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LSC-20129 - Module Specification
School of Life Sciences
Faculty of Natural Sciences

For academic year: 2025/26 Last Updated: 04 December 2025

LSC-20129 - Field Biology
Coordinator: David Hulse Room: HUX204B Tel: +44 1782 7 33640
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 5
Credits: 15
Study Hours: 150
School Office: 01782 734414

Programme/Approved Electives for 2025/26

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2025/26

In this module you will attend a summer field course where you will visit a range of terrestrial and aquatic habitats and develop fieldwork skills such as identification of specimens, surveying, and data analysis. Towards the end of the field course you will work in a group to undertake a research project. Your professional skills will be assessed during this time. Upon return to Keele, at the start of level 5, you will be given guidance on how to write up your project report in a formal scientific format. This whole assessment is an excellent preparation for your final year project at level 6.

Aims
To enable students to experience various types of fieldwork, undertake data collection and analysis, execute and write up a project, and understand how life can live in a variety of habitats.

Intended Learning Outcomes

identify and classify, with and without keys, a range of organisms in the lab and in-situ in their respective habitats: 1,3
identify and assess the ethical considerations and hazards associated with field work: 1,3
work in a team to formulate a research hypothesis, carry out a field investigation to test this hypothesis, and communicate the results: 2,3
describe, assess and compare the abundance and distribution of organisms based on field observations within a range of habitats and relate them to the abiotic and biotic factors that influence their distributions: 1,3
compare and contrast a variety of adaptations that enable resident organisms to survive in a range of environments: 1,3

Study hours

Active learning :
45 hours fieldwork with associated lectures and data analysis
2 hours tutorials
Independent study:
1 hour class test
10 hours class test preparation
20 hours report preparation
72 hours independent study

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Practice Based Assessment weighted 40%
Fieldwork skills practical exam
Students will visit 6 stations around campus at allocated times to undertake various fieldwork skills taught during the field course. Each station is staffed by a member of the field course teaching team as assessor. Key specimen ID, adaptations of species to habitats, appropriate surveying, (including risk assessment and ethical frameworks), data handling and analysis skills will be assessed. Should inclement conditions or student mobility issues, render this assessment unviable an open-book, timed, in person assessment will take place organised by the field course team. Students with DSI exam concessions will take the assessment in a separate room to facilitate additional time.

2: Competence weighted 10%
Professional Practical Skills assessment
Professional skills assessment. Marks are awarded to each student based on a range of professional skills that the student is able to demonstrate across the project. Skills include: awareness of and compliance with health and safety; ethics; time keeping; organisation; independence; preparation; technical competence; working in a group; problem-solving and communication skills.

3: Research Report weighted 50%
Field course project report
Individual write-up of the group project undertaken on the field course. The report's word count is 2,500 words. The report will be written in the professional scientific report format. Group sizes on the field course are typically around ten students.

The University undertakes a continuous review of its teaching and research provision to ensure programmes are of a high quality and changes may be made to modules where it is necessary and reasonable to do so. Please be aware that minor changes to modules, such as a change to an individual assessment, can occur up until enrolment, although we endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes. Details about the circumstance in which changes are made to programmes can be found in the Student Agreement, available at: https://www.keele.ac.uk/legalgovernancecompliance/governance/actcharterstatutesordinancesandregulations/studenttermsconditions/

Last Updated: 04 December 2025