Postgraduate Course: Working With Postgraduate Students (EDUA11179)
Course Outline
| School | Moray House School of Education and Sport |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | This course will focus on teaching, learning and assessment within taught postgraduate programmes and on the supervision of Masters and Doctoral research.
The part of the unit about taught postgraduate modules and courses will consider the distinctive demands of working at Masters level, with groups of students from varied backgrounds and often different knowledge bases, learning strategies and future aspirations. It will explore ways in which overall course design and the interrelationships of teaching, learning and assessment activities can capitalise on the strengths of students to:
- further develop their potential and interest in the disciplinary area
- help them succeed in meeting the course requirements and aspirations
- assist them in becoming more autonomous and self-aware learners.
The other part of the unit will be concerned with clarifying the purposes, pleasures, tensions and key issues in postgraduate research supervision and also with identifying a repertoire of strategies for the achievement of successful outcomes. It will pay particular attention to the processes entailed in supervision and to student perspectives on supervision and will be undergirded by critical review of the research literature. Consideration will be given to the implications of differences in expectations, scale and time frames between Masters and Doctoral dissertations and theses.
Running throughout will be a concern to make use of the available research literature (which is growing but still somewhat 'patchy' as regards Masters study) and to indicate how it may contribute to our understanding of, and practical activities in, this important area of academic work. The course will also encourage participants' engagement with the Researcher Development Framework (RDF).
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| Course description |
Not entered
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2019/20, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Full Year |
| Course Start Date |
16/09/2019 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 14,
Online Activities 1,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 8,
Other Study Hours 1,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
74 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
The main assessment task will be
- to identify a salient matter of concern related to some aspect of working with postgraduate students in the context of taught Masters courses or Masters or
Doctoral research supervision;
- to engage in an appropriate form of investigative enquiry about the chosen
topic or issue; involving critical consideration and evaluation of the literature
(conceptual and practical, general and subject specific), and perhaps also
involving empirical data gathering and analysis;
- to provide a written account (between 2,000 to 2,500 words) of the light shed by the
investigation on the matter of concern and the implications for future ways
of thinking and acting.
Participants will be encouraged to focus, wherever possible, on a matter of concern that is directly pertinent to their current context in terms of roles, responsibilities and/or practice.
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| Feedback |
Feedback is provided on the independent study course participants complete in between Parts A and B. Course participants have the opportunity to present on the independent study to their peers. Their insights and conclusion are discussed and they receive feedback from the course organiser and their peers. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- gain a critical appreciation of key issues and challenges in working with postgraduate students, taking into account both disciplinary variations and local contexts
- develop conceptual frameworks and a range of practical strategies, making use of the available literature and drawing on their own and others' experiences
- focus in on a matter of concern to do with either taught Masters courses or research supervision, identify and critically analyse the central issues and make informed suggestions/decisions about appropriate professional responses and strategies,
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Reading List
Brew, A. (2001). Conception of research: a phenomenographic study. Studies in Higher Education, 26(3), 271-285.
Lee. A. (2008). How Are doctoral students supervised? Concepts of doctoral research supervision. Studies in higher education, 33 (3), 267-281. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Cognitive skills
Course participants gain experience of critically evaluating their professional practice as supervisors of dissertations and theses and teachers of postgraduate courses in light of the research literature they read, critical discussions they have with colleagues taking the course, and accounts from seasoned supervisors whose experiences they are encouraged to critically compare and contrast to their own.
Communication, numeracy and IT
Course participants will gain experience of communicating their critical understanding of key issues arising in dissertation and thesis supervision, as well as the teaching of postgraduate courses, through group work activities, debates, discussions and essays that report either on a review of the relevant literature or an empirical study on a salient topic in postgraduate teaching they carried out.
Autonomy, accountability and working with others
As course participants develop a position on the critical issues and theories encountered in the course and present their own critical voice to others in a persuasive manner through discussion and debate they will gain in autonomy and demonstrate accountability.
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| Special Arrangements |
Pre-course reading, in-course reading and investigative enquiry as well as assignment preparation complement face-to-face teaching/learning activities to a total of 100 notional effort hours. |
| Keywords | postgraduate students,student learning,masters students |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Donna Murray
Tel: (0131 6)50 5674
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Emily Salvesen
Tel: (0131 6)51 6661
Email: |
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