (refer to Format) | Online Submission |
| All | 3 | Examination - not Centrally Scheduled | Individual | 20% | 2 hours |
Week 12 | In Class |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Online weekly quizzes | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | To learn and revise Course topics to build foundational knowledge and practice techniques when solving problems |
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| Product: | Quiz/zes | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Format: | Lecturers and tutors will model the problem solving approaches for these open book online quizzes that you do in your own time. These help you to learn and revise and build your confidence for the final exam. They are automatically assessed and the correct answers are provided online after you complete the quiz. The lecturer goes through a review of any quiz on request. |
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| Criteria: |
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| All - Assessment Task 2:Practical reports | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | To communicate laboratory activities and findings that demonstrates application of foundational knowledge and problem solving skills. |
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| Product: | Report | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Format: | Weekly. These reports are about your laboratory-based activities. They include drawings, observations, data analysis, cytology, probabilities, simulations, and virtual laboratories. Depending on the activity, the reports will vary between 1-2 pages. Your lecturer will provide advice on how to present each report in relation to the nature of the particular practical activity. |
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| All - Assessment Task 3:Final exam | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | To demonstrate and apply foundational genetics knowledge to solve problems and communicate solutions according to conventions. |
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| Product: | Examination - not Centrally Scheduled | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Format: | A combination of short answers, and short essays |
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A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.
Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.
You need regular access to the resource(s) below. Many texts are available as ebooks through the Library at no additional cost.
| Required? | Author | Year | Title | Edition | Publisher |
| Recommended | William S Klug,William S. Klug,Michael R. Cummings,Charlotte A. Spencer,Michael A Palladino,Darrell Killian | 2020 | Essentials of Genetics, Global Edition | Latest Edition (if available) | Pearson UK |
Laboratory coat, safety glasses, closed in footwear
Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.
Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.
In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.
Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment
Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying:
(a) The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4%; and
(b) The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale
Late submissions may be penalised up to and including the following maximum percentage of the assessment task’s identified value, with weekdays and weekends included in the calculation of days late:
(a) One day: deduct 5%;
(b) Two days: deduct 10%;
(c) Three days: deduct 20%;
(d) Four days: deduct 40%;
(e) Five days: deduct 60%;
(f) Six days: deduct 80%;
(g) Seven days: A result of zero is awarded for the assessment task.
The following penalties will apply for a late submission for an online examination:
Less than 15 minutes: No penalty
From 15 minutes to 30 minutes: 20% penalty
More than 30 minutes: 100% penalty
For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:
For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching
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