Undergraduate Independent Project - LEARNING CONTRACT
(ENVS*3410, ENVS*3420, ENVS*3430, ENVS*4410, ENVS*4420, ENVS*4430)
Fall 2015
Course-Coordinator: Dr. M. Dixon (ECBL Rm. 1213, Ext. 52555) mdixon@uoguelph.ca
Student Information:
Student Name:
Course:
Project Title:
Supervisor(s):
Second Reader1:
1The
second readers must be a: faculty member, postdoctoral fellow, or senior graduate
student. The second reader should be able to evaluate and provide constructive criticism
of the student’s final paper. The second reader is to be provided with a copy of the learning
contract, at that time they should be notified when to expect the paper and due dates for
submission of their grade.
Semester Milestones and Deadlines (use one additional page, if necessary)
Milestones or Research Objectives2
Deadlines (if applicable)
2For
each Milestone/Research Objective include the expected output, e.g. draft of literature
review, submission of data set, and an anticipated deadline (if applicable). Please enlarge
area as needed to accommodate additional Milestones/Research Objectives.
1
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON THE COURSES:
 In these courses the student will undertake an independent research project of a practical
or theoretical nature that relates to environmental sciences and is conducted under the
supervision of a faculty member.
 Students must make arrangements with both a faculty supervisor and the course
coordinator, generally at least one semester in advance.
 These courses introduce third year students to independent research, and fourth year
students to a research-intensive experience.
 Projects may be completed in a single semester (ENVS*3410 or ENVS*3430, ENVS*4410
or ENVS*4430, depending on the desired credit and workload), or they may be completed
over two semesters (ENVS*3410 plus ENVS*3420, ENVS*4410 plus ENVS*4420). Note
that a final paper and presentation are still required in each semester.
 A 0.5 credit course (ENVS*3410; ENVS*3420) requires, on average, approximately 10-12
hours per week of contact with your supervisor plus independent work.
 A 1.0 credit course (ENVS*3430; ENVS*4410; ENVS*4420) requires, on average, approx.
20-24 hours per week of contact with your supervisor plus independent work.
 A 2.0 credit course (ENVS*4430) requires, on average, approximately 40-48 hours per
week of contact with your supervisor and independent work.
Important Dates and Grading Information:
 The Grading Summary for all Undergraduate SES Independent Study Courses is available
on the Courselink website and is attached to this document.
 For all independent study courses the supervisor will grade the lab/field work (based
on objectives outlined in the Milestones section).
 For ENVS*3430, ENVS*4410, ENVS* 4420, and ENVS*4430 drafts of the presentation
and written paper are to be graded by the Supervisor. Due dates for drafts of the
presentation and paper are to be determined between the student and Supervisor.
 The final paper for all independent study courses will be submitted no later than
the end of classes, and graded by the Supervisor and a Second Reader, which will be
averaged to give a final grade for the paper.
 Final presentations will be scheduled during the last week of classes in each
semester. Final presentations will be graded by at least the course coordinator.
 Supervisors are to submit final grades for the presentation and paper drafts (if
applicable), final paper, and lab/field work to Dr. Mike Dixon prior to the end of the
exam period. This should be taken into account when determining a due date for the
final paper to allow sufficient time for grading by you and the Second Reader.
Signatures:
Student:
Supervisor:
DO NOT SIGN BEFORE READING!!!!!
Date:
DO NOT SIGN BEFORE READING!!!!!
Date:
Learning contract due: End of 1st week of classes
Submit a copy to: Professor Mike Dixon, Edmund C. Bovey, Room 1213
2
Evaluation Schemes for ENVS Independent Research Courses
Presentations
All courses have an ungraded presentation early in the semester to provide feedback
on the project and practice in presentation skills.
Course
Event
Preparation
% of Course
Length (min)
(hrs)
ENVS*3410
Final
10
10
10
ENVS*3420
ENVS*3430
1st Draft1
Final
10
10
5
5
10
10
ENVS*4410
ENVS*4420
1st Draft
Final
15
15
5
5
20
20
ENVS*4430
1st Draft
2nd Draft
Final
15
15
20
2
3
5
20
20
20
Papers
Papers will be written in journal format. All papers will be 6000-8000 words and
include no more than a combined total of seven graphs and tables.
Course
Event
Preparation2
% of Course
(hrs)
ENVS*3410
Final
30-35
30
ENVS*3420
ENVS*3430
1st Draft
Final
30-35
30-35
15
15
ENVS*4410
ENVS*4420
1st Draft
Final
35-40
35-40
10
30
ENVS*4430
1st Draft
2nd Draft
Final
35-40
35-40
35-40
5
5
30
1st and 2nd draft presentations are conducted and evaluated by the supervisor.
2 Includes literature review, and statistical analysis (where appropriate).
3
1
Summary
Course
ENVS*3410
Presentation (%)
10
Paper (%)
30
Lab/Field Work (%)3
60
ENVS*3420
10
30
60
ENVS*3430
5
5
15
15
60
ENVS*4410
5
5
10
30
50
ENVS*4420
5
5
10
30
50
ENVS*4430
2
3
5
5
5
30
50
Specific breakdown of these marks is negotiated between the student and supervisor and
formalized in a ‘learning contract’ filed with the course coordinator no later than the start
of the 2nd week of the semester.
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