ENVR 300 · Introduction to Research in Environmental Science

Environmental research. Students investigate research methodologies and reporting in a range of scientific disciplines and fields. [3-0-0] Prerequisite: Open to all students with third-year, or higher, standing in the Faculty of Science.

Course Topic(s):
Climate & Environment Includes human context Oceans & Atmosphere Biology Physics Chemistry Mathematics
Face to Face Course

Course Content

  • Reading and Reviewing Scientific Papers: the process of doing science and how the research process is  presented in peer reviewed articles. Summarizing papers, constructing  and posing questions after oral presentations, and discussing the outcomes of team (collaborative) projects.
  • Communicating Science & Proposing Research: throughout the class, students will prepare two proposals for research in environmental science.  Individually and in a team, students will develop a clear summary of their intended work, review  relevant literature, articulate research questions and appropriate research methods, state the  relevance of their proposed work, generate appropriate tasks, and present their proposal clearly  and concisely in written form. 
  • Data Analysis and Modelling: Team projects: students will be introduced to a variety of environmental datasets with different temporal and  spatial scales of variability. Students will be introduced to various uses of models in  environmental models. In the role of “Environmental Consultants”, student groups will propose  and conduct appropriate data analysis and generate a model that will allow them to make  recommendations or draw conclusions given an environmental science question.  
  • Learning Portfolio: throughout the class students will be asked to integrate course material with their process of  learning. Students will choose unique pieces from the class to illustrate their progress in  achieving their personal learning goals.