Unit information: Group Project Unit in 2018/19

Unit name	Group Project Unit
Unit code	MATHM0021
Credit points	20
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Dr. Schubert
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	Various.
Co-requisites	None.
School/department	School of Mathematics
Faculty	Faculty of Science

Description including Unit Aims

The unit consist of small groups of students working independently on projects which are proposed and supervised by individual academic members of staff. The unit will run together with existing units MATH 32001 and MATH32200 where single students work independently on a variety of projects. The new unit will share the aims of the existing units, which are to give students an opportunity to study a topic of their choice, working more or less independently, and to develop experience of report-writing and oral presentation. In addition the new unit will give students insight into group dynamics, develop interpersonal skills and allow them to tackle more comprehensive assignments.

Additional unit information can be found at http://www.maths.bristol.ac.uk/study/undergrad/current_units/index.html

Intended Learning Outcomes

Self-directed study, report writing, oral presentation, working as part of a team, managing group dynamics, developing research plans. The mathematical content depends on the project, but a general “mathematical maturity”.

Teaching Information

Guidance from supervisor, leading to independent study with further discussion with supervisor as necessary. Skills training is provided early in teaching block 1

Assessment Information

The final assessment consists of several components: At the end of the project the group submits a written report and gives an oral presentation in which each member of the group participates.

• The joint project report is marked and then for each student an individual mark is obtained by multiplying with an Individual Weighting Factor. The Individual Weighting Factor is determined from peer-assessment in the group. The weighted mark for the project report forms 90% of the total mark for each individual student.

• The presentation contributes for each student an individual mark of 5% and a joint mark for the overall presentation of 5%.

After half of the project period has passed peer assessment will be used for formative purposes, to reflect on the dynamics and possible problems of the group work.

Reading and References

Reading and references are available at http://www.maths.bristol.ac.uk/study/undergrad/current_units/index.html