Outline

Overview

Our ever-changing world requires knowledge that extends across multiple disciplines. The ability to identify and explore interdisciplinary links is a crucial skill for emerging professionals and researchers alike. AGRI3888 presents the opportunity to bring together the concepts and skills you have learnt in your discipline and apply them to a real-world problem. For example, you will be part of an interdisciplinary student project team that investigates a real-world problem involving sustainable plant production in Australia. You will spend 2-5 days conducting fieldwork, observing and measuring production and related environmental attributes, and work collaboratively in a series of practical sessions (before and after the fieldwork) to digitally map crop and soil data, and to critically analyse all collected and mapped data. Each project group will then compile a 'consultant's report' for the landholder(s), detailing the issue or problem, the diagnosis and the recommended management strategies to optimize crop production/business returns, while protecting the environment. All of these skills are highly valued by employers. The fieldwork and practical sessions will be scaffolded with a series of lectures covering agronomy for legumes, cotton and pastures, along with irrigation and integrated pest management, and data requirements for site-specific crop management. You will foster the ability to work in interdisciplinary teams, which is essential for both professional and research pathways in the future.

Unit details and rules

Unit code	AGRI3888
Academic unit	Life and Environmental Sciences Academic Operations
Credit points	6
Prohibitions ?	AGRO4003
Prerequisites ?	12cp from (AGRO3004 or AGRI2001 or BIOL2X31 or AGEN2005)
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Daniel Tan, daniel.tan@sydney.edu.au
Guest lecturer(s)	Eugenia O'Brien, eugenia.obrien@sydney.edu.au
	Luciano Gonzalez, luciano.gonzalez@sydney.edu.au
	Stephen Cattle, stephen.cattle@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Richard Trethowan, richard.trethowan@sydney.edu.au
	Guy Roth, guy.roth@sydney.edu.au
	Michael Walsh, m.j.walsh@sydney.edu.au
	Brett Whelan, brett.whelan@sydney.edu.au
	Rosalind Deaker, rosalind.deaker@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Oral exam ?	Viva Voce Oral viva voce	30%	Formal exam period	15 minutes (oral)
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Mapping and definition of issue report Mapping and definition of issue report	20%	Week 05	1,000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	Consultants presentation Consultants presentation	20%	Week 12	20 minutes
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Consultants report Consultants report	30%	Week 12	2,500 words
Outcomes assessed:
= group assignment ?

Assessment summary

Consultants presentation – 20% – Due: Week 12

Viva voce – 30% – Due: Formal exam week

Mapping & definition of issue report – 20% – Due: Week 5

Consultants report – 30% – Due: Week 12

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	At HD level, you achieve the unit learning outcomes to an exceptional standard. A ‘High Distinction’ reflects your exceptional ability to apply comprehensive knowledge, analytical, communication, and collaborative skills in diverse contexts to synthesise multiple advanced insights and produce original solutions for highly complex problems.
Distinction	75 - 84	At D level, you achieve the unit learning outcomes to an excellent standard. A ‘Distinction’ reflects your excellent ability to apply well-developed knowledge, analytical, communication, and collaborative skills in diverse contexts to synthesise multiple insights to produce original solutions for complex problems.
Credit	65 - 74	At CR level, you achieve the unit learning outcomes to a good standard. A ‘Credit’ reflects your ability to apply broad knowledge, analytical, communication, and collaborative skills in a variety of contexts to synthesise insights and produce adequate solutions for routine problems.
Pass	50 - 64	At PS level, you achieve the unit learning outcomes to a proficient standard. A ‘Pass’ reflects your ability to apply threshold knowledge, analytical, communication, and collaborative skills in some but not all contexts to combine insights and produce basic solutions for routine problems.
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

Written assignments submitted late without permission (see Special Considerations: http://sydney.edu.au/students/special-consideration-and-arrangements.html) will incur a late penalty equal to 5% of the maximum awardable mark per day. These deductions will continue for 10 calendar days or until a solution for the assignment is released or marked assignments are returned to other students. At that point the mark awarded will be zero. For example, on an assignment given a mark of 70/100, the penalty would be 5 marks if submitted up to 24 hours late, resulting in a final mark of 65/100. If the assignment is submitted 6 days late, the penalty would be 30 marks and the final mark would be 40/100. If the assignment is more than 10 days late, the final mark will be zero.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Formal exam period	Viva Voce - oral presentation	Lecture (1 hr)
Mid-semester break	Project field trip	Field trip (40 hr)
Week 01	Legume agronomy	Lecture (3 hr)
Week 02	Cereal breeding	Lecture (3 hr)
Week 03	Cotton agronomy and fibre quality	Lecture (3 hr)
Week 04	Irrigation management	Lecture (3 hr)
Week 05	Life cycle assessment of agricultural enterprises	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 06	Precision agriculture and site-specific crop management	Lecture (3 hr)
Week 07	Pasture agronomy	Lecture (3 hr)
Week 08	Project work - digital mapping, lab analyses	Project (3 hr)
Week 09	Project work - digital mapping, lab analyses	Project (3 hr)
Week 10	Project work - digital mapping, lab analyses	Project (3 hr)
Week 11	Project work - diagnosis	Project (3 hr)
Week 12	Project work - reporting - Consultants report	Project (3 hr)
Week 13	Consultants presentation	Lecture (5 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

All lectures and most practical sessions will have online and in person sessions in Semester 2, 2021. Students are expected to be present in person or online via Zoom for all of these lectures and practical sessions. Students are expected to be participating in the field practicals in person (or virtually depending on Health and/or Faculty advice).

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Apply and develop discipline knowledge (in plant production) in real-life situations
LO2. Define and delimit authentic problems and respond effectively and creatively to solve them.
LO3. Collect and analyse information and engage digital literacy skills throughout the project.
LO4. Demonstrate interdisciplinary effectiveness and integrate discipline knowledge with the knowledge of other disciplines.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

This is the second time this unit has been offered.

Additional information

Most students in 2021 will be expected to participate in the the field trips in person as a group activity (or virtually depending on Health and/or Faculty advice).

Science student portal

Additional costs

There may be additional costs for this unit in 2021 for field trips.

Site visit guidelines

If students are also enrolled in ANSC3888 and/or SOIL3888, there may be a joint field trip.

Work, health and safety

Completion of the Canvas module “Zoonosis Awareness” is compulsory.

We are governed by the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 and Codes of Practice. Penalties for non-compliance have increased. Everyone has a responsibility for health and safety at work. The University’s Work Health and Safety policy explains the responsibilities and expectations of workers and others, and the procedures for managing WHS risks associated with University activities.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Additional costs

Site visit guidelines

Work, health and safety

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

AGRI3888: Sustainable Plant Production

Semester 2, 2021 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Additional costs

Site visit guidelines

Work, health and safety

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect