PHY3039 : Group Project (MPhys)
- Offered for Year: 2019/20
- Module Leader(s): Dr Toby Hallam
- Owning School: Mathematics, Statistics and Physics
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 10 |
| ECTS Credits: | 5.0 |
Aims
To enhance the ability of the student to undertake a project as part of a team, working to time scales, develop understanding in an area of physics beyond those taught in the degree programme.
Outline Of Syllabus
A group assignment involving investigation of a computationally based physics problem or scenario and involving a range multi-disciplinary skills. The projects are expected to be of a more open ended nature or involve greater computational complexity than those in PHY3025. The project specification may be provided by an academic member of staff, who will act as project monitor, or a local company. Groups of three students are involved with each project, and a major part of the work is concerned with group organisation and interfacing of individuals' efforts. Assessment of the project is via a short report (week 6), a presentation (week 11) and a formal report (week 11), that will include a statement regarding the contribution from the individuals in the team.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 5:00 | 5:00 | Preparation of two page report. |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 10:00 | 10:00 | Preparation of final report. |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 5:00 | 5:00 | Preparation of presentation materials. |
| Guided Independent Study | Student-led group activity | 1 | 3:00 | 3:00 | Presentation of data and analysis to cohort. |
| Guided Independent Study | Student-led group activity | 1 | 66:00 | 66:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Dissertation/project related supervision | 11 | 1:00 | 11:00 | Project meetings with supervising academic member of staff. |
| Total | 100:00 |
Jointly Taught With
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| PHY3025 | Group Project |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
The group experimental exercise requires the students not only to adapt the factual, conceptual and procedural knowledge acquired from a wide range of physical concepts to develop a solution to a specific problem, but also to enhance their strategic knowledge by undertaking the project in a group environment. Consequently it will require the student to demonstrate a wide range of skills:
1. Subject-specific skills – computational analysis, design skills plus an overall understanding of a wide range of subject matter related to the project.
2. Core skills - ability to plan and organise the work, computer algorithm development, exercise problem solving skills. Also demonstrate significant, high level numeracy and computer literacy skills in order to analyse the data generated, report on the data in both verbal and written formats.
3. Cognitive skills - ability to analyse the results and present them in a coherent manner.
All of these skills must be demonstrated within the context of the group and will require a high degree of adaptability in:
1. responding to changes in situation and priorities
2. management of stress and maintaining effectiveness under pressure
3. understanding the strengths and weaknesses of others etc.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Exams
| Description | Length | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral Presentation | 30 | 1 | M | 30 | To include a peer assessed contribution |
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | 1 | M | 20 | Short report |
| Report | 1 | M | 50 | Final report |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
From the reports, the ability of the student will be assessed regarding:
1. Subject-specific, core and cognitive skills - established from technical assessment of the initial study, implementation issues and evaluation of end project
2. Team work - assessed from monitoring of Group planning and management abilities.
3. Individual abilities within Group - assessed from contribution made to the technical effort and report, participation at meetings and project presentations and also from peer review.
From the verbal presentation, the ability of the student will be assessed regarding:
1. Ability to answer questions on relevant aspects of the work
2. Team work – assessed from the contributions to the presentation and content
3. Communication skills
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- PHY3039's Timetable