Theoretical Classes

Students acquire the course knowledge by attending theoretical classes, which are occasionally complemented with questions and simple exercises interspersed with the explanations. This approach seeks to encourage active student participation and to prevent the class from becoming entirely one-directional.

Tutorials

The learning and competency acquisition process will be supervised by the instructor through individual and/or group tutorials. A formal date will be scheduled for tutorials, but the course instructor will also be available to arrange additional meetings with students to resolve doubts and monitor their progress in acquiring the course’s intended knowledge and skills.

Problem-Solving Sessions

Interspersed between theoretical classes, these are guided sessions designed to have students tackle problems related to each topic covered in the lectures. These sessions combine mathematical skills with critical thinking.

Practical Sessions

These consist of three 2-hour practical sessions integrated with theoretical and problem-solving classes. The aim is to help students connect theoretical explanations to real geological configurations. The practical activities are structured to promote active learning and foster critical thinking, analysis, and synthesis skills.

Reading and Study of Theory

All lecture presentations used by the instructor are available for download on the Virtual Campus. Reading this material, along with the notes taken during in-person theoretical sessions, should make up the majority of the student's independent study time.

Independent Preparation and Problem Solving

The exercises to be addressed in the problem-solving sessions are available on the Virtual Campus before the scheduled in-person activities. Students are expected to spend time properly completing any pendingexercises to encourage organization and for assessment purposes, as instructors may occasionally collect the problems to individually evaluate students.

Independent Assimilation of Practical Learning

Students are expected to dedicate time to independently consolidate acquired knowledge during practical sessions, to foster organization as well as for assessment purposes, as lecturers may occasionally collect student’s work-sheets to carry out individual evaluations.

Information Search

Student-produced materials and the resources available on the Virtual Campus can be supplemented with additional research, using the recommended bibliography or alternative information sources. Preparation of the Problems sessions may also require further information gathering.

Note: 15 minutes of one lecture session, within the academic calendar set by the institution/program, will be reserved for students to complete instructor’s evaluation surveys as well as the course/module surveys.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

The assessment of the course is based on the continuous evaluation of the student’s progress in acquiring knowledge and competencies. It will consist of the following components:

- Progress tests on the course content via the Virtual Campus (two tests will be administered, coinciding with the dates of the two in-person midterm exams).

- First in-person midterm exam (3 hours), which will assess:

- The theoretical content from the first part of the course (defined according to the progress of the syllabus).

- The problem-solving sessions from the first part of the course.

- The practical sessions completed up to that point (depending on the schedule, this may include only session 1 or both sessions 1 and 2).

- Second in-person midterm exam (3 hours), which will assess:

- The theoretical content from the second part of the course (defined according to the progress of the syllabus).

- The problem-solving sessions from the second part of the course.

- Practical sessions completed (depending on the schedule, this may include sessions 2 and 3 or only session 3).

- Final in-person exam (optional for students who have passed the midterms overall), which is intended for grade improvement or reassessment. This exam will consist of two parts, corresponding to the two midterm exams. Students may choose to perform one or both exams.

To be eligible to take the final exam, students must have participated in assessment activities throughout the course that account for at least two-thirds (2/3) of the total course grade.

If a student has been assessed in no more than one-third (1/3) of the activities and subsequently withdraws, thefinal mark will be NOT ASSESSED.

If a student requests the single assessment option (according to the conditions and deadlines set by the Faculty), they will take a 3-hour exam that evaluates:

- The theoretical content from the entire course. This section will account for 60% of the final grade.

- The Problem-solving content from the entire course (including oral exercises). This section will account for 22% of the final grade.

- The practical content from the three sessions. This section will account for 8% of the final grade.

- To complete the single assessment process, students must also take a test on course content via the Virtual Campus. This test will account for 10% of the final grade and cannot be retaken.

If the final grade is below 5 out of 10, the student will have a second opportunity to pass the course through the reassessment exam, scheduled by the programme coordinator.

Evidence of students’ classroom engagement will be collected and may be used to adjust final grades in borderline cases (e.g. between fail/pass, pass/good, or good/excellent). Additionally, regular attendance and especially active class participation will be considered as positive contributions in the final assessment.

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools is strictly prohibited in all phases of this course. Any assignment containing AI-generated content will be considered a violation of academic integrity and may result in partial or full grade penalties, or more serious disciplinary action in severe cases.