CHEP DISCUSSION FORUMThurs 18th Oct 2012, 1.15-2.15pm, Videolink

Undergraduate Dissertation Supervision:

Managing Preparation, Support & Expectations.

Sally Cook & Wendy Saunderson

A. CONTEXT & PROBLEM

B. MANAGING EXPECTATIONS

C. PROVIDING ON ONLINE SUPPORT SYSTEM ‘ODISSY’

CONTEXT & PROBLEM

• Tens of thousands of UG students complete Dissertations in UK HEIs each year (across the Arts, Humanities, and Social, Natural and Behavioural Sciences)

• Despite the significance of Dissertation re. student learning & staff workload: there is a paucity of guidelines, Supervision Sessions are not subject to peer-review, and are rarely observed by QAA auditors.

(Rowley and Slack, 2004; Todd et al., 2005)

VARIABLE STANDARDS & PROVISION

• HUGE VARIATIONS in the nature, approach, attitudes, concerns, provision, strategies and experience of both Supervisor and Supervisee:

But

• COMMON CHARACTERISTICS and COMMON CHALLENGES / PROBLEMS

COMMON / KEY CHARACTERISTICS

• Student-determined topic; Self-directed learning;• Independent/individual work + Tutor support; • Typically includes empirical research component;• Involves prolonged & sustained engagement.• USUALLY:• 20 credits - 200 hrs - Final year 1/6• 5 – 10,000 words; No taught component• Dissertation Handbook/BB; Individual supervision• No formal Supervisor training or guidance

COMMON CHALLENGES / PROBLEMS Delayed start / delay in choosing topic; Poor time management; Failure to fully engage with the process; Dissertation as ‘unknown entity’; Balancing workload – 1 out of 6 modules; Lacking self-confidence for independent work; Unsure of Supervisor-Supervisee relationship; Unrealistic (misinformed) expectations; Fear of not knowing what is required, and Fear of being unable to meet requirements.

Risk of under-achievement& dissatisfied students

SUPERVISOR’S ROLE

• ACADEMIC GUIDANCE: advice on suitability, feasibility, scale/scope of study; conceptual/ theoretical issues; ethical issues; research methodology; structuring; presentation.

• AS ‘MOTIVATOR’: setting tasks and deadlines; managing expectations; providing feedback.

Do we have a clear idea of our role? Boundaries?

Time commitment? Depends on number of Supervisees?

Or our own research/workload? Awareness of

acute disparities between & within subjects/Faculties?

BOUNDARIES & BALANCE

Where does the Supervisor Role & Responsibility start and end?

• How much is enough?Students do need a certain amount of guidance, support and

encouragement to gain confidence to apply their skills to complete.

• How much is too much?Spoon-feeding infantalises students and stifles original thought:

are we teaching / producing ‘technicians or technologists’?

For Discussion…

A. MANAGING EXPECTATIONS (& ‘FEARS’)B. PROVIDING AN ONLINE SUPPORT SYSTEM ‘ODISSY’

• What ARE students’ expectations?• Where do they come from?• How realistic are they?• How often do students expect supervision?• By which means? Which types do they prefer?• How realistic/realisable are their expectations?• What are students biggest fears/concerns?

What ARE their Expectations? Fears?

80 UG students; Starting final year;

Social Policy, SP Modular, HSCP;

Semi-structured questionnaire, pre-Dissertation

Special Session & pre-Supervisor contact.

64% expect Strict Timetable of Supervision

36% expect Flexible

Supervision

Face-to-Face Supervision Email Supervision Phone Supervision

94

4 2

4

73

22

2

22

76

Preferred TYPE of Supervision (% Ranking)

1st Preference 2nd Pref. 3rd Pref

How often is private face-to-face Supervision expected?

Twice per Week

Every Week Every Fortnight Every 2-3 Weeks

Once per Month

2

63

31

2 3

Expected duration of each private face-to-face Supervision

10-15 mins 15-30

mins 30-60 mins 1 hour 2 hrs

5

36

43

14

2

Weekly Supervision

10-15 mins 15-30

mins 30-60 mins 1 hour 2 hrs

513

67

105

Fortnightly Supervision

UG Students’ ‘Greatest Fears/Concerns’ at start of final/Dissertation Year

Not being able to understand certain aspects of dissertation; not having enough time or 1-to-1 sessions with Supervisor

That I won’t get a high enough grade; that I won’t pick the right dissertation title; that I won’t get enough guidance and support from my Supervisor

Biggest fear is juggling Uni work with 2 jobs; failing; not understanding the work; time management.

Doing something wrong in my dissertation and wasting time by not being able to fully understand it; Not having enough one-to-one time with my Supervisor

That I will fall behind and not do my best and that my Supervisor won’t be interested in my topic; it will be hard to balance work & Uni

Biggest fear is everything snowballing if I get stuck on one piece of work; time management; balancing dissertation with other modules

School of Environmental Sciences: Geography, Env. Science & Marine Science BSc

• 30 credits to 20 credits• S1 to S2• scheduled Yr. 2 preparation sessions• dissertation ‘log’ – minimum contact• Online Dissertation Support System

(ODISSY) - supported by CIES/CHEP

• guidance on research & writing up• expected standards• contradictory advice• independence• S1 workload• credits vs. expectations• supervisor knowledge / interest• supervisor availability

ODISSY student surveys & focus group

• improve student engagement• assist time management• centralise resources & advice• make better use of supervision time• enable visualisation of process

& progress

Development of ODISSY – aims:

• visual interface: journey• break into manageable ‘chunks’• indicate progress• consistent online information (timetable, C/A criteria, explanations & advice, ‘how to’ guides, links to podcasts & web sites, exemplars etc.)

• tools for communication & management

Main Features of ODISSY

ODISSY: feedback so far…

• overview of process• relevance of advice and links• convenience • consistency• exemplars

in regular use (2012 graduates)57% used at least weekly: 80% at least monthly> 80% found map interface useful (¾) ½ said it (maybe) helped time management

Key questions: any answers to…?

• optimum timing for engagement (S1 / S2 / long-thin)

• credits: effort vs. degree classification• student preparation Yr 2 / 3• expected minimum supervisory contact • level of support (independence / spoon-feeding)

• ensuring supervisor availability