058501 Thematic Course: Ecological Agriculture l (SOCRATES European Curriculum)

Detaljer
Inst. for Jordbrugsvidenskab
Tidligst mulig placering
Varighed1 semester
 
Pointværdi24 (ECTS)
KursustypeBachelorkursus
 
Eksamenbedømmelse af deltagelse


med hjælpemidler

Beskrivelse af eksamen: 13-skala, ekstern censur

Eksamensdatoer:

50% of mark based on assessment of written project report, group presentation and oral examination in report contents. The project report and presentation are expected to be carried out as group work.



Beskrivelse af eksamen:
Eksamensdatoer:

30% of mark based on assessment of individual student learning documents.



Beskrivelse af eksamen:
Eksamensdatoer:

20% of mark based on assesment of literature review and presentation. This is expected to be carried out as group work.
 
Rammer for undervisningLectures: 6 course modules first 7 weeks. Practicals and discussions: 6-8 hours weekly first 7 weeks. Subject report primarily during last 7 weeks.
 
BlokplaceringF SUP
Monday 8.40-16.30, Wednesday 8.40-12, and Friday 9.35-14.30 Check Course Homepage

 
UndervisningssprogEngelsk
 
Anbefalede forudsætninger025111 
Basic knowledge of chemistry, physics and biology and some knowledge of ecology. Geology and Soil Science, Introduction to Organic Farming, Agricultural Botany (basic) and Zoology (basic). Some understanding of organic farming as a profession.
 
Kursets målsætning
The basic aim of the course is to give students an understanding of the basis of ecological agriculture from an integrated viewpoint. The course begins with consideration of ecological farming in Denmark, and continues with the themes of the role and function of biodiversity in organic farming, the principles and practice of cropping system design and the technological and engineering aspects of ecological farming.
 
Kursusindhold
In the course we use both conceptual ideas and more practical ones, and move from learning through lectures to learning through independent work and in groups. Our goals are to utilise information from all major topics in the project and for students and teachers to obtain a better understanding of:

· ecological agriculture and systems ecology

· biodiversity in ecological agriculture

· soil biotic and abiotic mechanisms that underpin soil fertility

· energy and material flows in ecological agriculture

· factors and conditions which determine the planning and management of a cropping system

· technology in ecological agriculture.

The course can be taken alone but it also forms the first part of a one-year (2 semester) curriculum in Ecological Agriculture under the SOCRATES program. The second part, addressing other aspects of ecological agriculture including animal production, ecological agriculture as a business, environmental impacts and decision making will be offered at another European University. There is planned to be an interesting short summer course (6 ECTS) dealing with the historical aspects of organic agriculture, its economic and social impacts and health issues.

 
Undervisningsform
The course is structured as lectures, discussions, exercises and a major group project. The last seven weeks of the semester will be devoted to a supervised group project (3-4 students per group) with a distinct inter-disciplinary aspect, using information from all the topics discussed in the first period of the course to focus on a specific aspect of ecological agriculture. Previously completed projects can be found on the course web-site. Supervisors will approve a written synopsis of the project's proposed content and methods. Finally, students will present their projects to the rest of the course in a final seminar, which is part of the evaluation process. Instructors will offer guidance during the project. The course is examined via an oral examination with an external censor and concentrates on the written and oral presentation of the project. Further details are given nearer the time of the examination that is held in the first week of June. Regularly during the course students are expected to make presentations to the rest of the class and the staff - see the course description. In these 'hot topic' debates a group of students will be given the task of preparing a presentation for the rest of the class to act as an introduction to the theme in question. It is expected that the students will use the time away from lectures to read the material presented and free study is seen as an important part of the course.
 
Litteraturhenvisninger
Teachers will provide copies of their teaching material prior to lectures. Lists of the texts used and their link to the topics during the lectures can be found on the course web-site.
 
Kursusansvarlig
John R. Porter, jrp@life.ku.dk, Institut for Jordbrugsvidenskab/Miljø, Ressourcer og Teknologi, Tlf: 35333377
 
Studienævn
Studienævn NSN
 
Kursusbeskrivelsesomfang
forelæsninger42
teoretiske øvelser60
forberedelse174
eksamen32
ekskursioner24
projektarbejde360
vejledning28

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