Introduction to Environmental Pollution

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Collecting and integrating several lines of evidence to formulate and test hypotheses
• Recognising the moral and ethical issues of investigations and appreciating the need for professional codes of conduct
• Recognising and using subject-specific theories, paradigms, concepts and principles
• Analysing, synthesising and summarising information critically, including prior research
• Applying knowledge and understanding to complex and multidimensional problems in familiar and unfamiliar contexts

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Recognising and respecting the views and opinions of other team members
• Evaluating performance as an individual and a team member
• Receiving and responding to a variety of information sources (e.g. textual, numerical, verbal, graphical)
• Identifying and working towards targets for personal, academic and career development
• Appreciating issues of sample selection, accuracy, precision and uncertainty during collection, recording and analysis of data in the field and laboratory
• Preparing, processing, interpreting and presenting data, using appropriate qualitative and quantitative techniques and packages including geographic information systems
• Solving numerical problems using computer and non-computer-based techniques
• Using the internet critically as a means of communication and a source of information
• Developing an adaptable and flexible approach to study and work
• Communicating appropriately to a variety of audiences in written, verbal and graphical forms
• Developing the skills necessary for self-managed and lifelong learning (e.g. working independently, time management and organisation skills)
• Identifying individual and collective goals and responsibilities and performing in a manner appropriate to these roles

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• The contribution of environmental science to the development of knowledge of the world we live in
• The need for both a multi-disciplinary and an interdisciplinary approach in advancing knowledge and understanding of Earth systems, drawing, as appropriate, from the natural and the social sciences
• The terminology, nomenclature and classification systems used in environmental science
• Methods of acquiring, interpreting and analysing environmental science information with a critical understanding of the appropriate contexts for their use
• The contribution of environmental science to debate on environmental issues and how knowledge of these forms the basis for informed concern about the Earth and its people
• The processes which shape the natural world at different temporal and spatial scales and their influence on and by human activities

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Planning, conducting, and reporting on environmental investigations, including the use of secondary data
• Referencing work in an appropriate manner

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.