Contemporary biological research utilises foundational analytical approaches including genetic manipulation, biochemistry and microscopy to understand life. This course focuses on the application of various microscopic approaches to analyse the variance, function and structure of plant, animal and human samples across scales from the biological system to the molecular level. Students will experience how microscopy enables researchers to undertake powerful qualitative and quantitative analysis and they will be guided in interpretation of biological sample analysis.
This course is offered intensively over two weeks during the Winter Session. The course will be held in July of each year. Enrolment places are limited to 30 as entry will be merit-based and practicals require small groups. Information on how to enrol in this course is in the Other Information section.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Appraise the relevance of microscopic approaches to life sciences inquiries.
- Determine an appropriate sample preparation and instrumentation selection based on the nature of the research inquiry being pursued.
- Critically analyse, interpret and report visual data with awareness of the limitations and affordances inherent in selected methods and analytical tools.
- Participate in and contribute to collaborative research inquiries.
- Manage necessary experimental protocols and documentation to ensure accurate interpretation, publication and reproducibility of visual data.
- Transfer and infer microscopic approaches for different inquiry contexts.
Other Information
Enrolment places are limited as practicals are based on small group activities. Entry will be merit-based. This course will be of interest to students in areas covering plant sciences, biosciences, cell and molecular biology and organismal biology.
To register interest in this course for Winter Session, please fill in an expression of interest form. Applications will open mid March and close mid May.
Students will be notified of the outcome in early June.
Indicative Assessment
- Logbook (12) [LO 3,5]
- Research Reflections (5) [LO 1,2]
- Research Essay (25) [LO 1,2,3,6]
- 3 Group-authored reports on microscopy techniques, sample preparation and analysis tasks (23) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Exams: online quiz and exam (35) [LO 1,2,3,5,6]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
This is an intensive course running for 2 weeks. The expected workload will consist of approximately 130 hours including:
- Face-to face component which may consist of 7 hours of lectures/tutorials/workshops/labs per day during the course session.
- Approximately 60 hours of self-study which will include preparation for lectures, presentations, group work reports and other assessment tasks.
Students are expected to actively participate and contribute towards discussions.
Inherent Requirements
Not yet determined
Requisite and Incompatibility
You will need to contact the Biology Teaching and Learning Centre or Centre for Advanced Microscopy to request a permission code to enrol in this course.
Prescribed Texts
Relevant texts and resources will be provided via the course Wattle site. An online logbook (LabArchives) will have to be purchased prior to the course ($20)
Preliminary Reading
Relevant texts and resources will be provided via the course Wattle site.
Assumed Knowledge
24 units of relevant disciplinary coursework in Biology at the 2000 level. This course will be of interest to students in areas covering plant sciences, biosciences, cell and molecular biology, organismal biology and medical sciences.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 2
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2023 | $4320 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2023 | $6180 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Winter Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4590 | 03 Jul 2023 | 03 Jul 2023 | 07 Jul 2023 | 21 Jul 2023 | In Person | N/A |
