Educational aims
The aim of this strand is to allow you to combine the study of business with environment. The environment component aims to equip you with knowledge and key transferable skills to enable you to understand the relations between the human and natural environments, and to take responsible roles professionally and as a citizen with regard to environments.
The modules in the environment strand will:
- provide you with a foundation of scientific understanding of natural and anthropogenic processes operating on the Earth
- provide you with a systems approach to understanding the present and past interactions between the processes operating in the biosphere and the changes in these introduced by human activity
- enable you to understand the political, economic, social and technical factors influencing human interaction with the biosphere
- demonstrate the relationship between environment, human cultures and values
- provide you with an understanding of environmental change and the possible responses to this
- enable you to develop the skills and confidence necessary to make critical, informed evaluations and judgements about questions of environment
- provide you with the materials, support, guidance and opportunities you need to develop as an independent learner.
Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
On completion of this degree, you will have knowledge and understanding of:
- the multidisciplinary nature of environmental concerns
- the nature, organisation, complexity, sustainability and inter-relatedness of human and environmental systems
- the role of businesses and other institutions, organisations and other stakeholders in reacting to uneven patterns of environmental change
- the options for control or remediation of environmental impacts available to businesses and human society
- environmental concerns such as climate change, biodiversity; water resource utilisation, energy and material production and use; air, land and water pollution; valuation of the environment; conflict and environmental decision-making; global conventions and treaties
- the temporal and spatial dimensions of environmental change.
Cognitive skills
On completion of this degree, you will be able to:
- read critically from a range of sources relating to environmental issues and recognise possible limitations in these sources
- collect and integrate evidence from a range of sources relating to environmental issues to present arguments, or make recommendations
- recognise the moral and ethical dimensions, in particular those that relate to business, associated with environmental issues.
Practical and/or professional skills
On completion of the degree, you will be able to:
- study and learn independently
- analyse and provide evidence of own learning
- develop and use problem framing, analysis and amelioration skills
- operate effectively within groups either face-to-face or online, being aware of necessary group roles and processes and recognising and respecting the views of others.
Key skills
On completion of this degree, you will be able to:
- plan, conduct and report on an investigation using primary and secondary data
- collect, record and analyse data using a limited range of techniques
- undertake independent investigations in a responsible and safe manner, being sensitive to the impact of investigations on environment and other stakeholders
- reference work in an appropriate manner
- use information technology effectively to obtain, prepare, process, interpret and present data, including using the internet critically for communication and as an information source
- apply numerical and mathematical skills to analyse, model and interpret data, and to solve appropriately structured numerical problems.
Teaching, learning and assessment methods
The key teaching vehicles are supported open learning materials that comprise a range of compulsory reader texts and specially prepared study guides directing your reading and illustrating key teaching points. Your learning of the materials is supported by a locally-based tutor who maintains contact with you individually, conducts periodic group tutorials and facilitates online learning for his/her group of around twenty students. This tutor is the your first and main point of contact answering your queries, grading and commenting on your work and facilitating group learning.
Assessment of the knowledge and understanding components of the programme is achieved through a combination of continuous assessment and exams. The continuous assessment element consists of a series of six to seven tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) for the 60-credit environment modules with each assignment of around 2000 words. These are also central to the teaching of the module since they enable tutors to identify and comment on your knowledge and understanding.
The Level 2 environment module includes an end-of-module written examination. One of the Level 3 options has an end-of-module assessment (EMA) that takes the place of an examination. One of the requirements of the EMA is the research and design of a website. All assignments including the EMA are submitted electronically. The other Level 3 option has an end-of-module examination. Your independent learning and research skills are developed on DU311 through a series of web-based activities (WBAs).
In all the environment module options you are encouraged to develop the skills specified. In each module the specified skills – or specific components of the skills – are identified, mapping out where each skill will be developed and practised. Then as the module progresses the specified skills are sign-posted and you are offered an opportunity to practise them in association with your work on the study materials. As you progress through each module the extent of this guidance decreases in order to encourage independent learning.
At Level 3 you are expected to apply skills developed at Level 2 in addition to developing independent research skills. You are required to identify, access and analyse data from a variety of sites, including the Virtual Learning Environment.